Peasant Wheat Loaf 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.

PEASANT BREAD

Steps:

• Dissolve yeast in 1 cup warm water. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar. Add the yeast mixture and remaining water; stir until combined. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. , Stir dough down. Divide in half. Place each half in a greased 1-qt. round casserole or ovenproof bowl. Brush tops with butter and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes. , Bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Remove from pans; serve warm if desired.

PEASANT BREAD

Steps:

• Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select Light or Medium Crust cycle; press Start. For a crispier crust, use the French cycle or turn machine off after first rise and start the cycle over.

RUSTIC ITALIAN CRUSTY BREAD RECIPE

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl or your kitchen aid mixer add the flour, salt and yeast. Use a spatula or the paddle attachment and mix to combine well.
• Pour in the warm water and keep mixing until everything is incorporated and a soft dough has formed. It will still stick to the bottom of the bowl and that is OK.
• Cover the bowl with some plastic wrap loosely and a tea towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours until doubled in size.
• Sprinkle some flour on your kitchen counter and dump the bread dough on it. Flour your hands to help it out of the bowl as it will be sticky. Don't panic, this is normal.
• With floured hands fold the dough onto itself forming it into a round ball. Do not knead it, do not handle it anymore than you need to. Use a sharp knife and lightly carve an X in the top of the loaf or just make a few cuts across.
• Place the bread dough on top of a lightly floured pizza peel, cardboard or parchment paper and allow it to rest while your oven is heating up.
• Preheat your oven to 450"F with a pizza stone inside for about 45 minutes before baking the bread. Fill an oven proof bowl with 2 inches of water and place it on the bottom rack. This will create the steam that will cause the crust to become crispy as it bakes.
• Once your oven is hot sprinkle the pizza stone with some semolina flour or corn meal and carefully slide the bread loaf on top. Bake the bread for about 30 to 45 minutes until golden brown all over and cooked through.
• Transfer the bread to a cooling rack and allow to cool off completely before slicing into it. You can also let it cool inside the oven with the door slightly open.

WHOLE WHEAT FRENCH BREAD

Steps:

• Combine the flours. In a large bowl, combine 3 cups flour mixture and the yeast. Set aside. Heat water, sugar, salt and butter to 115°-120°. Add to flour and yeast. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds; increase speed to medium and beat 3 minutes longer. Stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. , Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. , Punch dough down; divide in half and let rest 10 minutes. Roll each half into a 15x12-in. rectangle. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with the long side. Pinch seal and turn ends under to form a smooth loaf. Sprinkle 2 baking sheets with cornmeal and place each loaf, seam side down, on a greased baking sheet. Make slashes every 2-1/2 in. in the top of each loaf. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. , Beat egg white and water; brush some over loaves. Refrigerate remaining mixture. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes. Brush again with egg white mixture and bake 15-20 minutes longer or until golden brown. Remove pans to wire racks to cool.

PEASANT WHEAT LOAF

Steps:

• Place flours, yeast and salt in a Cuisinart food processor fitted with a metal blade, and whirl to blend. Using an instant-read thermometer, determine the temperature of the flour.
• Measure 1 1/4 cups water, adjusting the temperature of the water so that when its temperature and that of the flour are added together, the total is 130.
• Pour in the starter and, with the machine running, pour in the water through the feed tube and process 20 seconds. If the dough seems dry and does not come together to form a ball, add 2 more tablespoons water.
• Process the dough for another 25 seconds. Test the temperature; it should be 75 to 80 degrees. If it is lower, process it at 5-second intervals until it warms. If it is higher, refrigerate for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Place the dough in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 3 hours. Turn it onto a lightly floured board, shape it into a round loaf and place it, seam side up, in a well-floured round banneton or a cloth-lined basket. Dust with flour, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 12 to 16 hours.
• Remove the basket of dough from the refrigerator, and leave at room temperature 1 to 2 hours, until it is about 62 degrees and springs back very slowly when pressed.
• One hour before baking, place a baking stone on a low oven rack and a pan for water on the oven floor. Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
• Turn the loaf out, seam side down, onto a bakers' peel heavily dusted with cornmeal. Make four 1/2-inch-deep slashes in the top of the loaf, forming a large square. Dust lightly with flour.
• Pour a cup of hot water into the pan on the bottom of the oven. Slide the loaf directly onto the stone. Reduce heat to 450 degrees, and bake 2 minutes. Add another cup of water to the pan, and bake 15 minutes. Rotate the bread so it bakes evenly, and bake another 25 to 30 minutes, until the bread is a deep brown and the internal temperature has reached about 205 degrees. (Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees during the last 20 minutes if the bread is browning too fast.)
• Remove the bread from the oven, and cool completely on a rack before cutting.