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 homemade 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 4:00 pm and turned out onto the dinner table at 7:00 pm. 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 simple pita bread recipe and these no-knead dinner rolls.
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 and sandwiches of all kinds.
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 below). This recipe for no-knead buttermilk pull-apart rolls is also based on the peasant bread recipe.
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 (no longer available unfortunately), these seed-coated sandwich loaves (pictured below) have a soft and light crumb.
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 below) isn’t as simple as swapping in gluten-free flour for wheat flour. But the process is still relatively simple — in fact, because there’s only one rise, many people find the gluten-free peasant bread recipe 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 below, 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’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 the Trailblazer flour, for example, 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. I love my Lodge Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Double Dutch Oven which I’ve been using for years! The Lodge is a great value at around $49, but if you like the idea of making an oblong-shaped peasant loaf, I can’t recommend the Challenger Bread Pan enough, which costs $299. The placement of the handles makes for easy removal and closure of the lid, and it creates beautiful, crusty loaves every time.
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 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 onecosts 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.
- #6: Whole Wheat Peasant Bread. Use as much as 50% whole wheat flour.
- 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.
6,615 Comments on “My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make”
Hello! I have made this bread several times and it has been wonderful every time. I was wondering if you have nutritional information for the basic recipe?
Made this 2times so far , plain, everything but the bagel,and sesame. They are all delicious and my son ( who is a chef ) asked me to make him some. Thank you
Awwww what a compliment! Great to hear all of this. Thanks for writing 🙂
6 degrees out, can’t think of a better way to warm up the house. Easy and satisfying.
Great to read this, Maureen 🙂 🙂 🙂 Stay cozy!
I had a question. I made this tonight and followed the recipe EXACTLY. Mine was pale and never browned. Any reason you think? It tasted amazing but the look was nothing like the video.
Any chance you used bleached flour?
Made two loaves with everything bagel coating in loaf pans. Did as you instructed and mixed 1.5 of the recipe. This bread is so easy and so good. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Great to hear, David! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
I am thrilled with this recipe, my bread turned out perfect, thank you so much, I make two and I give one away!
Love this, Marian! Thanks for writing 🙂
This recipe is easy enough to be made with one hand (literally as I have a broken wrist right now). I baked it in a loaf pan, which rose beautifully. I used the proportions from Cup of Jo, though I might scale them up slightly as I used a 9×5 and want an ever higher crown. The texture reminds me of english muffin bread (another high hydration “dough”). Wonderful flavor and great crust on all sides from the butter and loaf pan sides. It was great warm out of the oven, at room temp, and toasted.
Great to hear, Caitlin! So sorry about your wrist! But that is very very encouraging for others 🙂 🙂 🙂 Hope you heal soon. And yes, totally similar to English muffin bread.
I had my bread rising in the cold oven and it looked beautiful. I took it out to put it in the lower, hot oven and it seemed to deflate. It also has not risen while baking. What happened?
Hi Mary, it sounds as though it over proofed in the cold oven. Was the oven light on? Regardless, if the dough deflated when you transferred it, it over proofed. Next time, you can re-ball the dough, and let it rise again at room temperature before putting it in the oven.
Has anyone ever used whole wheat or white wheeler berries and grind fresh flour for this recipe? Did you have to make any adjustments? Thank you
I just made this recipe tonight with freshly milled soft white wheat. I used my scale to measure ingredients, since freshly milled flour is not as packed as store bought. It was great! Mine was a little more moist and slightly more dense than when I’ve made it with APF. Next time I might either bake it a little longer or reduce the water a tad.
Great to hear, Jennifer! Thanks for writing and sharing your notes. Freshly milled flour is so tasty and will provide so much aroma and nutrition, but yes, it will make for a denser loaf. Good luck with the next experiments.
I love, love, love your recipe! I got your book as a Christmas gift and have made the bread four times already, and it has turned out great every time. Thank you. My question is: what suggestions do you have for making croutons with leftover peasant bread?
I tried making my usual crouton recipe with your bread, but the bread was either still too fresh or I didn’t let it dry out enough because the croutons were great and crispy right out of the oven, but the next day, having been stored in a plastic container with a tight lid, the croutons were chewy. Any tips?
Great to hear Tom! For croutons, I toss the cubed or torn bread with a good amount of olive oil and salt and then bake them. See on page 198 in the book the recipe for the stuffing. That first step — that’s how I make croutons. I have to say, I don’t know that there is a way to prevent the croutons from getting chewy the next day with this method. I think if you want really dry croutons that stay dry, you have to cook the bread slowly at a lower temperature. See the Melba Toast recipe in the book. Hope that helps! Thanks for writing 🙂
This is the best bread recipe I have ever come across! On my 3rd batch as the family cant get enough of it! Thank you as it’s now become a staple in my household!!
Great to hear! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
I was wondering if you bake this off in one bowl how long would you bake i instead of dividing it into two? I made it yesterday and we really like it a lot. Thank you so much for sharing.
Hi Cathy! Once you lower the temp to 375ºF, I would bake it for 30 minutes, so 45 minutes total. Does that make sense? Enjoy!
Your peasant bread is wonderful! I’ve made it several times as written, and each time it is perfect. My question is this. After the first rise of one hour or so, can I refrigerate it overnight and finish baking it in the morning? If so, do I divide it into two bowls BEFORE I put the dough in the refrigerator or after I take it out in the morning? Thanks for your response!
Hi Marie! Great to hear, and yes, you can do this! Don’t divide the dough till after you remove it from the fridge. And before you put it in the fridge, deflate it, and be sure the bowl is covered with a lid or plastic wrap to ensure the dough does not dry out.
Yes! I made this bread. This was only my second time making bread and this one was far better. Not sure where I got the other recipe but I’ll be making this one often.
The difference, I believe, was that I did NOT use a mixer for the dough. I used the oven trick for the first rise (I used a yeast packet this time). I punched it down with salad forks and most of all, used melted butter to coat the sides and bottoms of the loaf pans. I didn’t have Pyrex bowls. So I used one Pyrex loaf pan and one double walled Aluminum pan. Both worked fine.
And while they were still slightly warm, what was left, I placed them into plastic freezer bags and they were still nice and soft this morning. Great! Next time I’m going to try it with Semolina flour
Great to read all of this, Skip! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes 🙂 🙂 🙂
Can I make a half batch with this recipe? I had this at a friends and it was delicious.
Yes!
I just made one loaf (half recipe) of the Peasant Bread. It is so good. I have to confess I have made it several times before, but it has been a while. Thank you for reminding me about it. I am still waiting for a new oven to complete my remodeled kitchen, so I baked it in my Breville Smart Oven and it worked out fine.
I’m looking forward to the rest of your Bread Baking emails!
Wonderful to hear this, Vickie! And so funny: when we were renovating our kitchen, I too was baking the peasant bread in my toaster oven. Hope the renovations are going smoothly… it will all be worth it in the end!
I made this lovely bread for supper tonight, Beef Stew. I used everything seasoning on one of the loaves and left the other plain. I did switch out 1 cup of white flour for 1 cup of whole wheat.
Great to hear, Rolanda! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
Oh my goodness!!! I am NOT an experienced or good cook. I don’t really even like it. But I made this yesterday and it was AMAZING!!! I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out so good. I was really proud! 😂.
Thanks for such an amazing and doable recipe! I’m making it again today to give some to my daughter!!!!❤️
Great to read all of this, Anne! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂 Happy happy baking!!
Id like to thank you again for the bread recipe I have not bought bread in six months its the best and the more I make the better I get. I keep getting asked for the blue prints lol and I tell people to go here again thank you
Great to hear, Stephen 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for writing and sharing the peasant bread love!
I cut your recipe down to 4½ oz Flour,
½ tsp Kosher Salt,
½ tsp Sugar,
½ tsp Instant Yeast,
4 oz Lukewarm Water, to create a loaf that makes a very hearty sandwich or a small loaf for 2 to split with dinner. The 1st time, I made it in a 3″x3″ square dish and it rose a lot, but didn’t fall – it came out perfectly, exactly as your pictures show, and those pictures, as good as they are, don’t do justice to the loaf. It has a sourdough texture without the sourdough taste. This will make an awesome French dip when it’s cut into slices – it holds together that well. The 2nd time I made it, I added 1/16 tsp of garlic powder and 1/16 tsp black pepper (I should have added 1/8 tsp black pepper), and it had just enough garlic to tell it was there, but not a terrible amount. I can’t wait to try it with onion powder for an onion loaf. Yes, I’m ranting and raving about the recipe! Thank you for posting it!
So fun, David! Thanks so much for writing and sharing your proportions for the mini loaf! I have a small pan that will work with this. Will try. Thanks!
I love this recipe! The crust is crunchy and the crumb is tender. It’s fairly forgiving, sometimes I let it rise for hours because I get caught up doing something but the bread always turns out great. I have noticed that my dough never seems to be as wet as the recipe describes but that’s probably my inaccurate measuring. As I said, it always turns out great. I increased the sugar to 3 tsp so that it was a little closer to store bought bread flavor while we wean off the store bought stuff.
Great to hear, Indi! Thanks so much for writing and sharing all of this. You can always add a little bit more water if the dough is not as wet as what you’re seeing in the photos/videos, but if you are happy with the results, don’t change a thing 🙂
Just making this loaf now. Love the simplicity of it.
Thanks 🙏
Great to hear, Jeanette 🙂 🙂 🙂
Wonderful! I cut the recipe down to 3/4 to bake in one bread pan… as someone with very limited experience baking, this recipe was super easy! Currently enjoying it with some curry and rice.
Great to hear, Tereza! Thanks for writing and sharing your notes 🙂
I am floored, this bread is amazing and SO easy to make! I ended up making it in a loaf pan and only had active dry yeast, but I followed your instructions and it was perfect & moist and just delightful.
Great to hear, Nicola! Thanks so much for writing 🙂
Hello. I have everything together and ready to make this amazing looking bread. However, plans have changed and I’m wondering if I can do the first rise then put it in the refrigerator to bake about 6 hours later. I hope you or another baker can answer quickly. Thanks so much!
Yes, absolutely, go for it!
Thank you for such a timely reply to my question about baking after being refrigerated for 6 hours. I forgot to ask how long after refrigerating would I let it sit on the counter to come to room temp before transferring to my baking bowl and then how long to let rise before baking. I am making one recipe in a 2 quart pyrex bowl. This is my first bread attempt. Thank you for walking me thru it☺️
Once you remove it from the fridge, provided it has been in there for 6 hours, you should be able to deflate it right away, and transfer it to your buttered bowl. The second rise will take a little longer because the dough will be cold: be patient. Wait until the dough crowns the rim of the bowl. This may take an hour or more. If it takes less time, you can transfer it to the oven.
Good luck!
OMG….. I made your bread yesterday…… it is by far the best one out there. I make bread a lot especially in the winter, but your mother’s peasant bread is outstanding we just love it. This is absolutely my go to bread from now on. Thanks for the recipe. It’s wonderful!!!!
I made your bread yesterday…… it is by far the best one out there. I make bread a lot especially in the winter, but your mother’s peasant bread is outstanding we just love it. This is absolutely my go to bread from now on. Thanks for the recipe. It’s wonderful!!!!
Great to hear, Joanne! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
First ever attempt at bread at 50 years old. It’s edible! I’m so proud of myself sounds ridiculous but bread is such a hard thing to make ( in my head) thank you!!!
Great to hear, Maggie!
Sooo easy to make, and sooo delicious! I used 50/50 APF and bread flour from King Arthur. I also added cranberries and nuts.
Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Great to hear, Tina! Thanks for writing and sharing your notes 🙂