This is one of my favorite bread recipes.
It is delicious. It is fast. And it is flexible to what flavor you want that day.
When dinner is going to be served soon and I realize I would LOVE homemade bread with the meal, but don't have 5 more hours to make it, THIS is the recipe I turn to.
It can be done and on the table in an hour, if needs be, by skimping on the rising time and making it one loaf instead of two. But for the sake of posting the recipe, I'll give you the full directions.
Peasant Bread
Prep time: 5 min Rise Time: 20 min-2 hours Cook Time: 25 min
Ingredients:
2 1/4 tsp yeast (1 packet)
1 Tbs sugar
2 Cups warm water
2 tsp salt
4 cups flour
(oil, butter, and cornmeal)
(optional spices: rosemary, parmesan cheese, Italian Seasonings)
Directions:
1. Mix yeast, sugar, and warm water and allow it to sit for a few minutes.
2. Next add the salt and flour. With this recipe, you do NOT need to add more flour. It will be soft and sticky, I know. Mix together until all incorporated, but do not knead! Isn't that wonderful!
3. Cover and let rise until double. If you are doing a speed method and only want one loaf, skip this first rising.
4. Punch the dough down and split into 2 equal halves (or keep as one if doing the speed method). Place as a rounded mound on oiled cookie sheets, sprinkled with cornmeal. Let rise.
5. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare your bread for baking by making shallow slices in the top of the loaves, in a checker board fashion. Next spread melted butter on the top (or for an Italian taste like at Macaroni Grill, brush with butter or olive oil and sprinkle Rosemary and sea salt on top).
6. Bake for 10 minutes at 425. Then, keeping the bread in the oven, turn the temperature down to 375 degrees and cook for an additional 15 minutes. If you want, spread with more butter before serving.
Delicious! And for an ironic story. Since it makes two loaves at once, I served one for dinner the other day, and took the other to a neighbor who recently moved in. My hubby and I had a great time talking with John, and we got to talking about his most recent trip to his hometown in Ireland and onto his wealthy relatives, the original Monet and Picasso paintings that hang in their homes, and showed us pictures of the family castle still standing on an Irish bluff. Steve and I were blown away. And we all chuckled as after talking of so much wealth and royalty we handed him our homemade Peasant Bread. It was all too fitting!
If you liked this post, you might also like:
Dear Santa,
I am sure mine is not the only household at the moment to be occupied by little elves who are frantically deciding what to put on their lists to Santa. These letters will be sent up the chimney in due time (*ahem*, stored in a secret box to look back on ...
Positive Discipline, the book
Positive Discipline by Jane Nelsen, Ed.D. has sat on my bookshelf for 3 years now, and every time I looked at it I could hear the voice of my friend who gave it to me, "This is a great book. It'll really change the way you discipline your kids." Three...
Best Kitchen Organizer
I am notorious for writing down names, numbers, notes, what-have-you on random pieces of paper and then losing them. Luckily, a few years ago, I came up with a plan that changed all of that. It's my favorite organizer...A simple whiteboard on the fridge. ...
So I have made this twice. Both times I had flat bread! The second I bought new yeast, bc I thought that was the problem… What am I doing wrong?!
Oh, I’m sorry to hear that! I have no idea why that is happening to you! I make this practically every week, as bread, breadsticks, pizza crust, bread bowls, etc. and have never had a problem. However I do use a full tablespoon of yeast, though that wouldn’t make the difference between flat and raised bread. First, with your new yeast, have you used it in other things and found it to work? When you add the water to the yeast and sugar, does the yeast foam and grow? If not, then either the yeast is no good, which would be a shame with new yeast, or the water you’re putting in is too hot. If the yeast is foaming and growing well, then perhaps you are not giving it enough time to rise. While it doesn’t have to rise, per se, it will result in a lighter bread. Please let us know what you find!
salt is known to kill active yeast. It helps to mix it into the flour first and then create a small well in the middle of the flour mixture to pour the warm yeast mixture into. Also, water that is too hot will also kill the yeast. One recipe I saw uses 1/2 C boiling water and adds 1 1/2 C cold. She says this is the perfect temp. I use hot tap water but not scalding and it usually works well for me.
Pingback: Potato (Plus extra veggies) Soup | Five Real Moms
I did it! I made this to go with spaghetti last night, and it was great. So easy, and very good. Thanks, Kerri!
This is perfect! So many times I want bread with dinner but don’t have the time. Can’t wait to try this recipe!