No Knead Peasant Bread Recipes

MY MOTHER'S PEASANT BREAD: THE BEST EASIEST BREAD YOU WILL EVER MAKE

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, and instant yeast (I love SAF Instant Yeast). Add the water. Mix until the flour is absorbed. (If you are using active dry yeast, see notes below.)
• Cover bowl with a tea towel or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot to rise for at least an hour. (In the winter or if you are letting the bread rise in a cool place, it might take as long as two hours to rise.) This is how to create a slightly warm spot for your bread to rise in: Turn the oven on at any temperature (350ºF or so) for one minute, then turn it off. Note: Do not allow the oven to get up to 300ºF, for example, and then heat at that setting for 1 minute - this will be too hot. Just let the oven preheat for a total of 1 minute - it likely won't get above 100ºF. The goal is to just create a slightly warm environment for the bread.
• . Grease two 1-qt or 1.5-qt oven-safe bowls (see notes below) with about a tablespoon of butter each. Using two forks, punch down your dough, scraping it from the sides of the bowl, which it will be clinging to. As you scrape it down try to pull the dough toward the center (see video below for guidance). You want to loosen the dough entirely from the sides of the bowl, and you want to make sure you've punched it down. Then, take your two forks and divide the dough into two equal portions - eye the center of the mass of dough, and starting from the center and working out, pull the dough apart with the two forks. Then scoop up each half and place into your prepared bowls. This part can be a little messy - the dough is very wet and will slip all over the place. Using small forks or forks with short tines makes this easier - my small salad forks work best; my dinner forks make it harder. It's best to scoop it up fast and plop it in the bowl in one fell swoop. Some people like to use flexible, plastic dough scrapers for this step.
• for about 20 to 30 minutes on the countertop near the oven (or near a warm spot) or until it has risen to just below or above (depending on what size bowl you are using) the top of the bowls. (Note: Do not do the warm-oven trick for the second rise, and do not cover your bowls for the second rise. Simply set your bowls on top of your oven, so that they are in a warm spot. Twenty minutes in this spot usually is enough for my loaves.)
• Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375º and bake for 15 to 17 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and turn the loaves onto cooling racks. If you've greased the bowls well, the loaves should fall right out onto the cooling racks. If the loaves look a little pale and soft when you've turned them out onto your cooling racks, place the loaves into the oven (outside of their bowls) and let them bake for about 5 minutes longer. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before cutting.

NO-KNEAD CINNAMON AND RAISIN BREAD

Steps:

• Stir 3 cups flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and yeast together in a large bowl. Pour in water and stir until all the flour has been incorporated and a shaggy, wet dough forms. Stir in raisins and cover with plastic wrap.
• Place bowl in a warm, draft-free space for 30 minutes or in the oven with the oven light on.
• Sprinkle a clean working surface with 1 tablespoon flour. Scrape dough out onto the counter and use a bench scraper to fold the dough over onto itself several times, incorporating most of the flour into the dough. Rinse and dry the bowl.
• Cut parchment paper into a liner for the bowl, folding it so that it sits flat against the bowl. Place dough on the parchment paper in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place a 5-quart Dutch oven into the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Set timer for 30 minutes.
• Remove warmed Dutch oven from the oven and transfer dough with the parchment liner into the Dutch oven. Cover with a lid.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 5 minutes more. Remove from oven and carefully transfer bread onto a wire rack. Remove parchment paper. Cool completely before slicing, about 2 hours.

PEASANT BREAD

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl whisk the flours and the salt. Set aside.
• Grease a separate large bowl with butter or olive oil and set this aside. (This bowl will be used for the dough's initial rise).
• In a standing-mixer's bowl, dissolve the sugar into the water. Sprinkle the yeast over the top. (If you'd like . at this point . to ensure the yeast is active . you could let the mix stand for 10-15 minutes . or until it's foamy and/or bubbling just a bit. I typically don't).
• Add the flours and salt.
• Mix (**Note: The original recipe outlines stirring with a wooden spoon, which works . but I like to use my mixer with the dough hook and let it go for 4 or 5 minutes on medium speed) Note: the dough will be on the wet side. Transfer the dough to the greased bowl from the preparation step.
• Cover bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot to rise for at least an hour . or until it's about doubled in size.
• ** Typically, dough at our house takes 3 or 4 hours to double . point being . don't sweat the exact time.
• Grease 2 oven-safe bowls with about a Tbsp of butter each.
• Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
• Punch down your dough . and divide it into 2 equal parts. One by one . place each half on a floured counter-top. Quickly form a ball with each part & transfer them to your prepared bowls.
• At this point . the original recipe calls for letting the dough rise until it's doubled again in size . and this certainly works. I've taken to putting the dough into the fridge overnight for its second rise. There's something that happens to dough when it ferments for a long period of time in a cool environment.
• Pre-heat oven to 425.
• Bake for 10 minutes at 425. Reduce the heat to 375º and bake for 18-19 minutes longer. Remove from the oven . letting the loaves sit for 5-10 minutes before turning them over onto cooling racks.
• If the bowls have been greased well . the loaves should easily fall out out onto the cooling racks.
• You'll have to gauge it based on taste . I cook the loaves on the lower end of the time the original calls for because we like them pale & soft. If that's not for you . they can always be placed back into the oven (outside their bowls) and baked for about 5 minutes longer.
• Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before cutting.

NO-KNEAD EUROPEAN PEASANT BREAD

Steps:

• Mixing Instructions:.
• Mix the yeast and salt with the water in a 5 quart bowl or a lidded (not airtight) food container.
• Mix in the remaining dry ingredients without kneading, usings a spoon or a heavy-duty stand mixer with dough hook.
• Note: If not using a mixer you may need to use wet hands to incorporate the last bit of the flour.
• Cover (not airthight) and allow to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.
• The dough can be used immediately after rising, however it is easier to handle when cold.
• Refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 14 days.
• Baking Instructions.
• Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a grape fruit size piece (1 lb.).
• Dust with more flour and quickily shape into a ball by stretching the surface of dough around to the bottom on all four sides, roating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.
• Place on cornmeal-dusted pizza peel and allow to rise for 40 minutes.
• 20 minutes before baking time, preheat oven to 450º F, with a baking stone placed on the middle rack.
• Place a cast iron skillet or empty broiler tray on the bottom rack.
• Sprinkle loaf liberally with flour and slash the top using a serrated bread knife.
• Slide loaf directly onto the hot stone.
• Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the skillet or broiler tray and quickly close the door.
• Bake for 35 minutes or until top of crust is dark brown and sounds hollow when thumped.
• Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.
• Allow to cool before slicing.