Homemade bread doesn’t have to be hard! Today I’m sharing a no-knead version that’s ready in a few hours!

I like this recipe for a lot of reasons. First, it’s not complicated. I keep all these ingredients in my house all the time, which always makes me more interested in a recipe. Second, it’s not work-intensive. In my head, bread making takes 24 hours and a whole lot of love and attention. It’s the kind of thing I imagine making for special occasions only, when I can spend all day checking on my dough. But this recipe takes only minutes of actual attention interspersed over a few hours. It’s not a weeknight thing, sure, but it’s not out of the question for having friends over for dinner!

Start by activating the yeast: warm water, dissolve in sugar, pour yeast on top. After 10-15 minutes, it should look foamy.

Sifting the flour & salt.

Add the yeast mixture to the flour and mix well.

Once it’s just combined, cover with a towel and let it rise for an hour.

Punch it down, then divide it into two greased bowls. The person who shared it originally suggests doing it with forks: less mess on your hands, and it works to move the dough without touching it too much!

Give the dough another rise, about 30 minutes this time.

Bake, cool, and eat!

This bread is simple, hearty, and delicious!

Two Hour Peasant Bread

Ingredients:

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 cups lukewarm water
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp active dry yeast
• unsalted at room temperature

Steps:

1. Stir the sugar into the water. When fully dissolved,  pour the yeast on top. Let it sit for 15 minutes and don’t stir. The mixture should foam up a bit during that time. If it doesn’t, get warmer water and start again.
2. Whisk together flour and salt. When the yeast is ready, pour into the flour and mix until just combined.
3. Cover and set aside to rise for an hour. A warm spot is best: when in doubt, turn on the oven for 30 seconds, turn it off, then put the dough in.
4. After the dough has doubled in size, liberally grease two oven-safe bowls with butter. Punch down the dough, then divide it into the two bowls. The recipe I based it on suggested doing this with forks – the dough will be wet and sticky enough, so forks make it easy to move without getting it all over your hands.
5. Let the dough rise again, uncovered, in the new bowls for about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
6. Bake 15 minutes at 425°F, then reduce the heat to 375°F and bake for 15 minutes more. Turn out onto cooling racks and rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting into them.

This bread is simple and classic, perfect to go with a hearty soup. Try it with butternut squash soup, slow cooker tomato soup or curried sweet potato soup!

The links above contain affiliate links, which means I get a few cents (at no extra cost to you) if you book or buy something via that link. This helps me keep costs down and posts up! All images copyright Teaspoon of Nose.

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