My mother's peasant bread.

This is the no-knead bread recipe my mother has been baking for 45 years. First to cease, it can be ready in iii 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. 🍞🍞🍞🍞🍞

Two fresh loaves of peasant bread, two glass pyrex bowls, and cooling rack

When I tell you that, if forced, I had to option one and only one recipe to share with you lot that this — my mother'southward peasant bread — would exist 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 noesis at mitt. This bread might just alter your life.

The reason I say this is uncomplicated. I whole-heartedly believe that if you know how to make bread y'all tin can throw one hell of a dinner political party. And the reason for this is because people get insane over bootleg bread. Not one time have I served this bread to visitor without being asked, "Did you actually make this?" And questioned: "You hateful with a breadstuff motorcar?" But always praised: "Is in that location anything more than special than homemade bread?"

And upon tasting homemade staff of life, people human action as if you're some sort of culinary magician. I would even go then far as to say that with homemade staff of life on the table along with a few nice cheeses and a really expert salad, the principal course nearly becomes superfluous. If you nail it, fantastic. If you don't, you have more plenty treats to continue people happy all dark long.

The Magic of the Peasant Breadstuff

So what, you lot probably are wondering, makes this bread and so special when there are then many wonderful bread recipes out there? Again, the answer is simple. For i, information technology's a no-knead bread. I know, I know. In that location are ii wildly popular no-knead bread recipes out there.

But unlike the others, this is a no-knead staff of life that tin can be started at 4:00pm and turned out onto the dinner table at seven:00pm. It bakes in well-buttered Pyrex bowls — at that place 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 staff of life, nor is information technology trying to exist. It is peasant staff of life, spongy and moist with a near-delectable buttery crust.

Genuinely, I would be proud to serve this bread at a dinner party attended by Jim Lahey, Marking Bittman, Peter Reinhart, Chad Robertson, Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. It is a breadstuff I hope yous volition all give a go, also, and and so proudly serve at your side by side dinner party to guests who might ask where you've stashed abroad your bread machine. And when this happens, I hope yous will all merely smile and say, "Don't be silly. This is just a simple peasant bread. Easy every bit pie. I'll show you how to make information technology some day."

Peasant Bread Variations

One time you main 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 pop overnight refrigerator focaccia and this simple homemade pizza dough. It's even the inspiration backside this sourdough focaccia and this sourdough sandwich breadstuff and this simple pita bread recipe.

The below mail is organized as follows:

  • How to Brand Peasant Breadstuff, Pace by Pace
  • The Best Way to Store Staff of life
  • Peasant Bread Dinner Rolls
  • Peasant Bread Sandwich Bread
  • How to Add Seeds and Nuts to Breadstuff 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:

How to Make Peasant Bread, Stride by Pace

First: You lot need yeast.

This is the yeast I purchase exclusively: SAF Instant Yeast. Instant yeast tin be whisked into the flour directly without any blooming or proofing. If yous desire to stick to active-dry out yeast, in that location are instructions in the recipe notes on how to exercise and so. Red Star yeast is great.

One pound block package of saf-instant yeast

Whisk together flour, salt, carbohydrate, and instant yeast. Add lukewarm water.

Overhead view of unmixed dough in mixing bowl

Mix until you lot have a pasty dough ball. Let it rise for i.5 to ii hours…

Overhead view of just-mixed dough in metal mixing bowl

… or until information technology looks like this:

Overhead view of dough, risen

Punch down the dough using two forks.

Overhead view of dough, punched down

And so split the dough down the middle again using the two forks.

Overhead view of dividing the dough in half with two forks

Considering this is a very wet dough, it must exist broiled in an oven-proof bowl. I am partial to the Pyrex 1L 322 size, only any similarly sized oven-proof bowl will work.

Two pyrex bowls stacked on wooden surface

Butter the bowls well; then transfer one-half of the dough to each prepared bow.

Four blocks showing glass bread bowls empty, with butter, and with dough

Let the dough rise again until it crowns the rim of the basin, nearly xxx minutes.

Side view of dough in glass oven-safe baking bowls on top of oven

Transfer the bowls to the oven to broil:

Two loaves of peasant bread baking in oven-safe glass bowls
Side view close-up of peasant bread baking in oven

This bread is irresistible when information technology's freshly baked, but it also makes wonderful toast on subsequent mornings equally well as the best grilled cheese . It's besides my favorite bread to use for these egg salad sandwiches and for this no-tuna "tuna" salad.

Freshly baked peasant bread turned onto cooling rack
A halved loaf of my mother's peasant bread.

The Best Way to Store Staff of life

If y'all want to shop the bread at room temperature for 3 to four days, I call back the all-time method is in a ziplock purse. I've tried other eco-friendly options, but nix seems to proceed bread freshest — the crumb the softest — improve than a ziplock bag. Y'all can re-use the bags again and once more.

If you lot intend to continue the bread for longer, I would freeze information technology. I often slice bread as presently equally it cools completely, transfer the slices to a ziplock purse, then freeze. This mode, I know the bread was frozen at its freshest.

A ziplock bag will not preclude the chaff of bread from turning soft, which is why I suggest always reheating day-onetime breadstuff. I utilize a toaster at breakfast for slices of staff of life, 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.

Just-baked thyme dinner rolls in a muffin tin.

No-Knead Dinner Rolls

To use the peasant bread dough to brand 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-autonomously rolls is also based on the peasant bread as are these brioche pull-apart rolls.

This is a basic sandwich bread, coated in seeds or not—I love the seeds; my children do not, so I make it both ways, and everyone is happy. There are three recipes - I've been keeping two loaves handy for toast and sandwiches, and slicing and freezing the third to have on hand for later in the week. // alexandracooks.com

No-Knead Sandwich Bread

To make sandwich staff of life, multiply the recipe below past 1.5 and broil the bread in ii buttered 8.5×iv.5-inch loaf pans.

Made with half all-purpose flour and half Rex Arthur Sprouted Wheat Flour, these seed-coated sandwich loaves (pictured above) accept a soft and low-cal nibble. I really similar KAF's sprouted wheat flour, which is fabricated from white whole wheat berries that, when sprouted, yield a creamy, sweet, milder-tasting flour. You tin use 100% all-purpose or bread flour for an even lighter loaf or your favorite whole wheat flour in identify of the sprouted wheat flour.

How to Add Basics and Seeds to Bread Dough

To add together seeds and nuts (or dried fruit and cheese), simply stir them into the dry ingredients. This recipe for Quinoa-and-Flax Toasting Breadstuff will offer guidance on how much to add together.

How to Make a Gluten-Free Peasant Bread

Making gluten-free peasant staff of life (pictured to a higher place) unfortunately isn't as simple equally swapping in gluten-costless flour for the wheat flour. But the process and recipe is still super unproblematic — in fact, because there'south only ane rise, many people find the gluten-gratis peasant bread to be fifty-fifty simpler than the original. Find the recipe here: Gluten-Free Peasant Staff of life

Overhead view of two loaves of peasant bread with everything bagel seasoning on cutting board

How to Glaze the Loaves in Seeds

To coat the peasant bread in seeds, as pictured above, simply glaze the bowls with everything bagel seasoning or with dukkah or sesame seeds or whatever seed mix you wish. The seed-coated loaves look and so cute, and it's astonishing how much the flavour of the coating permeates the loaves. Notice the recipe hither: Everything Bagel Seasoning Peasant Staff of life

How to Use Whole Wheat Flour

To use whole wheat flour in the peasant bread, just supersede 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 Manufacturing plant Trailblazer stone-milled flour. With the Trailblazer, I can use up to 75% of it in the peasant staff of life, and it yields a beautiful, chewy texture besides as a lovely flavor and aroma.

When using whole wheat flour, yous may have to use more or less water — there is no rule equally to how much more than or less, and it will take some trial and error to go right because all flours blot h2o differently. When I employ KAF sprouted wheat flour, for case, I don't change the h2o amount at all. When I apply the Trailblazer flour, on the other paw, I reduce the water by at least 50 grams.

If you'd similar to acquire more than about whole wheat flour and stone-milled flours, read this: Like shooting fish in a barrel Sourdough Staff of life (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 lot can broil the peasant bread dough in a preheated Dutch oven.

In that location are detailed instructions below the recipe in the notes section, just i thing to keep in mind earlier you begin is dough hydration. The peasant bread is a very loftier hydration dough, meaning in that location is a lot of h2o relative to flour. Considering 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 — y'all may desire to reduce the water from the beginning. Consider holding back xx-xxx grams of water to make the procedure more manageable for you.

5 Secrets to Foolproof Bread Blistering

Come across how piece of cake bread blistering can be in my free ecourse!

Print

clock clock icon cutlery cutlery icon flag flag icon folder folder icon instagram instagram icon pinterest pinterest icon facebook facebook icon print print icon squares squares icon heart heart icon heart solid heart solid icon

Description

Notes:

The bread:

This is a pasty, no-knead dough, and so, some sort of baking vessel, such equally pyrex bowls (about i-L or 1-qt) or ramekins for mini loaves is required to broil this breadstuff. Run across notes below the recipe for sources. You lot tin can use a bowl that is about 2 qt or two 50 in size to bake off the whole batch of dough (versus splitting the dough in half) just do not employ this size for baking half of the dough — it is too big.

Peasant Breadstuff Fans! In that location is now a book: Bread Toast Crumbs,a loaf-to-crumb bread blistering book, filled with tips and tricks and answers to the many questions that accept 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. Larn more about the book here or buy it here.


  • iv cups (512 g) unbleached all-purpose or staff of life flour
  • 2 teaspoons (10 yard) kosher salt
  • two cups (454 g) lukewarm water (fabricated by mixing 1.5 cups cold water with 0.v cup boiling h2o)
  • 2 teaspoons (eight g) sugar
  • 2 teaspoons (8 k) instant yeast, I love SAF Instant Yeast, encounter notes below
  • room temperature butter, nearly 2 tablespoons

  1. Mixing the dough: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, common salt, carbohydrate, and instant yeast (I honey SAF Instant Yeast). Add the water. Mix until the flour is absorbed. (If you are using active dry out yeast, see notes below.)
  2. Permit it rise. Cover bowl with a tea towel or plastic wrap and ready aside in a warm spot to rise for at to the lowest degree an hour. (In the winter or if you are letting the bread rise in a cool identify, it might accept every bit long equally two hours to rise.) This is how to create a slightly warm spot for your bread to ascent in: Plow the oven on at whatever temperature (350ºF or so) for one minute, then turn it off. Note: Do not allow the oven to get upward to 300ºF, for instance, and so rut at that setting for 1 minute — this will be too hot. Just let the oven preheat for a full of 1 minute — it probable won't get in a higher place 100ºF. The goal is to just create a slightly warm environment for the bread.
  3. Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Grease two 1-qt or 1.v-qt oven-rubber 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 volition be clinging to. As yous scrape information technology down try to pull the dough toward the centre (see video below for guidance). Y'all want to loosen the dough entirely from the sides of the bowl, and you desire to brand sure yous've punched it down. And so, take your two forks and split the dough into 2 equal portions — eye the eye of the mass of dough, and starting from the eye and working out, pull the dough apart with the two forks. And then scoop up each one-half and place into your prepared bowls. This part tin be a fiddling messy — the dough is very wet and volition 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 brand it harder. Information technology's best to scoop it upward fast and plop it in the basin in one fell swoop. Some people similar to use flexible, plastic dough scrapers for this step.
  4. Let the dough ascent again for about xx to 30 minutes on the countertop about the oven (or near a warm spot) or until information technology has risen to merely below or above (depending on what size bowl you are using) the superlative of the bowls. (Notation: Do non practice the warm-oven trick for the second rising, and do non cover your bowls for the second rising. Simply gear up your bowls on peak of your oven, and so that they are in a warm spot. Twenty minutes in this spot normally is enough for my loaves.)
  5. Bake it. Bake for xv minutes. Reduce the heat to 375º and bake for 15 to 17 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and plow the loaves onto cooling racks. If you've greased the bowls well, the loaves should autumn right out onto the cooling racks. If the loaves look a fiddling stake and soft when y'all've turned them out onto your cooling racks, place the loaves into the oven (outside of their bowls) and allow them bake for near 5 minutes longer. Remove from oven and permit cool for x minutes earlier cutting.

Notes

  • The bowls: The cheapest, most widely available 1-qt bowl is thePyrex 322. Update: These bowls are becoming harder to find and more expensive.As a upshot, I'm suggesting this cheaper option: the Pyrex iii-slice set. You can split the dough in half as ever (see recipe) and bake half in the 1-quart bowl and half in the 1.five quart basin. The loaves will not be the same shape, simply they will be delicious however.
  • I sell the 1-qt Pyrex bowls equally office of a kit, which includes a scale, a signed copy of my cookbook, Breadstuff Toast Crumbs , a Dot and Ground forces material bowl encompass, a spatula, and a Julia Child notecard. I also sell the kits without the bowls (if yous already have them).
  • Yeast: I purchase SAF Instant Yeast in majority from Amazon I shop it in my fridge or freezer, and it lasts forever. If you are using the packets of yeast (the kind that come up in the three-fold packets), simply become alee and use a whole packet — It'due south ii.25 teaspoons. I accept made the bread with active dry, rapid rise, and instant yeast, and all varieties work. The beauty of instant yeast is that in that location is no need to "proof" information technology — you can add the yeast directly to the flour. I never use active-dry out yeast anymore.
  • If you have active-dry out yeast on paw and want to use it, hither'southward how: In a small mixing bowl, deliquesce the sugar into the water. Sprinkle the yeast over top. There is no need to stir it up. Let information technology stand for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the mixture is foamy and/or bubbling only a bit — this step volition ensure that the yeast is active. Meanwhile, in a large basin, whisk together the flour and table salt. When the yeast-h2o-sugar mixture is foamy, stir information technology upwardly, and add together it to the flour bowl. Mix until the flour is captivated.
  • Troubleshooting: You tin can find stride-by-step video instruction here.
  • Several commenters have had trouble with the second ascension, and this seems to be acquired by the shape of the basin they are letting the dough rise in the second time effectually. Ii hours for the 2nd rise is too long. If y'all don't have a ane-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 ascension should accept no more than 30 minutes.
  • As well, you can use equally 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, kickoff trying various combinations of whole wheat flour and/or other flours.
  • The unmarried well-nigh important pace you tin can take to make this breadstuff truly foolproof is to invest in a digital scale.This one costs under $10. If you are non measuring past weight, practice this: scoop flour into the measuring cup using a separate spoon or measuring cup; level off with a knife. The flour should exist below the rim of the measuring cup.
  • Hither'south a printable version of this recipes that's less wordy: Peasant Breadstuff Recipe, Simplified
  • How to Broil the Peasant Bread in a Dutch Oven: Preheat a Dutch Oven for 45 minutes at 450ºF. Dust a clean work surface with flour. Afterwards the outset ascension, plough the dough out onto the floured surface and shape it into a ball: I like to fold it envelope fashion from top to bottom, then side to side; so I flip it over and employ the pinkie edges of my easily to pinch the dough underneath and create some tension. Transfer the dough to a sail of parchment paper. Let rest for twenty minutes. If you feel your dough is spreading also much y'all can lift upwardly the sheet of parchment paper, dough and all, and place it in a bowl of a like size. After the xx minutes, transfer the dough, parchment paper and all to the Dutch oven. Advisedly cover it. Bake thirty minutes. Uncover. Bake fifteen minutes more.
  • To bake the peasant bread in a loaf pan: If you are using an 8.5×4.v-inch loaf pan or a 9×5-inch loaf pan, yous can bake iii/4 of the dough in it; bake off the residue of the dough in ramekins or other pocket-size vessels … the mini loaves are so cute. You can also make 1.5x the recipe, and bake the bread in ii loaf pans. If you have a large loaf pan, such equally a 10×half-dozen-inch loaf pan, you tin can bake off the unabridged batch of dough in it. For loaf pans, bake at 375ºF for 45 minutes.
  • How to Bake at Hight Altitude:
  • First attempt the original recipe as written (preferably with a scale). You lot may not need to make any adjustments. One commenter, who lives at 9200 ft finds the original recipe to work simply fine as is.
  • If the original recipe doesn't work, try adding a little fleck more than water considering it rises fast and it is and then dry: virtually a quarter cup for every 512 g of flour.
  • Try decreasing the yeast to ane.v teaspoons.
  • If your dough is especially gooey, try decreasing the h2o by 1/four cup. Only, if you lot aren't using a scale, my first suggestion would exist to buy a scale and counterbalance the flour, and make the staff of life once every bit 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.v hours, punch it downwardly, let information technology rise once again for near an hour, punch it down, then transfer it to the buttered bowls.
  • Variations:
  • #1. Cornmeal. Substitute 1 loving cup of the flour with 1 cup of cornmeal. Go on with the recipe as directed.
  • #ii. Faux focaccia. Instead of spreading butter in ii Pyrex bowls in grooming for blistering, butter one 9×9-inch glass baking dish and one Pyrex bowl or but butter one large 9×xiii-inch Pyrex baking dish. If using ii vessels, divide the dough in one-half and identify each half in prepared baking pan. If using only one big baking dish, identify all of the dough in the dish. Drizzle dough with 1 tablespoon of olive oil (if using the small foursquare pan) and 2 tablespoons of olive oil (if using the big i). 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 xxx 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
  • #v. Everything Bagel Seasoning Bread. Merely coat the buttered bowls with Everything Bagel Seasoning. Watch a how-to on Instagram Stories here.
  • #half-dozen: Whole Wheat Peasant Bread. Use equally much every bit fifty% whole wheat flour. I similar King Arthur Flour'south white whole wheat flour (run across this post) or sprouted wheat flour (run into this mail service).
  • Prep Time: five minutes
  • Melt Time: 32 minutes
  • Category: Bread
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: American

Keywords: piece of cake, bread, elementary, no-knead, peasant