My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
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.
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.
6,603 Comments on “My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make”
I love this recipe so much. The flavor is excellent. Thanks!
Great to hear!
Im sorry it thisbhas been asked. I am in the middle of making and sont have time to look through all of the comments.
Instead of splitting the daough can I make one large loaf? I dont have 2 small Pyrex but I do have a cast iron pot that can go in the oven. If I can do that would the cooking times change?
Hi! Likely too late here, but yes, you can bake the dough in one bowl/pan. You’ll need to add about 15 minutes to the cooking time. How did it turn out?
I love this bread. I make it 3x a month.
Is there any benefit to letting the dough sit overnight in the fridge?
You are my go to for bread.
Thank you, John 🙂 🙂 🙂 Means a lot. Regarding the overnight rest in the fridge: you may see a slight improvement in flavor, but otherwise there’s no real reason to do it unless it’s helpful for you in terms of timing.
Do the breads have to be baked in round bowls will it work in loaf pans?
Loaf pans work! See the notes below the recipe or, check out this post: https://cupofjo.com/2022/02/02/found-easy-same-day-peasant-bread-recipe/
Made it for the first time tonight, was a little dense, but I think that may have been my yeast being a bit old. Going to try again in a couple of days.
Regardless of the density, it was absolutely delicious. Warm, with butter and coffee was incredible. Simple recipe with fantastic results.
Great to hear, Ray 🙂 Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes.
I made this bread last night … and I ate half of the loaf with some sweet cream butter shortly after it came out of the oven.
Oh, my dear Lord, what was I thinking? This is NOT on my weight-loss plan!
But what a great recipe! It was so simple to make, and it produced a beautiful, delicious loaf of fluffy goodness. And it was so simple: No-knead bread is amazing. I served slices of it with dinner tonight and my husband loved it.
Thanks for sharing your mom’s recipe. We are all richer (and fatter!) for it!
My entire extended family and I absolutely love this recipe. I have two Pyrex and four Fiestaware 1 qt bowls that are absolutely perfect when I need six loaves for my entire family’s holiday celebrations. Living close to a Fiesta outlet made this a no brainer especially at $5.75 each during their sidewalk sale. Made for one happy baker.
Wow amazing! I’ll have to check out the Fiestaware bowls — that would be such a great option for people looking for a more reasonably priced alternative to the Pyrex bowls. Thanks for writing!
Hello, I’ve made the peasant bread 3 times, love the recipe. My bread never looks domed like in your oven. In fact when tipped out of the bowls the bottom side is jagged. I use the same yeast you use, ideas? Thank you!
Hi! What size bowls are you using? And are you using a scale to measure?
I’ve been meaning to try this for ages….finally managed it today and it’s a great recipe, so easy and the bread is lovely! Very tasty, and other half says I need to add it to my repertoire , which includes your I overnight focaccia already! Thanks very much for sharing!
Great to hear, Barbara! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
Hi! Made this bread yesterday for the first time (the IG video was super helpful) and WOW! Thank you for such an easy recipe! It’s so good! I used a 5 quart Tall Staub Dutch Oven, King Arthur Bread Flour & nice Euro butter. It was a cold day here so it took an hour for the first proof, but it came out perfectly. Dense, yet moist crumb and slightly crunchy crust. Perfect for toast & jam! Any leftover pieces will make great croutons! Next time I’ll try splitting the dough into the Pyrex bowls; although smaller rounds will just be eaten faster in this house : ). Thanks again!
Great to hear, Lisa! Thanks so much for writing and sharing all of your notes 🙂 🙂 🙂
I pre-weigh all dry ingredients into baggies and have them always available. I typically make this recipe 3 or 4 times per week. My family are now anti-store bought bread. I love it!!
Amazing!! Love reading this, and I love this idea so much. Thanks for sharing 🙂 🙂 🙂
I must be blind what the original oven temp before lowering to 375
Just tasted it warm. OMIGOD. I used KAF Keto flour. Have been craving bread!
This it!
Wow, great to hear! I’ve never used that type of flour. Thanks for sharing 🙂
We love this bread! I found these IKEA bowls that are square and work perfectly for nice tall sandwich-size square slices. Or I can do one round and one of these square bowls for slices to freeze. They are on sale now too. Here is the product to search on IKEA:
IKEA 365+
food container
$2.79
41 oz
square/glass
Article no: 403.592.09
Also, in the winter it is difficult for me to find a warm spot, as my stove doesn’t heat up that quickly (one minute) to make a difference. On a whim, I tried my seedling heat mat and it worked perfectly, even in winter. I plug it in as I mix the dough and it works perfectly for the first rise. Not sure if anyone else has mentioned it, but it’s a relatively inexpensive consistently warm source.
Thanks again!
Kristine, thank you so much for all of this! I love your seedling heating mat idea — incidentally, I just ordered one — and for anyone looking for those square bowls, I think this is the right link: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/ikea-365-food-container-square-glass-40359209/
Hi! I love baking the peasant bread in a loaf pan, and make it every week! If I’m baking 1/4 of the recipe in a mini loaf pan, how long does it need to bake for?
I would guess at least 20 minutes. It’s a forgiving recipe, so err on the side of over-baking.
I bake mine the same, 15 min at full temp & 15 min reduced. I use 1/4 of the recipe and do this all the time.
Great to hear, David! Thanks for writing 🙂
I wish this had been in the recipe options. Thank you so much, David, for putting it here in the comments. I love this bread, but for the life of me couldn’t remember how I baked it years ago in the mini loaf tins. Going to make a note now on my recipe. My friends are going to love this bread tomorrow. And, thank you, Alexandra, for sharing it with the world <3.
My pleasure, Judy! Thanks for writing 🙂
This is a FANTASTIC recipe!!! It’s extremely forgiving and very easy to make. I cut the recipe in 1/4th to be adequate for 1 person. To that amount, I added 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning, 1/8 tsp each of garlic powder, black pepper, & onion powder. This last time, I spread it in a 9″x13″ sheet pan and made it like fococcia and lightly sprinkled some kosher salt on top. It was amazing. I’ve made loaves and rolls with it. I think I want to do small bits on the sheet pan to make fresh croutons. I have a set of Revereware stainless bowls with plastic lids. I know that the dough is ready when the lid pops off! GREAT recipe!!!
Wonderful to read all of this, David! I love the lid-popping readiness signal 🙂 🙂 🙂
Love this bread and have made it many times. I would like to know if you have figured out how to add sourdough starter to this recipe? I’m thinking about adding half cup of starter the next time I make it.
The
Hi!
Are you measuring by weight?
If so, simply subtract flour and water accordingly: so if you’re using 100 grams of starter (at 100% hydration), subtract 50 grams each flour and water from the original recipe.
Thank you for this recipe. It’s 👏 amazing.
Great to hear, Mirna! Thanks for writing 🙂
Excited to try this recipe. I saw another comment about letting it sit in the fridge over night. When would I put it in the fridge? After the second rise? Or would I have to let it rise after taking it out of the fridge? Thanks!
I would put it in the fridge after the first rise (after you deflate it) in a sealed container (with room to grow). When you remove it and transfer it to bowls, the second rise will take longer due to its cold temperature.
Mine are in the oven now – I must have done something wrong tho – they’re not rising like yours in the picture. I’m sure it will taste good tho. Made your Focaccia Bread a couple days ago – best bread ever!!
Hi! Was the dough crowning the rim of the bowl before you stuck the bowls in the oven?
I have a question about OVEN temperature…. Is it 350 preheated?…(or needed lower… or higher for bread)… it’s not actually mentioned in your bread- instruction thread!)… I am new to baking bread so just asking for clarity!.. thank you!
This bread starts in a 425ºF preheated oven. Then you lower the temperature to 375ºF after 15 minutes and bake for 17-20 minutes more.
I baked this recipe from your book over the weekend. Turned out flawless. I thought I had forgotten how to bake bread after several failures with recipes from some of the “artisan” bread books that are so popular now. This recipe was super simple and delicious. I’ll be baking my way through your book now.
So nice to read this, Beth 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for writing.
I have to admit I just let people think making bread is always hard- they don’t need to know this is perhaps the easiest thing stool ever bake! So good and rivals anything I’ve had in a restaurant!
🤣🤣🤣 Love it, Paige 🙂 🙂 🙂
I am in love with this bread. I make it all the time. It’s beyond easy and makes any meal seem to be a grand occasion.
Great to hear, Jimmy 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks for writing!
Love this recipe!!!
I found weighing the ingredients gives it better texture! I also rub some butter on top halfway through.
How is it best to store this ?
Great to hear! Store at room temperature in an airtight bag for 3-5 days. Or freeze for up to 3 months. Always toast/reheat before serving on subsequent days.
This is an amazing recipe, I repeat, AMAZING! I’ve made it countless times now, and have even adapted it to make a deep pan tray style topped bread and also have quartered the measurements to make a mini airfryer baked version. Thank you for introducing an easy bread recipe into my life!! Results are super yummy.
Amazing to read all of this, Babs! Thanks so much for writing and sharing all of these ideas.
Hi! I would like to bake this in a dutch oven. I want a crispy crackly crust but i dont want it to be TOO THICK AND CRUSTY… i do like a crispy crust but nothing too drastic.
Should i follow the dutch oven instructions you have specified: preheat 450 for 45 mins, cook covered 30 mins and then 15 mins uncovered? Or should i alter this process so that the crust is golden, crusty, but nothing too thick? As well if i lower the hydration would i be able to score this loaf effectively? What would be a good hydration to go with if i am looking for that scored boule look? Thank you. as always love the site and recipe.
Hi! See my comment below. I really think the Jim Lahey recipe will achieve the traits you are after: it’s crusty but not super crusty. It’s a lower-hydration dough than this one.
I’m also wondering if this recipe will be big enough for my 6qt Dutch oven. Should I do 1.5x? Or is 1 going to be good? I’m considering reducing hydration, as I want a nice round, shapely boule. I also want to get an ear on it . Any tips? Thanks
Hi! I think you’d be better off making Jim Lahey’s no-knead bread if you want a round boule with an ear: Jim Lahey’s Overnight, No-Knead Bread
Can you adapt this for the air fryer? With warm weather, I don’t want to use the oven.
Other people have! I’m just not sure how to advise as I don’t own one.
So sorry,I found the temp. Please disregard my previous email. Can’t wait to try it
Glad you found it!
Made it….easy as pie and effortlessly delicious. Do you have a multigrain version?
Hi! I have a mulitgrain cereal version in my cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs, but if you want to add whole wheat flour, simply swap in 50% whole wheat flour for 50% white flour. The bread will be heavier and denser ultimately, but it will still be tasty.