peasant bread

This 5 ingredient peasant bread recipe makes a soft, wheat bread in under 3 hours. A simple no-knead bread easy enough for dinner tonight!

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This peasant bread is delightfully nutty and the perfect pairing with soup, stews, chilis, and even just toasted with butter for breakfast! It is even easier than no knead dutch oven bread or my easy Italian bread recipe and just as delicious! 

The quick rise, no knead nature of this simple bread means that it will not have the time or kneading required to form a strong gluten structure. This means it will not get as tall as my sourdough bread recipe (also no knead). If you are looking for a more traditional whole grain artisan bread try my whole wheat sourdough bread or for a recipe baked in a loaf pan, try my whole wheat bread instead! 

Pro Tips for Making No Knead Peasant Bread

• Baking bread in a crock pot is a “no”. We shall all learn from Stephanie’s trials baking this bread in 2012. She says it best, “the long baking time overrode any time I could have saved [from skipping the second rise].” The crock pot made it flat because it didn’t get hot enough for that oven-spring. 
• Scoring had a bigger impact on the rise than the method of baking. The effort of trying to score a square on the top of dough was worth the superior crumb, shape and rise. Regardless of the baking method, the crust and crumb remained essentially the same.
• Using a Dutch oven is certainly easier if you have that option. I tested using a pan with hot water and a typical Dutch oven technique like in my no-knead dutch oven bread or no-knead sourdough bread recipe. While using a Dutch oven in the other two recipes makes a huge difference, I found no material difference to the crust or crumb in this peasant bread. That is due to the lack of gluten development. 
• Accept this simple peasant bread for what she is. I say it all the time, but one can rarely have a fast, no-knead bread with an open crumb. [Stay tuned for my same day sourdough bread for the exception!] Time or activation (kneading / folding) are essential to gluten development. Gluten development is what traps all those air bubbles created by the yeast during fermentation. This bread is too quick to create a network strong enough to trap large gas bubbles.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Water: Warm but not hot water is key here. The heat will help jump-start the yeast and also the gluten development. Tap or filtered water both work fine.
• Active Dry Yeast: You can also use instant yeast instead of active dry yeast, and skip the blooming step in the water. I would recommend using room temperature or lukewarm water for mixing, if using instant yeast just to allow the gluten a bit more time. 
• Kosher Salt: The salt is needed for flavor but it is also essential for strengthening the gluten network. This bread already has minimal development, so you don’t want to omit the salt.  You can use half the amount of table salt or fine sea salt if you do not have kosher. 
• Dark Rye Flour: Rye flour adds a deep, nutty flavor to this bread but does not contribute to gluten structure. I would not recommend increasing the amount without swapping out the all purpose flour for bread flour. 
• Whole Wheat Flour: Whole wheat flour has a higher hydration than white flour, so if you change the amount of whole wheat flour in the recipe, you will end up with either a drier or stickier dough.
• Unbleached All-Purpose Flour: I use all-purpose flour but bread flour will also work if you have it on hand. Bread flour has a high gluten percentage, so there it will be able to create a stronger gluten network and you will get more rise out of your peasant bread.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Possible Recipe Variations

• Change the flavor with mix-ins: Stir in nuts and dried fruit like my cinnamon raisin sourdough, or chopped herbs like my rosemary bread, or savory inclusions like in my sun dried tomato bread. 
• You can bake the loaves Alexandra Stafford style in 2 pyrex bowls: Her method calls for mixing the dough, dividing it into two in the mixing bowl, then transferring to 2, 1-quart oven-safe bowls generously greased with unsalted butter. You allow the dough to rise to the rim of the bowl and then bake them. I am not here to tell you how to live your life, but I do love the extra structure and crunch of shaping and baking loaves in a Dutch oven.

How to Make No Knead Peasant Bread

Use these instructions to make a whole grain loaf of bread in under 3 hours with minimal effort! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Mix & Bulk-Ferment the Dough:

Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together warm water and yeast. Let sit for 10 minutes until bubbly. I wasn’t persnickety about the temperature of the water. It’s not that serious. Just make sure it is warm, not hot, to the touch. 

Step 2: To the large bowl with the yeast, add rye flour, whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, and salt. Stir to combine with a large rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Step 3: Cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel and allow to proof in a warm spot for 1 hour. 

Step 4: Perform 1 set of folds. Using a bowl scraper to help, scoop up one side of the bread and fold over the center. Rotate 90° and repeat the folding until you have folded all the sides. Cover and continue to let the dough rise in a warm spot for an additional hour. 

Divide & Shape the Dough:

Step 5: Prepare two 12-inch squares of parchment paper. Excess parchment paper won’t improve the crust. Dust the top of the dough (in the bowl) generously with flour and lightly flour a smooth work surface such as a countertop. Using a bowl scraper, turn the dough out onto the floured surface and divide it into two equal pieces.

Step 6: Working with one piece of dough at a time, fold each of the four corners into the center and then flip the dough packet over. Use both hands to pull and tighten the dough into a circle by pulling towards you quickly, then rotating 90° and repeating. Flouring your hands as needed. 

The dough has minimal gluten development and is a wet dough, so it will be sticky. Working quickly is critical to minimizing the dough sticking to your hands, and using the stickiness of the dough on the bottom to your advantage will help you tighten the boule. This step not only shapes the loaves but also strengthens the gluten network, which will aid in trapping the air emitted during baking. 

Step 7: Once shaped, place each piece in the center of a piece of parchment. Cover and final proof 40 minutes. 

You can final proof them on the work surface but they will spread considerably, so I placed mine, parchment and all, in a medium mixing bowl to help retain the shape.

Baking Peasant Bread: 

Step 8: Preheat the oven to 425°F convection (with the fan) if you have that option. Preheat the oven to 450°F conventional (no fan) if you do not. If you are using a Dutch oven to bake, preheat the top and bottom of the Dutch oven along with the oven. 

If you are not using a Dutch oven, place a baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven and a roasting pan on the bottom rack of the oven during the last 15 minutes of proofing & preheating. 

Step 9: When you are ready to bake, if proofing in bowls, lift the dough out using the parchment paper. Score using a bread lame or razor blade. I prefer to try to make a square on the top of the dough to encourage rising up but this is particularly difficult with this dough. Do not be discouraged.

This dough has minimal gluten development, is room temperature and is sticky, so try to score quickly and with confidence. Scoring will be difficult, and the cuts won’t be perfect.

Step 10: Working carefully and efficiently, remove the Dutch oven or baking sheet from the oven and close the oven door. Open the top of the pot and place the dough inside using the parchment paper. Replace the top and place it back in the oven. 

Alternatively, place the dough on the preheated baking sheet using the parchment paper and place the whole sheet back in the oven. Pour 2-3 cups of water into the roasting pan at the bottom of the oven and quickly close the door to trap in as much steam as possible. 

Step 11: Bake for 20 minutes and either remove the top of the Dutch oven or any remaining water (probably none), but opening the door will release any trapped steam and allow the crust to form. 

Step 12: Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F convection (if using a fan) or 400°F conventional (if not). Continue baking an additional 15-20 minutes until the outside of the loaf has browned. 

Step 13: Remove bread from Dutch oven or baking sheet and cool on a wire cooling rack.

I sliced with a serrated knife while it was still warm and it was actually easier! It tasted magnificent with butter and even my husband forgave me for putting extra kale in the Italian sausage soup. Hehe. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed this simple and delightful peasant bread recipe. Check out our other yeasted bread recipes for your next bake!