The peasant bread master recipe from Bread Toast Crumbs: Recipes for No-Knead Loaves & Meals to Savor Every Slice (page 22) by Alexandra Stafford

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Ingredients

all-purpose flour
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- King Arthur Baking - United States
- Hayden Flour Mills - United States
instant yeast
Instant yeast appears similar to active dry yeast, but has smaller granules with substantially higher percentages of live cells per comparable unit volumes. It is more perishable than active dry yeast, but also does not require rehydration, and can usually be added directly to all but the driest doughs. Instant yeast generally has a small amount of ascorbic acid added as a preservative. (Wikipedia) Buy Now
- King Arthur Baking - United States
EYB Comments

See recipe for variation.

Where’s the full recipe - why can I only see the ingredients?

Always check the publication for a full list of ingredients. An Eat Your Books index lists the main ingredients and does not include 'store-cupboard ingredients' (salt, pepper, oil, flour, etc.) - unless called for in significant quantity.

Notes about this recipe

Eat Your Books

See recipe for variation.
eejackson on March 28, 2026

I have made this made this bread so many times and will make it many more, I'm sure. It's a very loose dough. I don't make two loaves; I plop it all in a single well-buttered 2 qt. Pyrex bowl. No changes needed to baking instructions. One of the bonuses is the recipe is so easy to remember. I don't love it the day after, but that's rarely a problem. Three hours start to finish for oven-fresh yeast bread is delightful.
Embry on March 26, 2026

Made 1/2 recipe good bread but not a lot of flavor
westminstr on February 26, 2026

Recently made again after quite a while. I used a mix of bread flour, AP flour and 12g rye flour for a half recipe. Did the first rise on the proof setting, second on top of the radiator. Baked on convention & didn’t need extra time. Everyone liked it!
Lhughes2 on January 03, 2026

Gave this cookbook and the quart bowls to all my family during Covid. They all still make this bread.
fultre on September 30, 2025

This bread is loved by all in our family. I especially appreciate the ease of making and the short time from start to finish. I make one loaf in a larger Pyrex bowl to avoid the step of separating the sticky dough into two parts.
PennyG on October 06, 2024

This was easy and delicious, albeit after the day it’s baked, it’s better toasted. I’ll be making this often - buttered hot out of the oven for Sunday evening dinner, then for toast the next few days.
jdejong on September 19, 2024

I purchased this book last month after enjoying the author’s Pizza Night cookbook. I was skeptical of baking in the Pyrex bowls, but this turned out impressively well for such little effort. I baked the loaves in 1.5 quart bowls and increased the recipe to one and a half as the book suggested. I added a few minutes to the baking time and next time I will let them go just a bit longer to increase the golden color. This bread was delicious grilled on our Baking Steel griddle in the leftover bacon fat for BLTs with Heirloom tomatoes. I plan to experiment with some of the recipe variations soon.
jimandtammyfaye on June 07, 2023

Impressive outcome for such a simple recipe. Used one of the 2 loaves as a birthday gift, along with a bottle of dipping oil and a little ceramic dipping bowl.
Hawaii on February 11, 2022

Delicious bread! This is a lovey homey simple bread that deserves all the praises for what it is. No, it's not sourdough and it doesn't have a Tartine-like shattering crust; this is the anti-artisan bread. It's simple and easy and takes very little planning. The crust is buttery and has a nice bit of crunch on the first day. It's just easy deliciousness. My family loves it and this recipe will be in my rotation for a long time.
lizbot2000 on November 27, 2020

Delicious and easy. I'll be making iterations of this for years, I think. I've already bought this book for my sister in law, who is excited about baking bread but says she never has time. I think this will be perfect for her.
anya_sf on March 24, 2020

Very easy. For some reason, the bread stuck to the bowl even though I buttered it well (I had no problem with the other breads I've made from the book). I liked the bread on its own, but didn't love it, but it was perfect for cheese fondue.
ChristineL32707 on July 03, 2019

This is the easiest bread ever! The loaves had a lovely crust and the inside was soft and delicious. I’ll be making it again and again - especially in the fall and winter when it’s soup and stew season. The dough was sticky and didn’t make much of a ball. I had to butter up my hands and plop it into each bowl. Both loaves rose nicely though. And it was so so good!
stef on June 30, 2019

A good recipe. Makes a nice soft crumb bread. My dough had to rise 1 1/2hrs the first time and 30 minutes the second.
stockholm28 on December 19, 2018

UPDATE: My second attempt at this resulted in much better results. I took some suggestions from sallyt and nannybales on the chowhound COTM THREAD. I made half a recipe and used 12 g dark rye, 64 g whole wheat, and 180 g AP flour. I extended the second rise to 30 minutes and I baked until the internal temp was 205 F. I liked this variation much better. I still prefer the Lahey no knead bread, but this is quite a satisfactory option when one does not plan ahead.
Lepa on December 12, 2018

This was extremely easy to pull together and I was quite pleased with the result. I'm a bit spoiled by living down the road from Tartine Bakery and it's nothing like the bread I can buy from bakeries in SF but I was satisfied with the effort to result ratio. It was pretty good slathered with lots of fancy German butter. My kids loved it because the crust is so soft. We ate a loaf with soup and then they had a final piece with butter and jam for dessert.
BethNH on December 07, 2018

I followed the recipe exactly - even weighed the flour. The bread never made even a loose ball but I figured I’d forge ahead. After the first rise I was concerned about the loose dough - more of a batter really - but I put it in the two bowls and let them rise. After baking I was very surprised to find two lovely brown loaves of bread. Delicious and super easy!
stockholm28 on December 03, 2018

There are lots of raves about this bread, but I was disappointed. I liked the buttery crust, but I thought the yeast flavor was a bit too strong and the texture reminded me too much of a dense loaf cake. It was much better to me on day two when I used it as toast. I might try another of her recipes, but I will probably look for one with another grain. I did like how easy this was and it was definitely superior to the supermarket bread that I grew up eating. I think JIm Lahey’s No Knead bread is fantastic and that crusty, chewy style of bread is really what I prefer so I will probably continue to choose that when cooking for adults. However, I might give this a try when cooking for my crust-hating niece and nephew. I could see how this one might even entice a very picky kid to eat the crust.
westminstr on December 03, 2018

I used a half recipe to make the cutest little loaf of bread ever! Everyone loved it. I subbed active dry yeast (mixed the sugar into the lukewarm water, then added yeast and waited until foamy) and a scant tsp of David's kosher salt. Excited to try variations, especially with some whole grain flours added. I have a slow oven, baked the extra five minutes and glad I did.
hirsheys on September 01, 2018

Earlier this summer I had grading to do at home, so I flirted briefly with the idea of running to a nearby bakery to get some yummy bread so that I could make myself a tomato sandwich for lunch. But then I felt far too comfy in my jammies and did NOT feel like getting dressed. So, instead, I remembered the description of this no-knead bread on Chowhound and decided to give it a go. I found the recipe online, and sure enough, in just a couple hours I had two adorable little loaves of chewy bread that were perfect for tomato sandwiches. Yum! The method worked great (though I didn't butter the bowls enough - next time maybe I'll use oil?)
vickster on August 11, 2017

I was excited to finally try this bread from Alexandra Stafford's book. It is a very easy, fast recipe, with little hands-on time. Next I am going to try some of the variations.