My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make
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This is the no-knead bread recipe my mother has been baking for 45 years. Start to finish, it can be ready in three hours. It bakes in well-buttered Pyrex bowls — no need to preheat a baking vessel for this recipe — and it emerges golden and crisp with a soft, tender crumb. 🍞🍞🍞🍞🍞
When I tell you that, if forced, I had to pick one and only one recipe to share with you that this — my mother’s peasant bread — would be it, I am serious. I would almost in fact be OK ending the blog after this very post, retiring altogether from the wonderful world of food blogging, resting assured that you all had this knowledge at hand. This bread might just change your life.
The reason I say this is simple. I whole-heartedly believe that if you know how to make bread you can throw one hell of a dinner party. And the reason for this is because people go insane over homemade bread. Not once have I served this bread to company without being asked, “Did you really make this?” And questioned: “You mean with a bread machine?” But always praised: “Is there anything more special than homemade bread?”
And upon tasting homemade bread, people act as if you’re some sort of culinary magician. I would even go so far as to say that with homemade bread on the table along with a few nice cheeses and a really good salad, the main course almost becomes superfluous. If you nail it, fantastic. If you don’t, you have more than enough treats to keep people happy all night long.
The Magic of the Peasant Bread
So what, you probably are wondering, makes this bread so special when there are so many wonderful bread recipes out there? Again, the answer is simple. For one, it’s a no-knead bread. I know, I know. There are two wildly popular no-knead bread recipes out there.
But unlike the others, this is a no-knead bread that can be started at 4:00pm and turned out onto the dinner table at 7:00pm. It bakes in well-buttered Pyrex bowls — there is no pre-heating of the baking vessels in this recipe — and it emerges golden and crisp without any steam pans or water spritzes. This is not artisan bread, nor is it trying to be. It is peasant bread, spongy and moist with a most-delectable buttery crust.
Genuinely, I would be proud to serve this bread at a dinner party attended by Jim Lahey, Mark Bittman, Peter Reinhart, Chad Robertson, Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. It is a bread I hope you will all give a go, too, and then proudly serve at your next dinner party to guests who might ask where you’ve stashed away your bread machine. And when this happens, I hope you will all just smile and say, “Don’t be silly. This is just a simple peasant bread. Easy as pie. I’ll show you how to make it some day.”
Peasant Bread Variations
Once you master the peasant bread, you can make any bread your heart desires — this simple no-knead bread recipe is the foundation of many of the other bread recipes on this site, namely this hugely popular overnight refrigerator focaccia and this simple homemade pizza dough. It’s even the inspiration behind this sourdough focaccia and this sourdough sandwich bread and this simple pita bread recipe.
The below post is organized as follows:
- How to Make Peasant Bread, Step by Step
- The Best Way to Store Bread
- Peasant Bread Dinner Rolls
- Peasant Bread Sandwich Bread
- How to Add Seeds and Nuts to Bread Dough
- How to Make Gluten-Free Peasant Bread
- How to Coat the Loaves in Seeds
- How to use Whole Wheat Flour
- How to Bake the Peasant Bread in a Dutch Oven
Many more variations on the peasant bread can be found in my cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs:
Bread Toast Crumbs
Love the peasant bread? There’s now a book filled with 40 simple bread recipes plus 70 recipes to use up every crumb of every loaf you bake.
How to Make Peasant Bread, Step by Step
First: You need yeast.
This is the yeast I buy exclusively: SAF Instant Yeast. Instant yeast can be whisked into the flour directly without any blooming or proofing. If you want to stick to active-dry yeast, there are instructions in the recipe notes on how to do so. Red Star yeast is great.
Whisk together flour, salt, sugar, and instant yeast. Add lukewarm water.
Mix until you have a sticky dough ball. Let it rise for 1.5 to 2 hours…
… or until it looks like this:
Punch down the dough using two forks.
Then split the dough down the middle again using the two forks.
Because this is a very wet dough, it must be baked in an oven-proof bowl. I am partial to the Pyrex 1L 322 size, but any similarly sized oven-proof bowl will work.
Butter the bowls well; then transfer half of the dough to each prepared bow.
Let the dough rise again until it crowns the rim of the bowl, about 30 minutes.
Transfer the bowls to the oven to bake:
This bread is irresistible when it’s freshly baked, but it also makes wonderful toast on subsequent mornings as well as the best grilled cheese. It’s also my favorite bread to use for these egg salad sandwiches and for this no-tuna “tuna” salad.
The Best Way to Store Bread
If you want to store the bread at room temperature for 3 to 4 days, I think the best method is in a ziplock bag. I’ve tried other eco-friendly options, but nothing seems to keep bread freshest — the crumb the softest — better than a ziplock bag. You can re-use the bags again and again.
If you intend to keep the bread for longer, I would freeze it. I often slice bread as soon as it cools completely, transfer the slices to a ziplock bag, then freeze. This way, I know the bread was frozen at its freshest.
A ziplock bag will not prevent the crust of bread from turning soft, which is why I suggest always reheating day-old bread. I use a toaster at breakfast for slices of bread, and I reheat half or quarter loaves in the oven at 350ºF for 15 to 20 minutes when serving for dinner.
Bread revives so beautifully in the oven or toaster.
No-Knead Dinner Rolls
To use the peasant bread dough to make rolls, simply divide the dough into smaller portions and place in a buttered muffin tin as in these No-Knead Thyme Dinner Rolls (pictured above). This recipe for no-knead buttermilk pull-apart rolls is also based on the peasant bread as are these brioche pull-apart rolls.
No-Knead Sandwich Bread
To make sandwich bread, multiply the recipe below by 1.5 and bake the bread in two buttered 8.5×4.5-inch loaf pans.
Made with half all-purpose flour and half King Arthur Sprouted Wheat Flour, these seed-coated sandwich loaves (pictured above) have a soft and light crumb. I really like KAF’s sprouted wheat flour, which is made from white whole wheat berries that, when sprouted, yield a creamy, sweet, milder-tasting flour. You can use 100% all-purpose or bread flour for an even lighter loaf or your favorite whole wheat flour in place of the sprouted wheat flour.
How to Add Nuts and Seeds to Bread Dough
To add seeds and nuts (or dried fruit and cheese), simply stir them into the dry ingredients. This recipe for Quinoa-and-Flax Toasting Bread will offer guidance on how much to add.
How to Make a Gluten-Free Peasant Bread
Making gluten-free peasant bread (pictured above) unfortunately isn’t as simple as swapping in gluten-free flour for the wheat flour. But the process and recipe is still super simple — in fact, because there’s only one rise, many people find the gluten-free peasant bread to be even simpler than the original. Find the recipe here: Gluten-Free Peasant Bread
How to Coat the Loaves in Seeds
To coat the peasant bread in seeds, as pictured above, simply coat the bowls with everything bagel seasoning or with dukkah or sesame seeds or whatever seed mix you wish. The seed-coated loaves look so beautiful, and it’s amazing how much the flavor of the coating permeates the loaves. Find the recipe here: Everything Bagel Seasoning Peasant Bread
How to Use Whole Wheat Flour
To use whole wheat flour in the peasant bread, simply replace as much as 50% of the all-purpose flour with your favorite whole wheat flour: I like KAF’s sprouted wheat flour, and I’ve been loving the Cairnsprings Mill Trailblazer stone-milled flour. With the Trailblazer, I can use up to 75% of it in the peasant bread, and it yields a beautiful, chewy texture as well as a lovely flavor and aroma.
When using whole wheat flour, you may have to use more or less water — there is no rule as to how much more or less, and it will take some trial and error to get right because all flours absorb water differently. When I use KAF sprouted wheat flour, for example, I don’t change the water amount at all. When I use the Trailblazer flour, on the other hand, I reduce the water by at least 50 grams.
If you’d like to learn more about whole wheat flour and stone-milled flours, read this: Easy Sourdough Bread (Whole Wheat-ish)
How to Bake the Peasant Bread in a Dutch Oven
If you’re looking for more of a crackling crusted boule (characteristic of a loaf of sourdough bread) as opposed to the buttery crispness of the peasant bread, you can bake the peasant bread dough in a preheated Dutch oven.
There are detailed instructions below the recipe in the notes section, but one thing to keep in mind before you begin is dough hydration. The peasant bread is a very high hydration dough, meaning there is a lot of water relative to flour. Because baking the peasant bread in a Dutch oven will require some handling of the dough — to shape it into a round and to create some tension — you may want to reduce the water from the start. Consider holding back 20-30 grams of water to make the process more manageable for you.
My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make
- Total Time: 2 hours 27 minutes
- Yield: 2 loaves
Description
Notes:
The bread:
This is a sticky, no-knead dough, so, some sort of baking vessel, such as pyrex bowls (you need two 1-qt bowls) or ramekins for mini loaves is required to bake this bread. See notes below the recipe for sources. You can use a bowl that is about 2 qt or 2 L in size to bake off the whole batch of dough (versus splitting the dough in half) but do not use this size for baking half of the dough — it is too big.
Peasant Bread Fans! There is now a book: Bread Toast Crumbs, a loaf-to-crumb bread baking book, filled with tips and tricks and answers to the many questions that have been asked over the years. In the book you will find 40 variations of the master peasant bread recipe + 70 recipes for using up the many loaves you will bake. Learn more about the book here or buy it here.
Ingredients
- 4 cups (512 g) unbleached all-purpose or bread flour
- 2 teaspoons (10 g) kosher salt
- 2 cups (454 g) lukewarm water (made by mixing 1.5 cups cold water with 0.5 cup boiling water)
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) sugar
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) instant yeast, I love SAF Instant Yeast, see notes below
- room temperature butter, about 2 tablespoons
Instructions
- Mixing the dough: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, and instant yeast (I love SAF Instant Yeast). Add the water. Mix until the flour is absorbed. (If you are using active dry yeast, see notes below.)
- Let it rise. Cover bowl with a tea towel or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot to rise for at least an hour. (In the winter or if you are letting the bread rise in a cool place, it might take as long as two hours to rise.) This is how to create a slightly warm spot for your bread to rise in: Turn the oven on at any temperature (350ºF or so) for one minute, then turn it off. Note: Do not allow the oven to get up to 300ºF, for example, and then heat at that setting for 1 minute — this will be too hot. Just let the oven preheat for a total of 1 minute — it likely won’t get above 100ºF. The goal is to just create a slightly warm environment for the bread.
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Grease two 1-qt or 1.5-qt oven-safe bowls (see notes below) with about a tablespoon of butter each. Using two forks, punch down your dough, scraping it from the sides of the bowl, which it will be clinging to. As you scrape it down try to pull the dough toward the center (see video below for guidance). You want to loosen the dough entirely from the sides of the bowl, and you want to make sure you’ve punched it down. Then, take your two forks and divide the dough into two equal portions — eye the center of the mass of dough, and starting from the center and working out, pull the dough apart with the two forks. Then scoop up each half and place into your prepared bowls. This part can be a little messy — the dough is very wet and will slip all over the place. Using small forks or forks with short tines makes this easier — my small salad forks work best; my dinner forks make it harder. It’s best to scoop it up fast and plop it in the bowl in one fell swoop. Some people like to use flexible, plastic dough scrapers for this step.
- Let the dough rise again for about 20 to 30 minutes on the countertop near the oven (or near a warm spot) or until it has risen to just below or above (depending on what size bowl you are using) the top of the bowls. (Note: Do not do the warm-oven trick for the second rise, and do not cover your bowls for the second rise. Simply set your bowls on top of your oven, so that they are in a warm spot. Twenty minutes in this spot usually is enough for my loaves.)
- Bake it. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375º and bake for 15 to 17 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and turn the loaves onto cooling racks. If you’ve greased the bowls well, the loaves should fall right out onto the cooling racks. If the loaves look a little pale and soft when you’ve turned them out onto your cooling racks, place the loaves into the oven (outside of their bowls) and let them bake for about 5 minutes longer. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before cutting.
Notes
- The bowls: The cheapest, most widely available 1-qt bowl is the Pyrex 322. Update: These bowls are becoming harder to find and more expensive. As a result, I’m suggesting this cheaper option: the Pyrex 3-piece set. You can split the dough in half as always (see recipe) and bake half in the 1-quart bowl and half in the 1.5 quart bowl. The loaves will not be the same shape, but they will be delicious nonetheless.
- Yeast: I buy SAF Instant Yeast in bulk from Amazon I store it in my fridge or freezer, and it lasts forever. If you are using the packets of yeast (the kind that come in the 3-fold packets), just go ahead and use a whole packet — It’s 2.25 teaspoons. I have made the bread with active dry, rapid rise, and instant yeast, and all varieties work. The beauty of instant yeast is that there is no need to “proof” it — you can add the yeast directly to the flour. I never use active-dry yeast anymore.
- If you have active-dry yeast on hand and want to use it, here’s how: In a small mixing bowl, dissolve the sugar into the water. Sprinkle the yeast over top. There is no need to stir it up. Let it stand for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the mixture is foamy and/or bubbling just a bit — this step will ensure that the yeast is active. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. When the yeast-water-sugar mixture is foamy, stir it up, and add it to the flour bowl. Mix until the flour is absorbed.
- Troubleshooting: You can find step-by-step video instruction here.
- Several commenters have had trouble with the second rise, and this seems to be caused by the shape of the bowl they are letting the dough rise in the second time around. Two hours for the second rise is too long. If you don’t have a 1-qt bowl, bake 3/4 of the dough in a loaf pan and bake the rest off in muffin tins or a popover pan. The second rise should take no more than 30 minutes.
- Also, you can use as many as 3 cups of whole wheat flour, but the texture changes considerably. I suggest trying with all all-purpose or bread flour to start and once you get the hang of it, start trying various combinations of whole wheat flour and/or other flours.
- The single most important step you can take to make this bread truly foolproof is to invest in a digital scale. This one costs under $10. If you are not measuring by weight, do this: scoop flour into the measuring cup using a separate spoon or measuring cup; level off with a knife. The flour should be below the rim of the measuring cup.
- Here’s a printable version of this recipes that’s less wordy: Peasant Bread Recipe, Simplified
- How to Bake the Peasant Bread in a Dutch Oven: Preheat a Dutch Oven for 45 minutes at 450ºF. Dust a clean work surface with flour. After the first rise, turn the dough out onto the floured surface and shape it into a ball: I like to fold it envelope style from top to bottom, then side to side; then I flip it over and use the pinkie edges of my hands to pinch the dough underneath and create some tension. Transfer the dough to a sheet of parchment paper. Let rest for 20 minutes. If you feel your dough is spreading too much you can lift up the sheet of parchment paper, dough and all, and place it in a bowl of a similar size. After the 20 minutes, transfer the dough, parchment paper and all to the Dutch oven. Carefully cover it. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover. Bake 15 minutes more.
- To bake the peasant bread in a loaf pan: If you are using an 8.5×4.5-inch loaf pan or a 9×5-inch loaf pan, you can bake 3/4 of the dough in it; bake off the rest of the dough in ramekins or other small vessels … the mini loaves are so cute. You can also make 1.5x the recipe, and bake the bread in 2 loaf pans. If you have a large loaf pan, such as a 10×6-inch loaf pan, you can bake off the entire batch of dough in it. For loaf pans, bake at 375ºF for 45 minutes.
- How to Bake at Hight Altitude:
- First try the original recipe as written (preferably with a scale). You may not need to make any adjustments. One commenter, who lives at 9200 ft finds the original recipe to work just fine as is.
- If the original recipe doesn’t work, try adding a little bit more water because it rises fast and it is so dry: about a quarter cup for every 512 g of flour.
- Try decreasing the yeast to 1.5 teaspoons.
- If your dough is especially gooey, try decreasing the water by 1/4 cup. But, if you aren’t using a scale, my first suggestion would be to buy a scale and weigh the flour, and make the bread once as directed with the 2 cups water and 512 grams flour, etc.
- Punch the dough down twice before transferring it to the buttered Pyrex bowls. In other words, let it rise for 1-1.5 hours, punch it down, let it rise again for about an hour, punch it down, then transfer it to the buttered bowls.
- Variations:
- #1. Cornmeal. Substitute 1 cup of the flour with 1 cup of cornmeal. Proceed with the recipe as directed.
- #2. Faux focaccia. Instead of spreading butter in two Pyrex bowls in preparation for baking, butter one 9×9-inch glass baking dish and one Pyrex bowl or just butter one large 9×13-inch Pyrex baking dish. If using two vessels, divide the dough in half and place each half in prepared baking pan. If using only one large baking dish, place all of the dough in the dish. Drizzle dough with 1 tablespoon of olive oil (if using the small square pan) and 2 tablespoons of olive oil (if using the large one). Using your fingers, gently spread the dough out so that it fits the shape of the pan. Use your fingers to create dimples in the surface of the dough. Sprinkle surface with chopped rosemary and sea salt. Let rise for 20 to 30 minutes. Bake for 15 minutes at 425ºF and 17 minutes (or longer) at 375ºF. Remove from pan and let cool on cooling rack.
- #3. Thyme Dinner Rolls
- #4 Gluten-free
- #5. Everything Bagel Seasoning Bread. Simply coat the buttered bowls with Everything Bagel Seasoning. Watch a how-to on Instagram Stories here.
- #6: Whole Wheat Peasant Bread. Use as much as 50% whole wheat flour. I like King Arthur Flour’s white whole wheat flour (see this post) or sprouted wheat flour (see this post).
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 32 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
6,394 Comments on “My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make”
Love this bread. Now I’d like to try it in a dutch oven and I”d like to know what size you recommend for the full recipe. Thanks.
Phil Koch
Very easy to make!
Great to hear, Chip!
I love all of your recipes.
Where did you get the whisk you use when mixing bread ingredients?
Thank you, Connie 🙂 🙂 🙂
It’s from Amazon: Flat Bottomed Whisk (the XL size)
Can i bake it as 1 dough?? I don’t want to make it 2.. is that okay?
Yes, definitely! You just need a large enough bowl. I would add 5-10 minutes to the baking time as well.
I love this recipe! I have been making it for years. I probably discovered it not long after you originally posted. It so easy and turns out beautifully every time.
So nice to hear this, Melanie 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for writing. Amazing to read you’ve been making this bread for so many years. Makes me happy.
I have been making this recipe for years. Super easy and great tasting. Now making this for the neighbors in exchange for fresh eggs.
So fun! I would totally trade bread for fresh eggs! Smart. Thanks for writing!
I forgot to add that I made a variation to the recipe using 2 cups flour and 2 cups whole wheat flour.
Oh, wonderful to hear! I do love a little whole wheat flour in my bread these days. Thanks for writing!
Wanted to bake today, but wasn’t in the mood for something sweet. Came across this recipe, and holy cow! It was a hit with my family and me!!! So easy, so good! (I have a pic, but not sure how to post.)
So great to hear this, Laura! Thanks so much for writing and sharing. Unfortunately, we don’t have the ability here for commenters to add photos, but we really should! It would be such a fun addition.
Making it again tonight. Just wanted to add that I have an 18-year old picky eater, and she can’t seem to get enough of this bread! She said (and I quote), “There’s something about the texture of this bread that is so good!”
Awwwww 🙂 🙂 🙂 It’s so nice to read this. There’s nothing like the satisfaction of pleasing a picky eater.
First try was absolutely delicious!! Thank you.
Great to hear, Dot! Thanks for writing 🙂
I think I have left a comment in the past, but I want to say it again. Thank you for this recipe. I have made it many times. Everyone loves this bread. The crust if crisp and the inside pillowy soft. And the taste is fantastic! It has always turned out, even the first time I made it, and I was a new bread baker! I am making it again today to share with more friends. I like that is makes 2 loaves so you can keep one and share one! Thanks again!! Meghan
So wonderful to hear this, Meghan! Thanks so much for taking the time to write (again) and share all of this. I love sharing this bread with friends, too. Have a great night!
I’ve made Jim Lahey’s no-knead bread and the family loved it. Anxious to try this recipe, especially with the seeds. Wondering how it would do if placed in fridge over night immediately after mixing to develop more flavor?
It would work great, Maxim! I’ve done this many many times. It can stay in the fridge for 48 hours, too, but definitely check on it — It may need to be punched down after 24 hours.
Amazing bread!! I helped at the school bookfair and got home around 3:30. I am still shocked that I was able to get fresh bread on the table with dinner at 6:15.
I followed your recipe & instructions precisely (rare for me!) and am glad I did. I got wonderful results that the whole family enjoyed. I’ve been looking for a recipe that would give me a nice, soft sandwich bread like this for a loooong time. I never would have suspected that it would be so quick & easy, too!
I baked in two of the “28 oz large soup bowl” from Corelle & they worked a treat.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!! It will go into our regular rotation (along with your delicious, airy sourdough). Now I’m excited to try some of the variations from your book.
So nice to read all of this, Amanda 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes. Every time I make the peasant bread I am so grateful for the low effort it demands and the big reward it delivers. Glad you approve too. Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes!
Good
Can I make this dough in the morning and bake it later in the day?
Yes! You can do this several ways: You can reduce the amount of yeast to 1 teaspoon, or you can keep the recipe the same and stick the bowl in the fridge immediately after mixing.
Thank you. That’s good to know for the future. If I put the dough in the refrigerator, what’s a reasonable amount of rising time to expect? We love the bread and would like to be able to have it hot for dinner on a working day.
It will rise much more slowly in the fridge, but you can leave it there for as long as 48 hours. It’s possible that if you mix it in the morning and transfer it to the fridge, it might not have enough time to rise, so I might consider doing it the night before, so that it has at least 24 hours. Keep in mind the second rise will take longer because the dough will be cold. I would definitely use the warm oven trick for the second rise so that you are not waiting for hours — do keep in mind that it may still take an hour (or more) even in the warm oven.
I have 10 lbs of White whole wheat flour. Is it Ok to make the bread with that flour??? I have made the Bread many times with regular flour and it always is very good
You can! Just manage your expectations about the texture of the dough… it will be a little bit denser/heavier. I would suggest mixing with some all-purpose flour, but if you’re trying to get rid of that bag of white whole wheat, just go for it.
I would love to try the bread, but do not have any Kosher salt. I know that salts are not all equivalent. Can I use regular salt, or sea salt, and how much would be needed?
Thanks so much. Can’t wait to try it.
Sea salt will be great! No need to adjust the amount.
Thank you for this easy no-knead recipe. Great for those of us with arthritis. Can this dough be frozen after the first rise, like thaw and bake dough products?
Great to hear, JJ! And yes, it can. I would thaw in the fridge overnight; then thaw at room temperature on baking day… when the dough crowns the rim of the bowl, it’s ready for the oven 🙂
Wow. Just wow. In a culture that’s so obsessed with Instagram-worthy/artisan/optimized recipes, there’s something so satisfying about these simple loaves. True to their promise, I started mixing at 2:30 and turned out lovely bread for our soup at 5. Everyone said it was delicious. Thanks for a winner!
Wonderful to hear this, Alisha 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for writing … couldn’t agree more about those sentiments. I am making a double batch today to have on hand for Thanksgiving stuffing.
I’ve made several of your recipes and each one is a delight to make and enjoy! The Peasant Bread is a favorite. I love that I can easily mix it up, let it rise, and bake it. Everyone loves it and I’m proud to serve it to guests!
Yesterday, I made the buttermilk dinner rolls for Thanksgiving and they were perfect!
Thank you so much for all the love and work you put into this cookbook. I’ve recommended it to many friends.
So nice to read all of this, Kathleen! And thank you for your kind words regarding the book, too. Means a lot! Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
I’ve made this bread several times as written. My whole family and extended family all love it and there’s never any leftovers! I shared your link with both my daughters and we’re all happy you posted this recipe. Kudos to you and your sweet mother!
So nice to hear this, JoAnn! Thanks so much for spreading the peasant bread love with your family, and thanks for writing, too. Have a wonderful holiday season!
Good evening. Tonight I whipped up your amazing peasant bread dough and I was letting it rise in a warm spot but something came up and I let it rise for 3 to 3.5 hours instead of just 2 hours. Something came up and I wasn’t able to bake it tonight as planned, so I took the dough, as is, and put it in my refrigerator. I intend to work on it tomorrow. How can I salvage this dough? Did it over proof for its first rise? How would you proceed with this? In general I think I possibly overproof my doughs. In the future, Should I err on the side of shorter (1.5 hours) rather than on the long end (2 hours)? Thank you so much !
Hi! I’m likely too late here. You did the right thing: deflate it; then transfer it to the fridge. The following day, transfer the dough to your buttered bowls and let it rise at room temperature. This second rise will take longer, so rely on visual cues: the dough crowning the rim of the bowl/pan; then bake as directed. Hope you were able to salvage the dough! Let me know if you have other questions.
Good evening. Tonight I whipped up your amazing peasant bread dough and I was letting it rise in a warm spot but something came up and I let it rise for 3 to 3.5 hours instead of just 2 hours. Something came up and I wasn’t able to bake it tonight as planned, so I took the dough, as is, and put it in my refrigerator. I intend to work on it tomorrow. How can I salvage this dough? Did it over proof for its first rise? How would you proceed with this? In general I suspect that I might be a serial overproofer of my doughs, because my loaves often come out gummy and dense rather than light and fluffy. In the future, Should I err on the side of shorter (1.5 hours) rather than on the long end (2 hours)? What else can i do to promote the fluffiness on the inside? Thank you so much!
Hi Ali – how wet should the dough be? My dough is a bit dry, probably due to my flour..whats a good benchmark for how much water the flour needs? Thanks!!
Hi! I would reference the video for dough texture — the dough is definitely on the wet side, but it’s hard to describe in words. What type of flour are you using and are you using a scale?
OMG! This bread is soooo good (and this comes from a parisian bread snob ;-)) and so easy to make. The texture and taste are perfect. The whole family loved it. Thank you thank you!
This is the biggest compliment! So great to hear this, Caroline 🙂 🙂 🙂
Made this today using a dutch oven (followed the variation notes) and it came out amazing! My husband was almost mad at how good it was because he said it would be too tempting to not destroy the whole loaf. This is easily our go-to bread recipe now.
So wonderful to hear this, Mairi! It is shockingly easy, right? Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
I made this this evening and it turned out perfectly. The only glass dish I had that I felt 100% comfortable putting into a hot oven was a 9×9 Pyrex with a 2” edge. The loaf has, ahem, a bit of a boxy look but I was able to bake the entire batch of dough in one go and without any issues. The shape is unconventional but it actually made it a little easier to slice evenly.
I am at 5k+ feet in elevation, by the way, and made no changes whatsoever.
Great to hear this, Jen! The beauty of this recipe is that vessels of ALL shapes and sizes are acceptible 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes. Great to hear that you didn’t have to make any changes at high elevation, too.
I love this recipe! I always try to put my own little spin on things… so I added a zesty herb spice to my mixture! After baking almost fully, I added a handful of shredded cheddar cheese and toasted it on top of the loaf.. it was delicious and very cheesy!
That all sounds amazing, Ben! Thanks so much for writing.
This was finally the simplest bread I’ve actually successfully at. I seemed to be bread Incapable- which is sad because it’s as old as time.
Anyways- my only issue I had was my bread not coming out of the bowl- so I’m hoping if I use crisco
Vs. Butter it’ll still be as good next time.
My butter didn’t so quite its job and I lost the beautiful Crispy bottom to the bowl.
Hard butter season maybe?
So nice to hear this, Veronique! And yes: using softened butter and a generous amount of it is key. Sometimes I’ll melt a small knob of butter briefly — just to get it to that softened, mayonnaise-y texture; then use it to butter the bowls. Bummer about that crispy bottom!
I found your recipe purely by accident. What a wonderful accident. I have been making this bread now for about 6 months. i have made it with various amounts of whole wheat flour and find 1/4 whole wheat to be my fave. I tried with dried veggie flakes, but used too much water, so it was damp and heavy. Tasted great and I used it all. My question is this: I want to add garlic powder to one of the loaves after the first rise. How much garlic powder would be a good starting point. By the way, I have gifted quite a few loaves and everyone loves it as I do.
So nice to hear this, Ted! Thanks so much for writing.
Regarding garlic powder, you can whisk it right in with the flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in step one. Does that make sense? Otherwise, I’m not sure how to incorporate it unless you wanted to melt some butter, stir in the garlic powder, and use this melted butter to grease the bowls with… then you’d get a sort of garlic-butter crust, which would be delicious 🙂
It looks so wonderful … can you please share what temperature to bake the bread at (can’t seem to find that) thank you and rather to try this recipe son
Hi Caroline! For future notice, the time and temperature are given in the recipe above, but in short:
Bake at 425 F (218 C) for 15 minutes; lower oven to 375 F (190 C) and bake for 17-20 min more. You can also bake at 425 F (218 C) for the entire time if it’s not getting too brown.
I love this bread. Make it all the time—for friends and sometimes just because! Is there a cinnamon and raisin version of this? I would love to make a sweet version as well.
Hi Angela! So nice to hear this 🙂 🙂 🙂 I do have a cinnamon-swirl (with the option to add raisins) variation of this bread in my cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs.