Peasant Bread
Makes 2 loaves, each loaves gets cut into 12 pieces – cut down the middle and then slice each half into 6 pieces
Ingredients
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 cups lukewarm water – 110 to 115 degrees
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp active dry yeast
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, mix the sugar into the water until the sugar dissolves. Sprinkle the yeast over top. Set aside while you prepare the flour
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the salt.
- Mix the yeast gently into the water with a whisk.
- Add the water/yeast mixture to the flour. Stir with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. The dough will be sticky.
- Cover with a piece of plastic wrap sprayed with non stick spray. Put in a warm place to rise for 1 1/2- 2 hours. ***See note below on how to create a warm place
- After the dough has risen. Grease two 1 to 1 1/2 quart oven proof bowls.
- Using two forks, punch down the risen dough, scraping it from the sides of the bowl, which it will be clinging to. Ad you scrape it down, try to turn the dough up onto itself. You want to loosen the dough entirely from the sides of the bowl, and you want to make sure that it was punched down (deflated). Take the two forks and divide the dough into two equal portions – eyeball the center of the mass of dough and staring from the center and working out, pull the dough apart with the two forks. Then scoop up each half of the dough and place into your prepared bowls.
- Let the dough rise again for 30 minutes or until it has risen to just below or at the top of the bowl. While the dough is on it's second rise, preheat the oven to 425
- Once the dough has completed it's second rise, bake at 425 for 12 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 and cook 12 minutes longer or until golden brown.
- Remove from oven and turn out onto a cooling rack. Cool for 10 minutes before cutting
Notes
***To create a nice environment for the dough’s first rise, turn your oven to preheat and set it at 200. Let it preheat for JUST ONE MINUTE and then turn it off. The temperature will probably not change, it just heats it up a bit. Place dough in oven WITH OVEN OFF to let rise. Remember, just preheat for one minute – you don’t want the oven to reach 200***