This no-knead cheesy peasant bread is INCREDIBLE and so easy to make! Baked in a pie plate, it is soft and chewy with the perfect crust.

Clear your schedule. Make this bread. I promise it’ll be the best decision you’ve made all year.

Top down view of half slice of cheesy peasant bread on brown parchment paper.

Mixing Cheesy Bread Dough

The dough for this no-knead cheesy peasant bread is mixed by hand in one bowl. No stand mixer or kneading required.

  1. Mix together flour, salt, sugar, yeast and warm water.
  2. Once it forms a shaggy mass, add the cheeses.
  3. Mix until the cheese is fairly evenly combined throughout the dough.

The dough is going to be sticky! That’s the purpose; that’s the plan. So don’t panic.

If it is absolutely too sticky to work with (some of this will depend on where you live exactly – humidity, temp, elevation, etc), you can add another 1/4 cup flour to the dough. But don’t add too much flour! A soft, more-wet-than-normal dough is essential for the bread to bake up soft and fluffy with delightful squishy air bubbles throughout.

Glass bowl with dry ingredients mixed with water with Danish dough hook.
Shaggy bread dough mixed in glass bowl.
Sharp cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese on top of bread dough in glass bowl.
Mixed and risen cheesy peasant bread dough in glass bowl.

The Best Cheese for this Peasant Bread

Cheese matters. Always. But especially for this bread.

The punchy cheese flavor is dotted throughout the interior of the soft bread and also in crunchy pockets bursting through the golden crust.

So…make sure to use cheese with a lot of flavor. The recipe calls for sharp cheddar cheese and aged Parmesan. Substitute wisely.

And…grate that block of cheese yourself. Freshly grated cheese will not only provide maximum flavor, but it will also meld into the bread dough better than pre-shredded cheese, and you’ll see the benefit of that in the deliciously delightful crumb.

Risen round loaf of bread dough in pie plate.
Baked loaf of cheesy peasant bread in pie plate.

While nothing really beats the soft, squishy middle of this other-worldly cheesy peasant bread (YES, WE’RE EMBRACING SOFT, SQUISHY MIDDLES HERE 🙌🏼 🎉), that golden crust is something else.

Sourdough Version of Cheesy Peasant Bread

For an easy sourdough version, decrease the water and flour each by 3/4 cup and add 1 1/2 cups fed or discard sourdough starter (I use a sourdough starter fed at a 1:1:1 ratio – it is thick but still pourable). Add the sourdough discard with the warm water. Decrease the yeast to 1 teaspoon if using fed starter and 2 teaspoons for sourdough discard. 

Four half slices of cheesy peasant bread on dark wood cutting board.

This easy cheesy peasant bread is a dream to make. So easy and fast!

It is always assumed that I will (at least) double the recipe. One loaf gets devoured pretty much immediately. The other loaf gets devoured right after. I’m not kidding when I say this cheesy bread is a HUGE family favorite.

It goes well with everything. Pasta? ✅ Soup? ✅ Snack? ✅ And it stays fresh-tasting for days! (Day old cheesy peasant bread is unbelievably delicious toasted and buttered.)

Built on the following and popularity of this original peasant bread recipe, this cheesy version is wildly delicious. I can’t wait for you to make it!

Bite taken out of slice of cheesy peasant bread on brown parchment paper.

One Year Ago: Apple Cider Caramels
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Eight Years Ago: Perfect Pot Roast and Gravy 
Nine Years Ago: 15-Minute Homemade Root Beer
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Four half slices of cheesy peasant bread on cutting board with butter.

Easy No-Knead Cheesy Peasant Bread

Yield: 10 slices (1 loaf)
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Rising Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
5 stars (27 ratings)
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Ingredients

  • 4 cups (568 g) all-purpose or bread flour
  • 1 tablespoon instant yeast (or rapid-rise/bread machine yeast)
  • 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoons table salt
  • 2 cups (484 g) warm water (110 to 115 degrees F)
  • 1 ½ cups (170 g) freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese (large holes of box grater)
  • ½ cup (45 g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese (small holes of box grater)

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.
  • Add the cheddar and Parmesan cheeses and mix into the dough with your hands (lifting and turning) until the cheese is evenly combined throughout the dough. Pat the dough into a ball shape.
  • Cover the bowl and let the dough rise until very puffy and nearly 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.
  • 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 puffy.
  • Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees F and continue to bake for 15-20 minutes until golden. Tent the top of the loaf with foil if the crust is browning too quickly while baking.

Notes

Flour: if the dough is absolutely too sticky to work with (remember, it IS supposed to be softer than “regular” bread dough), you can add another 1/4 cup flour (but resist the urge to add too much extra flour).
Cheese: I prefer using freshly grated cheese for this recipe – the flavor is more pronounced and the cheese melds into the bread dough better than pre-shredded cheese. When measuring the shredded cheese, lightly pack it into the measuring cup (but also keep in mind that it doesn’t have to be exact – more cheese won’t hurt!). 
Yeast: to use active dry yeast in place of instant yeast, dissolve 1 tablespoon active dry yeast in 1/4 cup warm water until foamy and bubbling, and decrease the water in the recipe by 1/4 cup – use the yeast mixture in the recipe when adding the rest of the water. 
Buttered Top: for a softer, shinier crust, butter the top of the bread when it comes out of the oven. 
Sourdough Version: decrease the water and flour each by 3/4 cup and add 1 1/2 cups fed or discard sourdough starter (I use a sourdough starter fed at a 1:1:1 ratio – it is thick but still pourable). Add the sourdough discard with the warm water. Decrease the yeast to 1 teaspoon for fed starter and 2 teaspoons for discard. 
Author: Mel
Course: Bread
Cuisine: American
Method: Bake
Serving: 1 slice, Calories: 265kcal, Carbohydrates: 40g, Protein: 10g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 18mg, Sodium: 532mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g

Recommended Products

9-inch Pie Plate
9-Inch Metal Pie Plate
Box Grater
Dough Whisk

Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe

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