Easy No-Knead Peasant Bread
This easy no-knead peasant bread is a game changer! Incredibly simple to make, it is soft, fluffy, and so delicious. We can’t stop making it!
I have been so excited to get this bread recipe in front of you. I’m not even exaggerating, not one little bit, when I say it has revolutionized homemade bread around here.
I’ve made it (easily) at least ten times in the last month. I’ve served it to company. Brought it to friends. Made it just because I wanted to eat homemade bread at 1:28 p.m. It is amazing.
No-Knead Bread is Not New
The no-knead bread trend is not new by any means. Wet, loose doughs formed into shaggy loaves and baked (most often) in a Dutch oven have been around a long time.
I have several recipes like that on my website already, like this artisan no-knead bread and this fantastic rustic crusty bread.
But this peasant bread is different and amazing enough to occupy its own spot here on the blog. For starters:
- it’s easier and a bit more straightforward than other no-knead bread recipes
- you don’t need a Dutch oven or baking stone for baking
- it can be baked in a variety of every day baking pans
- it doesn’t need long rising times
The crumb is soft and fluffy, and the crust is golden with just the perfect amount of bite and crustiness without cutting up the roof of your mouth.
How to Make Peasant Bread
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Add the water, and stir until no dry streaks remain.
It’s going to form a shaggy mass, and it’s going to be sticky. That’s exactly how you want it! Resist the urge to add more flour.
Grabbing a pinch of dough will leave a fair amount of sticky dough residue on your fingers.
Keeping the dough on the wet side of things is what allows us to skip any kneading and still end up with soft, fluffy bread.
Leave the dough right there in the bowl, cover the bowl, and let rise until doubled.
Once it is super puffy, grab a rubber spatula and start scraping the risen dough away from the sides of the bowl to form a messy ball in the center of the bowl.
How to Shape Soft Sticky Dough
Now for the fun part.
It can be a bit messy trying to shape soft, sticky dough like this into a loaf shape. A few tips:
- remember that it’s supposed to be kind of rustic, so ditch the idea of a perfectly shaped loaf
- grease your hands (cooking spray or oil); it makes a world of difference
- handle the dough quickly and efficiently – manhandling the dough will result in an epic dough bomb and lots of frustration
Here’s a quick video of how I shape this dough into a circle. I’m just lifting, rolling, and tucking a few times until it forms a pretty decent round shape.
Notice that my hands still end up with a bit of dough on them at the end. Feel free to use more cooking spray or oil, if needed. But don’t stress! It’s all part of the journey.
Best Pans to Use for Peasant Bread
The original peasant bread recipe calls for baking in oven-safe bowls (like Pyrex or others). Based on a traumatic experience in my past when my Pyrex bowls shattered coming out of the oven, I was determined to find a non-bowl solution for baking this bread.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t use a bowl for baking, I’m just letting you know I’ve come up with several fantastic alternatives that you probably already have in your kitchen.
After baking this bread in a Dutch oven, on a baking stone, in a round cake pan, and several other pan types, I’ve settled on the baking pan that works amazingly well and produces a loaf that is PERFECT.
A 9-inch pie plate.
The sides of the pie plate help stabilize the shape of the loaf as it rises and helps prevent the dough from spreading out and flattening.
The peasant bread bakes up beautifully in a 9-inch pie plate! It’s what I use 99% of the time when I bake this bread. And in case I haven’t made it abundantly clear: I have made this bread so.many.times. Like, you can really trust me on this one.
A metal pie plate works just fine, too. In fact, it actually gives a crustier exterior to the bread than a glass pie plate.
And, this bread bakes very well in a loaf pan, too. When shaping, go for more of a rectangle shape (but don’t over think it). Plop the loaf in a greased loaf pan, and get ready for some of the best bread of your life.
Best Bread Ever
I cannot overstate how amazing this easy, no knead peasant bread is. I want to beg, plead, bribe, force you to make it right this minute!
You’ll get all the rock star points for homemade bread with hardly any work. And you aren’t sacrificing anything in the name of it being an ultra-easy recipe. It is straight up some of the most delicious homemade bread ever.
I find myself turning to this bread recipe constantly now that I know it exists. It’s become our go-to bread for just about everything. Perfect for beginner and expert bread makers alike, please promise me you’ll make it soon!
One Year Ago: Mel’s Holiday Gift Guide: His + Hers
Two Years Ago: Perfect Homemade Caramel Apples
Three Years Ago: Perfect Small Batch Cinnamon Rolls
Four Years Ago: Easy Homemade French Bread
Five Years Ago: Harvest Pasta Sauce {Trader Joe’s Copycat}
Six Years Ago: Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake with Chocolate Cookie Crust
Seven Years Ago: Gourmet Caramel Apples + Free Printable Handout
Eight Years Ago: Black Bean and Butternut Enchilada Skillet
Nine Years Ago: Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ten Years Ago: Pumpkin Cookies with Caramel Frosting
Easy No-Knead Peasant Bread
Ingredients
- 4 cups (568 g) all-purpose flour (see note)
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt (see note)
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast (see note)
- 2 cups warm water
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the flour, salt, sugar, and yeast. Whisk to combine. Add the water and mix with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until the ingredients form a shaggy, sticky ball and no dry streaks remain.
- Cover the bowl and let the dough rise until doubled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
- Place an oven rack in the center position. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Generously grease a 9-inch pie plate or 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. (See note for other pan sizes/options.)
- Scrape the dough away from the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, forming a rough ball in the center of the bowl. Lightly grease your hands with cooking spray or oil and shape the dough into a circle loaf shape (or a rectangle loaf shape if using a loaf pan), tucking edges under. Place in the prepared pan. The loaf will not be completely smooth and may look a bit rough in shape, that's ok!
- Let the dough rest, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes until slightly puffy.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees F and continue to bake for 15-20 minutes until golden.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from a recipe, Katherine B., a longtime reader sent me (thanks, Kat!) – originally from this recipe at Food52 and adding a link to Alexandra Stafford’s blog with lots of variations (I adapted it to use a pie plate or loaf pan for baking, and increased the flour and yeast amounts slightly)
Looks good, I am going to try and make a loaf.
I made a loaf and it turned out great, using a “poor-man’s Dutch oven” introduced by Steve at nokneadbreadcentral.com
However, it was necessary to use a 9.25×5.25 sized loaf pan since there was way too much dough for an 8.5×5 pan.
We make this a few times a week. It’s memorized by multiple people in the family. Always turns out perfectly. Makes amazing toast the next day if there’s any left. I’ve doubled it without a problem. Doesn’t get any better than this easy side for a meal to fill teenagers’ bellies.
Love this recipe. Very nice for a bread making newbie. I made some adjustments to the timing as I made it in a toaster oven.
I live on a sailboat fulltime, this is a gally friendly recipe for sure. Thanks very much.
That’s amazing, Todd!
FYI I use an 8×8 metal brownie pan as it’s what I have. Worked great.
I’m a bread newbie, and this is definitely my new go-to, fool proof recipe. It turns out great every time!! Thanks, Mel.
I followed the directions, the dough rose as it should. I baked it in a pie pan. The baked bread is nice and golden brown, but the inside is not white as pictured, but more grayish. Did I do something wrong?
What brand/type of flour did you use, Gina?
The easiest softest, best bread I’ve ever made. So simple. Going to make another loaf now. Back to the basics is the best. Making my daughter a loaf too.
Great
This is my go-too sourdough recipe because my husband loves it and it is quick.
So easy and the family loved it! It made great Crusty grilled ham and cheese sandwiches!
love it…so easy! I forgot to wisk the ingredients the first time I made it..still perfection! I’m making it again as we speak and cannot wait to eat it! It’s like baking bread for dummies yet I feel so accomolished so glad I stumbled upon this recipe! thank you!
I’ve used instant and original yeast (i do not mix it separately and let it sit) and I also use kosher sea salt. I did not increase the salt amount as stated in the author’s notes and it comes out perfect every time. I highly recommend (and have shared) this recipe to others. I just wish I could leave a photo.
I have made this one many times now with some variations from time to time. Our favorite is with a quarter cup of parmesan cheese added along with a generous tablespoon of everything but the bagel seasoning. I add more of that seasoning to the top before I bake. Love it.
I make this bread all the time. It is one of my families favorites. Things to remember – it is a very sticky, wet dough. I very often choose to not form it just kind of dump it into the pan and it works. I refer to the directions in Mel’s no knead sour dough peasant loaf recipe ( I’m not using sour dough just following a few of the directions from that recipe). This last week I was convinced it was going to be awful due to the wetness level, but I had used all 4 cups of flour called for and didn’t have enough to add more. I let it rest put it in the oven knowing it was going to be awful. Later, at dinner my family declared it my best loaf yet. It was light, airy, and delicious
Hi there. This bread turned out a flop for me. However I know it’s someone don’t. I keep my house cool so I use the proof on my oven with the door open to speed up the process. It rose just fine but was very wet and sticky so I added flour and I’m getting ready to bake a pancake lol. Will it rise in a cool house? Or do I just need to add a bit more flour in the beginning? Thanks for your time. I’m determined here:)
Hi Holly, try adding a bit more flour to start. Maybe another 1/4 to 1/3 cup? Maybe even 1/2 cup if it was super sticky.
I had my doubts, because breadmaking is almost always disastrous for me. But this was so easy! So quick! So delicious! I couldn’t believe it. I’m not going to call it a “no fail” recipe, because I suppose it must be possible to blow it. However, I think you’d have to try hard.
I’m making another loaf right now, to go with this evening’s soup. And I know it will be perfect. So, thank you!
Tried the recipe following it exactly except I used bread flour. I weighed the flour @ 120g per cup for a total of 480g
Used a metal loaf pan. The loaf turned out absolutely perfect with a thin crisp crust. The crumb was uniform with a mild taste and spongy texture. After it cooled it was quite easy to slice using a serated bread knife. Made lovely toast as well. So easy, I highly recommend.
Not blaming the recipe. Maybe it’s me? I followed to the letter and my dough was WAY too wet and wouldn’t form into a ball. Just a sticky clump. Help?
Hi Diane, try adding another 1/4 to 1/2 cup flour to the dough. That should help! Could be humidity, elevation or how we measure flour differently that might make a difference.
Thanks for this recipe, which I will give a try today. However, I note that the weight of the flour for the cups is off. Gram weight of flour is typically 120g per cup (30g per 1/4 cup). You have 568 grams for 4 cups. (v. 480)
Hi Leisa, the grams in the recipe are correct. I test all my recipes using 142-145 grams of flour per cup. There is no standardized grams of flour per cup (for instance, King Arthur Flour uses 100-125 grams of flour per cup and America’s Test Kitchen uses 140-145 grams of flour per cup). I’ve found that the 142-145 grams of flour per cup best approximates home cooks measuring flour into a cup and it is the most foolproof weight. I recommend always using the amount of grams listed in an individual recipe as it has been tested that way (even if it differs from the weight measures someone has used in the past). Hope that helps!
i bake a lot of bread. This one was terrible. if you need a weight to hold something down, its perfect. was like a cannonball.
Excellent results…I wanted No Knead bread that would toast well & this 100% passed the test.
I used bread flour & was very satisfied & will definitely make again. I’m gonna try smaller loaves.
Mel, I LOVE this recipe, as do my friends and family! I was wondering. . . if I mixed up the dry ingredients (flour, salt, sugar, yeast) and gave the dry mix as a gift with the instructions on how to make the bread, do you think the dry ingredients would play nicely together and be okay in that form? I am mostly wondering about mixing the yeast in. . . I’m assuming without water in the mix, it will stay fine, but thought I would ask your opinion.
Thank you!!
This is a great idea, Meg! I think it should be just fine as long as it is stored at a cool-ish temp and doesn’t get overly warm.
Have made this recipe numerous times. Usually sub 1/2 whole wheat flour for the all purpose. Often let it rise overnight in the refrigerator, then shape it into a pie plate or loaf pan. Second rise is a bit longer, but it’s a way to get a head start on bread making in the morning. Since there are only 2 in our household, I like to slice it up and wrap it up tightly and freeze. Take out slices as needed. It’s especially yummy toasted with butter and homemade jam!
Oops!! Please disregard my last comment about the yeast. Just finished reading through the comments and realized that has been “very well” addressed before.
Thanks again, Mel, for this amazing recipe. When you’re making bread that tastes this good and is this easy – who cares if we have to open another packet of yeast or not!!!