Easy Peasant Bread Recipe- Oh Sweet Basil (2024)

With this easy herbed peasant bread recipe, fresh homemade bread has never been easier! It is golden and crispy on the outside and soft and tender on the inside. It is also super versatile and done in a just a few hours.

A few of my friends make peasant bread every Sunday, and when you’ve got three friends who don’t know each other but are all doing the same thing, it’s high time to try it.

We baked it last Sunday for the first time and we are totally sold. It is so simple (you make it all in ONE bowl) and so fluffy with the perfect about of crumb action. I love that I can start it after church and it’s ready to bake for dinner. It also scores major bonus points for being a no-knead bread dough! You’re going to love it!

Ingredients Needed for Peasant Bread

The ingredients for peasant bread are simple and likely things that you will have on hand already. We love adding the fresh herbs for extra flavor. You can experiment with your favorite combination of herbs or leave out the herbs altogether. Here is what you will need:

• Flour – just regular all purpose flour works great, or you can use bread flour
• Kosher Salt – adds flavor
• Warm Water – the ideal temperature of lukewarm water for activating yeast is 105-115 degrees F
• Sugar – feeds the yeast so it can properly activate
• Instant Yeast – I’ve found that instant yeast works best rather than active dry yeast
• Rosemary – fresh is preferred, minced fine
• Thyme – fresh is best, but if you want to use dried, just add a couple of pinches
• Parsley – fresh, and finely chopped
• Butter – used for greasing the bowls that the bread will bake in, and when the bread is fresh out of the oven, brush the top with melted butter (or olive oil)
• Flaked Sea Salt – we love sprinkling a little salt on top for extra flavor

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.

How to Make Peasant Bread

I’m going to walk you through the steps of making this bread so that you know what to expect along the way and so you get perfectly golden tender bread every time! Here are the basic steps (the complete instructions can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post):

1. Dry ingredients – combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir everything together
2. Wet ingredients – add the water to the dry ingredients and all the herbs and mix until just combined, you don’t want to overmix — NO KNEADING!! Yahoo!
3. Rise – cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot and let the dough rise for at least an hour (see section below for more information on proofing bread dough)
4. Bake – preheat the oven and grease two oven-safe bowls, then use two forks to divide the dough in half (the dough will be very wet, almost like a thick cake batter). Place half the dough in each bowl and bake.
5. Finish – brush the top of the baked bread with olive oil or melted butter and sprinkle with salt, move the loaves to a cooling rack to cool

How to Proof Bread Dough

Yeast needs a warm environment to do it’s job effectively. My house tends to be a little chilly in the kitchen area (especially in the winter), so I always put my bread dough in my laundry room and run the dryer to warm up the room.

Another option would be to preheat your oven to 170 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10 minutes. Then turn your oven off and stick your covered bowl into the oven with the oven door cracked open. Let it raise for at least an hour.

Can the Bread Be Baked in Bread Pans?

Yes! Baking these in bread pans works great! Split it the dough so you have half the dough in each loaf pan. Baking time will remain the same.

You could also bake the dough in muffin tins to make dinner rolls. You only need to bake those for about 18-20 minutes.

How to Store Peasant Bread

This peasant bread recipe will keep at room temperature in a ziploc bag for 3-4 days. If you want it to last longer, you can keep it in the refrigerator or freeze it. Just be sure it is wrapped thoroughly. It will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Leftover herbed peasant bread makes great toast the next day too. Toast it and spread a little butter on it…perfection!

What to Eat with Peasant Bread

It is my personal opinion that a delicious homemade bread goes with every meal because carbs are heaven! Here are few ideas of what to serve this peasant bread recipe with:

• Soups – tomato basil soup, beef stew or cheddar broccoli soup
• Chilis – Instant Pot chili or smoked brisket chili
• Pasta – bolognese or spaghetti and meatballs
• BBQ – smoked brisket, pulled pork or smoked ribs

This no-knead peasant bread recipe is easy and delicious and like I said, it goes with almost any meal! It also makes great bread for sandwiches or paninis. I can’t wait for you to try this one!

More Easy BREAD RECIPES You’ll Love:

• French Bread
• Skillet Cornbread
• Homemade Naan
• Irish Soda Bread
• Best Potato Rolls
• Easy No Knead Artisan Bread
• One Hour Rolls
• 7-Up Biscuits
• Herbed Focaccia Bread
• All our BREAD RECIPES here!

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