Even more experienced bread bakers will be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to make this delectable loaf of bread and how tasty it is with a minimum of effort. I’ve been baking up this bread more and more often because it doesn’t require an entire day to make. And not having to knead the dough is a real bonus too! I was doubtful a technique this easy could actually produce a good quality loaf of bread. You basically stir together the ingredients, let it rise, and bake it up. Brushing it with melted butter and a sprinkle of Kosher salt as you pull it out of the oven makes it extra special. That’s all there is to it…so easy peasy!!! The hardest part? Waiting for the loaf to cool off before slicing into it.
Most recipes I find online make two loaves of bread. With only 3 of us that’s a lot of bread to get through before it goes bad. And being the bread snob I am, I prefer freshly baked bread. If I’m going to go to all the trouble of baking bread, I want if fresh! It really is the best the day it’s baked. So, what’s a girl to do? I did what I aways do, I started tinkering around with a few recipes I found online and playing with proportions until I had one that makes just one utterly delicious, lovely loaf of bread.
After a few tries I was pleasantly surprised at with how light and fluffy this loaf turned out. Look at all those nice, evenly sized little air pockets. The interior of the loaf is soft and fluffy, not dense or heavy at all. The crust has a good salty, chewy bite to it. The salted, buttery topping makes this easy-to-bake loaf utterly irresistible! I love that there is no kneading involved. If you can stir ingredients together, you can easily make this bread and get the same excellent results. This is the perfect loaf of bread to bake if you are a complete newbie to baking bread at home and have never attempted it before.
Place 2 cups of all purpose flour in a large mixing bowl.
Add 1 teaspoon of yeast, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of sugar to the bowl. Stir to combine the dry ingredients together.
Add the warm water to the bowl. The water should be around 100 degrees, no hotter or you risk killing the yeast.
Stir to combine into a wet dough. This will only take a minute or so. You will end up with a very sticky dough.
I have a Danish dough whisk and it makes stirring the dough together quick and easy. If you don’t have one, you can certainly use a wooden spoon instead.
Cover with a towel and place the bowl in a warm location. Allow the dough to rise for 2 hours.
In the winter, during the colder months, I always place the bowl of dough in my oven and turn on the light. It creates the perfect warm and cozy environment that gets the yeast going really good. Don’t turn the heat on, just the light!
Look how much the dough increased in size after 2 hours. It more than doubled in size. It’s magical how the yeast increases the size of the dough.
Use a fork to scrape the dough away from the sides of the bowl. Turn the bowl a little at a time pulling and stretching the dough with the tines of the fork from the outside edge of the bowl towards the center as you work your way all the way around the bowl.
Pour about a teaspoon of olive oil in a small oven safe mixing bowl. Smear it around with your hands to coat the inside of the bowl with the olive oil.
The oil on your hands will keep the dough from sticking to them as you transfer the dough.
Transfer the dough into the greased bowl.
Cover and allow the dough to rest for another 30 minutes on your kitchen counter.
While the dough is resting for 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 425℉. You want the oven really good and hot before the bread goes in.
Remove the dish towel and place the bowl of dough in the oven and bake it at 425° for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375° and bake the loaf for another 25-30 minutes or until the loaf is a rich golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped with your finger.
Remove from the oven and brush the top of the loaf with melted butter.
Sprinkle with some Kosher salt. You could use any large flake finishing salt like a Maldon Sea Salt, or a coarsely ground Pink Himalayan salt would also be a delicious option.
Allow the loaf to cool for 30-45 minutes before removing it from the bowl and slicing it.
Delicious slathered with soft creamy butter!
Why would you buy a loaf of bread at the store ever again when you can easily bake one at home that’s a hundred times better than the store bought loaves. You could easily spend $4 to $5 for a loaf like this at the store. It will cost you just a few pennies to make it at home. This dough also bakes up into an awesome sandwich loaf of bread.
TIP: Bake up the dough in a greased 9 inch loaf pan instead of a round bowl. Slice it and use to make sandwiches for lunch all week.
This is the loaf to try if you’ve been hesitant about baking bread. I know the whole yeast thing and kneading and proofing can be very intimidating. It stopped me from baking bread for years. This easy method will get you familiar with working with a yeast dough and once you are comfortable with it you’ll feel more confident trying more complicated bread baking recipes and techniques. But honestly, this recipe produces such a lovely loaf of bread, it may well become your go to bread recipe. It produces such a flavorful tasty loaf; your family will love it! Go on, give it a try. Once you pull your first loaf out of the oven and take your first bite, you’ll be hooked, I promise! There’s so much satisfaction gained with baking a loaf of bread you made all by yourself, completely from scratch. You can do this!!!
Peasant Bread
Equipment
- oven safe bowl
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tbsp butter, melted
- pinch Kosher salt
Instructions
- Place flour in a large mixing bowl.
- Add yeast, salt, and sugar. Stir to combine.
- Add warm water to the bowl and stir to combine. You will end up with a very sticky dough.
- Cover and place bowl in a warm location. Allow dough to rise for 2 hours.
- After 2 hours use a fork to scrape the dough away from the sides of the bowl, pulling and stretching the dough with the tines of the fork from the edges towards the center.
- Pour about a teaspoon of olive oil in a small oven safe mixing bowl. Coat the inside of the bowl with the olive oil using your hands.
- Transfer the dough into the greased bowl.
- Cover and allow dough to rest for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 425℉.
- Bake loaf at 425° for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375° and bake loaf for another 25-30 minutes, until loaf is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.
- Remove from the oven and brush the top of the loaf with melted butter.
- Sprinkle with Kosher salt.
- Allow loaf to cool for 30-45 minutes before removing from the bowl and slicing the loaf.
Did You Make This?
Be sure to snap a pic and tag it #naturewayblog I love, love, love hearing from my readers! Please, don’t forget to leave a comment and a review below, and tag me on INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, or TWITTER!
May I ask a small favor? If you enjoyed this blogpost would you be so kind and like the page? Just click the “like” button down at the very bottom, at the end of the post. It lets me know what you are enjoying the most. It also helps me focus my attention on creating content that will be most meaningful and beneficial to you, my readers. And don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so you never miss out on all the latest that’s happening here at Nature Way. Thank you and God bless!
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:17
Remember…Jesus ❤️’s you!