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!
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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)
Amazing! I mixed it up this morning and let it rise while I was working. Put it in the oven and it came out perfect. I may or may not be the only thing I ate for lunch. Thank you for another wonderful recipe!
5 STARS from family if 7!!!!
Hello! I made your recipe with active dry yeast and bread flour. The bread came out perfectly. It was delicious!
This bread is delicious and easy to make. Dinner time is chaos at my house. This bread is so simple to make. So it made dinner time much less chaotic. Thanks so much!!!
I am terrible at returning to write a review, but I had to on this one! I’ve make this bread more in the last two weeks than I have any other recipe in my life It is seriously amazing, and I can’t believe how quick and simple it is. I’m convinced my 8 year old could do it!
This was so delicious and so simple! I got a little nervous when I put it in the pie plate and it looked pretty shaggy and sticky. But I trusted Mel, and resisted adding more flour, and it came out perfectly! This will be a go-to recipe for weeknight dinners. Thank you!
This bread was very tasty and super simple to make. I did have a problem with it sticking to the pan though. Next time I’ll line the pan with parchment paper. I’ll also probably up the salt a bit.
I just pulled this out of the oven, and it looks delicious, but am curious if you cool it in the pan or remove from the pan to cool? I didn’t see it mentioned in the recipe. Thanks!
Good question, Emily – I usually pop it onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
I will be making this on repeat. So good and so easy!
Make this bread!! It is the best! Use a cast iron skillet greased with bacon grease. Baste with melted butter 10 min before end of baking time. You won’t be sorry!!!
OMG. Best quick bread recipe. My tweek was to slather a 9” cast iron skillet with bacon grease. Not too much mind you, and add dough tuck under then flip over for a nice smooth top. Rest as recipe indicated. Tried to make cross slit, but dough so wet didn’t work, but no worries didn’t make a difference. 10 min to final bake finish time basted with 2 tbsp melted butter. BEST FRIKIN EASY BREAD EVER!! Thanks for a great recipe. Might try adding honey for part of sugar content next time. Yummy
The hard crust was the highlight of this bread. It cuts beautifully and was delicious dripping in butter. My husband thought it was too bland but I don’t know how to boost the flavor. Any suggestions?
Thanks for your great directions and the easy recipe.
I made the bread and thought it just needed a bit of tweaking on salt and sugar (although the bread itself is amazing!!). This is the third time I’ve made it in 2 weeks, which says a lot as a low-carb eater! So I did a Tbsp of salt and a tsp sugar….thought it made the flavor perfect!
I can’t believe how easy to make and DELICIOUS this bread is! I’m not a bread maker. I even have a good bread machine but I find it’s a hassle to use it.
I am so happy I found this recipe. I made the first loaf ( I like using a loaf pan for more traditional slices) a couple of days ago. My husband and I devoured it. Last night I whipped up another loaf after dinner so we could have toast this morning. The loaf is already half gone! Truly…everyone has to try it because it will end up at the top of their bread recipes. Thank you!!!
I haven’t baked bread in 45 years. After seeing this recipe I just had to try it. It came out pretty darn good for a first try. I think I’ll be sure to measure the yeast next time. I just used one packet of yeast which isn’t actually a tablespoon. I just ate a piece and really liked the taste. I used a loaf pan and it didn’t rise quite as much as your picture but almost. I’ll definitely make this again. Thanks so much for this recipe. I used to bake bread when I could get Elams flour. That recipe had mashed potatoes in it. And was so good I gained 10 lbs. lol. This was alot easier and I wish I knew how to post a picture because it looks almost like yours. I will definitely make again but maybe with wheat flour. Hope you have a great Holiday and love your posts.
SO GOOD THE BEST BREAD LOVE IT THANK
SO, so, so, so easy and SO good! Made it last night and we ate the whole loaf. Wonderful!
This is the first time I ever made a yeast bread. It is fantastic. I used a packet of Fleishmans active dry yeast in 1/4 cup water. (The packet is a bit less than 1 Tbs but it worked perfectly.) For activating the yeast I watched temperature precisely, (100 degrees) followed the recipe instructions exactly and used a 9″ pie pan for the bake. Ended up with an amazing golden, crunchy rustic boule with perfect chewy interior texture. Wish I could post a picture. Sliced, toasted and buttered is delicious and also makes great sandwiches. I just ordered and received baguette forms as I believe this recipe will make incredible baguettes. Making this this will become a habit replacing store bought boules and baguettes and even sandwich breads for now on.
I just baked and tried this bread for the first time. I hate to say it like this, but this bread is way better than I thought it would be! The crust is perfectly crunchy and chewy. The bread is light, soft and pillowy. It has really good flavor and texture. This recipe will definitely be on repeat in my house. I just need to make them in roll size so I can get that delicious crunchy, chewy crust in every bite! Thanks again Mel! Your recipes never disappoint 🙂
I forgot to mention, if you just use water to keep your hands and counter wet while shaping the dough, you won’t have messy, sticky hands. If the dough starts to stick, just run your hands under water, or dip them in a bowl of water. I have seen this method used by Chad Robertson of Tartine in San Francisco when working with hydration doughs such as this one. Works every time!
I finally got down to making this today and it did not disappoint. Awesome flavor and texture. Loved that I did not have to lug out my stand mixer and could do it by hand. I used cake flour and a loaf pan. Baked it on 220°C for 10 mins and 180°C for 25-30 mins. It came out wonderfully. Thanks for the recipe <3
My husband is from Pocatello, but right now retired and living in FL. That being said, we really enjoy this site and this bread recipe is so easy and delicious. I’m making a second loaf right now. All I can say is WOW, try it, you won’t be sorry’ I promise.
So easy, so fast and so delicious! I made it in a pie plate came out beautiful! Thanks Mel.
This is the first loaf of bread my daughter has made without the use of a bread machine. She thinks that it is real easy. No fuss, no muss. Thanks
Hi Mel!! First time looking at one of your recipes. I began making bread shortly after the pandemic began last year. I’ve only made artisan bread because the recipes I follow ARE no knead recipes. This is very important for me due to having rheumatoid arthritis and kneading by hand isn’t really an option for me.
What I’d like to know is…can you mix the bread dough using a stand mixer such as a KitchenAid mixer? Due to my RA, thisbis such a helpful tool for me in the kitchen.
I am really looking forward to trying your recipe. I love that it’ll take so much less time than the others I’ve made.
Hi Lisa, yes, I think you could mix this in a stand mixer using the paddle attachment. Just make sure not to overmix. It really just needs to be mixed until all the flour is incorporated.
I used the paddle attachment on my kitchenaid to mix briefly, just until all flour was incorporated. It took less than a minute.
I can’t believe how quickly this came together! Fresh bread, from mixing to slicing, in less than two and a half hours?! This knowledge could be very dangerous! My family raved about it tonight at dinner and I know we will be making many, many more loaves in the future. (P.S. For anyone interested, it makes a perfect pairing with Mel’s Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup!)
This bread is easy to make and delicious! I could eat the whole thing. We had it with the lemon orzo soup. Perfection!!!!
This is really good! I used the amount of flour called for, and for whatever reason it was more of a batter. It still baked up OK and It was devoured in no time. I will make it again this week and use more flour. Thanks for the recipe!
OMG! This was incredible. I am a working mom, and I thought that baking homemade bread was out of my reach because I just don’t have time. But I made this yesterday, and it was so easy and my husband and daughter and I gathered around the counter and ate a lot of it still warm because it was SO good. Extra bonus: my house smelled incredible for hours. <3
So delicious! Even better on the second day.
This is genius! I can’t believe how easy it was to make. I’m not sure I’ll ever go to the trouble of making the Dutch oven artisan bread again. Thanks lots, Mel!
Hi Mel; I am a bread enthusiast, saw your post and started right away making the peasant bread!! I did fine with the making and baking per recipe; but when I take out of oven and let cool, it collapses somewhat and the middle when I cut it when it has cooled down is dense and gummy, no airy holes or light crumbs! Do you have any suggestions? Followed temps and time , increased time and bread got very brown! Please help me with what I am doing wrong! Loved how fast it came together and love the delicious recipes you post!! Thank you! God Bless!
Hi Linda, how long are you baking it for? 15 minutes at 425 degrees and then another 15-20 minutes at 375 degrees? If it’s still gummy in the center, I’d increase the baking time (at 375 degrees) for another 8-10 minutes. If the bread is getting too brown, try baking for only 10 minutes at 425 degrees and then 30 minutes at 375 degrees. Also, placing the oven rack as close to the center of the oven as possible can help, too. Let me know if you have other issues or questions. I’m confident we can troubleshoot together and get this worked out!
This bread was so easy and it tastes so good! I thought i messed it up because it was a little flat looking in the pan but it puffed up when baking. I ate it with your vegetable beef noodle soup. Perfect for a cool night.
Mel, you’ve done it again! I trusted you on this one and I was so pleased with this bread! So easy, so quick, so delicious!
Thank you for sharing this peasant bread! Will definitely be repeating this one!
I’ve been making this from Alexandra Stoffard’s blog for quite awhile, and it’s now the only bread I’ve made in a long time. I use the Pyrex bowls she recommends and double it. Two of the bowls are the rounded bottom bowls and the other two hold the same amount but have straight sides. They both work out beautifully. I believe this is a foolproof recipe that anyone should have success with.
AMAZING BREAD!!
I’m so excited to have a no fail, easy bread recipe for everyday use. Great for soups! We have 13 in our immediate family and whipping up 2 of these is so easy! THANK YOU MEL!
I’m not surprised…I’ve read your blog for years and years, and everything I’ve ever made has been wonderful.
I wish you had listed the ingredients by weight, or at least specified whether you used the dip and scoop method or the spoon and level method. I did the spoon and level method thinking that was the standard, and the dough ended up practically liquid even after an hour and a half rise time. I didn’t get nearly the oven spring your pictures showed. No, my yeast wasn’t old, I’d just bought it. Nor am I new to bread baking or high hydration doughs. This was disappointing.
Hi Julia, I’m sorry this didn’t work out for you. Weight measures are listed in the recipe if it would be more helpful to use the gram amount for flour.
This recipe would be great for a mix-in-a-jar gift. Just mix up all but the water and put it in a quart jar. Attach instructions and make it pretty with a ribbon!
This bread is f.a.b.u.l.o.u.s! I nearly ate the entire loaf in one day. I was skeptical at first, too easy to make, few ingredients, but holy crap, it’s the best no knead bread out there!
You need to make this today, and tomorrow too!
First bread I made! And it was a success! Love this bread, will be my go to. Now I won’t shy away from trying other recipes. Thank you so much for this recipe!
This.is.dangerous. And absolutely delicious. Made a loaf of this incredible bread in 3 hours, start to finish. I just put the remaining half loaf in a Ziploc bag in hopes of having leftovers tomorrow. I am glad it turned out so well, but also not sure I needed to know I could make a loaf of bread mid-afternoon that would be ready before dinner. I took advice from another reviewer’s comment and didn’t even get my hands messy. I sprayed the pie plate, ran the spatula around the edge of the bowl, and then just dumped the dough into the pie plate. We dug in 10 minutes after it came out of the oven and nobody has been able to walk by without having some. Thanks, Mel!
This bread was super easy and super delicious. I struggled with the shaping part, lol. I think Mel has some magic hands, or at least a lot more experience than I do! Even though I didn’t shape it the best, it still puffed up nicely and tasted excellent.
Can I make the dough the night before and bake it in the morning?
Yes! I’ve done that and it works great. It rises quite a bit in the refrigerator overnight.
Love this bread! I’ve made it 4 times since you posted it. My family all agrees it is delicious and I love that it is so easy to make.
This bread is amazing! 100 stars!!
I am try in it in the morning
This was Amazing!!! We have made this twice since you posted the recipe! I was worried at first because there is no oil or butter. I thought it would be stiff and how happy I was to be wrong!! So soft and delicious!! Thank you for sharing such wonderful recipes!!
You’re literally the best! My kids loved the bread yesterday and I’m making a second loaf today because the first is almost gone. I used active dry yeast and just let it rise a bit longer, seemed to bake up just fine. Thank you for always giving us the yummiest recipes!
Hello!! I’m definitely going to make this bread. I’ve got different things I’d like to sprinkle on top, like everything bagel or poppy seeds. Have you tried any toppings?
I haven’t tried that, but it should work well!
I LOVE this bread! I’m teaching each of my daughters how to make it independently, too!
I just made this bread. My crumb does not look like yours. In fact, the loaf, while good, is so very dense. I had it in shape in less than 1 minute. Every steps looks just like your pictures except the finished product. Where do you think I may have gone wrong. This is the yeast I used: Red Star Platinum premium instant yeast. Could this be my problem.
Hi Lynda, that’s the yeast I use, so I don’t think that’s the problem (unless your yeast is expired or old). Did the bread rise ok? If it over rose in the pan, it could flatten in the oven while baking and become more dense.
Hi, The bread rose ok but not overly so. It didn’t flatten as it did have a nice rounded shape on top. I will try again and see what happens. The bread is great, just dense. Was going to make today BUT has been pouring all day, too much humidity from the rain. Try tomorrow.
Well I took your pleading/bribing/begging to make right this minute to heart! I went ahead and made 2 batches because well, you know, it’s from YOUR site so I knew it would be good! It did not disappoint! I can’t believe how incredibly easy and quick (my part in it I mean) it was either! I’ve made a little homemade bread before but not a ton so I’m a beginner. Everyone agreed it was FANTASTIC! I even got the comments of it being the best bread my sons friend ever had and from another that it tasted like Schlotzsky’s bread to them. There were no leftovers to worry about storing Thanks for another win at my house!