Sunday, April 25, 2010

Easy, No Knead, French Peasant Bread

I was in between paychecks and out of bread.  Two unexpected kitty visits to the veterinarian's took care of any "extra" cash I might have had. The good news is the kitties are back frolicking about but I was still out of bread.

I checked the pantry and I had all the ingredients to make my own, so I went to my cookbooks, but nothing caught my eye.  Besides, I had been having a run of bad luck with the last few recipes I tried from my a couple of my favorite books.  I metaphorically tightened my belt and resigned to waiting for payday.

Then I saw Lara's post for French Peasant Bread on her blog, Recipe Shoebox The minute I saw it and read how much she loved it (she said she made it four times in a week and a half!), I knew it was meant for me, too.  Five ingredients, just stir,  no kneading, no shaping,  and you have delicious, chewy, crusty, soft on the inside, French bread.  This recipe is a definite keeper with me. Just look at all the delicious nooks and crannies.  Do I have to tell you that Ole Sweetie Pi and I filled them up with melted butter?

French Peasant Bread
(From Laura's Blog, Recipe Shoebox)

1 tablespoon quick rising (instant) yeast
2 cups warm water (110-115 degrees)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups all purpose flour

olive oil (for greasing the pan)
cornmeal (for sprinkling on the pan)
1/4 cup butter melted (to put on dough before and after baking)

Place yeast, water, sugar, and salt in warm bowl and stir until dissolved.

Add flour and stir until blended, but do not knead.  Cover and let rise one hour or until double in size.

The dough is quite sticky, so grease or flour your hands and remove dough from the bowl.  Divide the dough into two equal rounds on place on an oiled cookie sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Leave plenty of space between them so that the doughs have plenty of room to rise, or use two small cookie sheets.  Let rise an additional hour.

Brush the tops and sides of the rounds with melted butter and bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and cook an additional 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Remove from oven and brush tops and sides of rounds again with melted butter.  Serve warm.

Laura, thanks again for posting your recipe so that we also may enjoy this wonderful, rustic bread.

34 comments:

  1. This sounds like a great bread, especially with no kneading. I love crusty breads. Thanks.

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  2. A great time-saving artisan bread! I love it!
    Have a wonderful sunny Sunday!
    Angie

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  3. Okay, you got me with this recipe. I must try it soon! I love bread and I especially love artisan bread. Yum

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  4. Looks delicious! Im going to give it a try aswell!

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  5. What a gorgeous,welcoming bread. I love bread all rustic and peasant - I can smell the aroma. A must-do.

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  6. Yeast is one of those scary cooking items that I'm starting to become more comfortable with. This looks great! And easy! and like it would be awesome with soup. Thanks for posting this!

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  7. When you run out of bread, bake it yourself! I like the way you think. This looks fantastic!

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  8. Oh what a lovely homemade bread. I need to start baking more again. :)

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  9. Do I need cornmeal?

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  10. @ Laura Rose. No, the cornmeal isn't necessary to the success of the recipe. It's there to provide a barrier between the bread dough and the baking sheet and to make the bread a little more rustic and easier to remove, the way cornmeal is often added to a pizza peel. Parchment paper would work really well, or if you don' have parchment, generously grease the pan.

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  11. Thanks!!! And the flour is just normal regular flour? I wen crazy trying to find a bag of bread flour and winded up just getting a box of just one loaf. Where can I actually get bread flour?

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  12. Thanks!!! And the flour is just normal regular flour? I wen crazy trying to find a bag of bread flour and winded up just getting a box of just one loaf. Where can I actually get bread flour?

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  13. I bookmarked this recipe too Katy. I'm glad that you loved it- now I've got to give it a try as it looks fantastic!

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  14. @ Laura Rose ~ The flour I used is all purpose white flour. I happen to use King Arthur unbleached white flour, but other brands will work very well. My mother used Gold Medal or Pillsbury flours; I've also used Robin Hood flour with good results.

    Bread flour should be sold right alongside with the all purpose and whole wheat flours. There should be labeling to define it as "Bread Flour." I hope this helps.

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  15. I love making bread. I usually make bread starting in October and throughout winter. The smell of bread baking in the kitchen makes everything right. This bread sounds quite easy and looks delicious. Thanks Katy. Have a great week.

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  16. Now, this is the kind of bread that I need to be baking. No knead, easy to make awesome.

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  17. Ahh Katy..just the words 'peasant bread' already make me think of comfort food..and it sounds so simple too. I love it! I am wishing I was out of bread so I could mix this up right now..well maybe I could wait till morning..

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  18. Oooh. What a great bread recipe. It looks perfect and I love that it's "no fuss".

    Glad to hear that the kitties are OK. : )

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  19. It really does sound like a GREAT bread recipe, Katy especially for me, I am so bread challenged or should I say yeast and I just don't seem to get a long. There's hope...

    Thanks for sharing...I love that the kitties are frolicking:)

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  20. really interesting recipe Katy, thanks for posting it. I love making bread and this sounds good! I am already imagining to eat it with the olive sauce that I bought yesterday ;-)

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  21. You know how I LOVE to make bread....I've never made a no-knead loaf.....this looks SO good...and with a bowl of homemade soup? MMMMMmmmmmmmm......I can taste it now.

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  22. i have no idea why i haven't tried this yet, it looks so good and so easy! beautiful!

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  23. That sounds wonderful!! I've been wanting to make bread, but not to do a lot of kneading. I'll give this one a try.

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  24. This bread looks terrific! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

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  25. I love the big chewy texture of this bread.
    Mimi

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  26. Katie- it looks super. Nothin' says lovin' like bread from the oven.

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  27. Katy this may just be the bread for me to try. I am still fearful of using yeast but this sounds pretty simple and I just love fresh, homemade bread. Thanks...I'll let you know if I work up the courage and try it!

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  28. No knead Bread, it sounds great! Nothing better than a fresh homemade bread! It looks delicious, great job Katy.
    Cheers

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  29. It seems like something comes up with pets at the most inopportune times! Your bread looks so yummy and so easy to make. I will definitely be trying this recipe! :)

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  30. I'm glad kitties are OK! Your bread looks excellent Katie! I have a no-knead recipe from the NY times I have been wanting to make. It looks very similar. I'm inspired to go make it right now. These turned out so perfect!

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  31. I love artisan bread and this looks just perfect.

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  32. I know you don't accept awards or at least, you don't post them, which is fine but at least, you should take a look so hop all the way to my blog and see what it is.

    http://sweetsav.blogspot.com/2010/04/award.html

    Remember to hop.

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  33. I made these (and the cinnamon buns) on Sunday. Neither of them turned out as nice as yours. I have a hunch that my yeast was too old and also the wrong kind. I will try again with new (and hopefully better) yeast. So many recipes, so little time, lol.

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