Give us this day our daily bread.
Matthew 6:11

Herbed Peasant Bread Recipe. April 10, 2024.

Coming in from a long session in the garden, I find the smell of homemade bread filling the air with a sense of goodness and peace. The dough I had put to set last night is now baking, tantalizing my mind with thoughts of that first piece of hot bread spread with good butter. Now I am hungry for this filling sustenance that has no earthly replacement. Bread is the soul-satisfying, comfort food of the world. The magic of yeast, flour, and water is as old as time and continues to make the planet spin in countless variations around the world. For years, I had a recipe for homemade bread baked in a bowl, but somewhere along the way, it disappeared. Eventually, a new one showed up that was even simpler to make.

My new best bread-in-a-bowl recipe comes straight from the Victoria Magazine archives. There is no kneading involved. It has minimal ingredients. It is tasty and filling. Everyone loves it and declares it’s their favorite. I now make it for holidays as well, and it’s one of the first things gone. I have modified the herbed peasant bread recipe a bit from the original recipe here, which doesn’t have herbs. If there are leftovers, no need to worry because this makes good sandwiches and toast as well.

Prep Time:15

Cook Time:40

Needs to sit overnight:1

Ingredients

4 1/2 cups bread flour (all-purpose is fine too)
1 tbsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp yeast
1 tbsp Italian herb blend
2 1/4 cups warm water (about 100 degrees)

Instructions

Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Add the 2 14/ cups of warm water.
Stir the ingredients.
I know I said this is no-knead, but I do knead the dough a few times at this point to finish bringing the dough together. The dough will not be smooth.
Cover the dough in a bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit overnight at room temperature and up to 24 hours.
After your dough has sat overnight, it should have risen significantly and have some bubbles in it. The dough will be loose and sticky.
Remove the dough and form it into a ball, and set it on parchment paper.
Dust the top of the dough with flour.
Cover the ball of dough with plastic wrap and let it sit for 2 more hours.
Near the end of the 2 hours, turn the oven on to 500 degrees.
Place a 4-6 quart Dutch oven with lid in the oven to heat up.
Remove the plastic wrap from the dough. If desired, score with a knife.
Using oven mitts, remove the hot Dutch oven from the oven and set it in your baking area for the moment.
Next, very carefully lift the edges of the parchment paper with your dough still on it and set it inside the Dutch oven.
Cover the Dutch oven with its lid and return it to the 500-degree oven, letting the bread bake for 30 minutes.
At this point, remove the lid and bake the bread for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until nicely browned on top as shown in photos.
Remove the bread from the oven when brown on top and done.
Use the corners of the parchment paper to lift the bread from the Dutch oven.
Let it cool a bit before enjoying!