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spreading butter on half slice of peasant bread with butter knife

Easy No-Knead Peasant Bread

Yield: 10 slices (1 large loaf or 2 smaller loaves)
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Rising Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes

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

Flour: I have not tried this recipe with bread flour. I have tried it with 50% whole wheat flour, and it works great. I've used white wheat flour and also einkhorn wheat flour (other varieties of wheat flour may make the bread more dense/heavy).
Salt: I use table salt for this recipe. If using coarse, kosher salt, increase the salt to 2 to 2 1/2 teaspoons.
Yeast: I have not tried this recipe with active dry yeast, but it should work - 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. 
Baking Pans: I prefer baking the dough in one loaf. However, the dough can be split into two pieces and baked in smaller bowls or pans (about 1 quart in size). Many people bake this dough in greased pyrex bowls, but I prefer pie plates or loaf pans for a better shape. 
Doubling: I frequently double this recipe and bake two loaves.