Peasant Bread

By now you should all know that I love bread.  Sweet breads, yeast breads, rolls, heck even pretzels.   I do own a bread machine, but I find that I now only break it out every few months.  I am much more opt to whip up a batch of loaf bread or apple bread.  However my current favorite, crusty bread, might now have some competition.  I love crusty bread for it's ease and super yummy crispy crust, yet the draw backs are that it takes a bunch of steps for baking AND to ensure it rises properly you need to let the dough sit for at least 4 hours.  Now the peasant bread calls for simple mixing, however there are "rising and punching" periods.  All in all I would say that this recipe, from start to eating, takes about 2.5 - 3 hours - very good when I realize I want bread with dinner and it is 3pm.

Peasant Bread

• 4 c Flour*
• 2 t Salt
• 2 c Water, lukewarm **
• 1 T Sugar
• 2 t Dry Active Yeast

Proofed Yeast!

1. Mix the flour and salt in a bowl and set aside. *I used all-purpose flour, however you can substitute 1/4 of the flour for whole wheat if you are so inclined.  Please keep in mind that the whole wheat flour will affect the consistency of the bread if you decide to use more.
2. Dissolve the sugar in the water and sprinkle the yeast over the water mix.  Set aside for 10-15 minutes until the yeast is foamy.  **The best way to "proof" your yeast is to boil 1/2 c of water and add 1 1/2 c of cool water to the boiled water.  This way the water will be the perfect temperature - no fear of over heated water killing the yeast.  
3. After the yeast foams, stir the water mixture gently and slowly mix into the flour.  Scrape the bowl sides down and mix thoroughly.  
4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a warm, damp towel*** and set aside in a warm draft-free place for 1-2 hours until the dough has doubled in size.  (***I find it is best to preheat the oven to 450 for 1-2 minutes, turn off the oven and place the dough in it's bowl with a warm damp towel in the oven for it to rise.  I do this because we always keep the fans going in our kitchen and therefore the oven is the only "draft-free" zone in the kitchen.)
5. Butter two oven safe bowls and set aside while the dough rises.  When the dough has risen take two forks and "punch" it down, being sure to fold the dough in on itself as you scrape the sides.  
6. Divide the dough in two and put the dough sections into the buttered bowls and set aside to allow the dough to rise for 30-60 minutes.
7. Preheat the oven for 425 F.  When the dough has risen (almost double in size again) place the bowls directly into the oven.
8. Bake for 10 minutes and then turn the oven down to 375 F and bake for an additional 20-30 minutes until the bread is golden brown.
9. When you remove the bread from the oven be sure to dump it from the bowls immediately.  Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes - if you can - before cutting.
10. ENJOY

The bread comes out light and fluffy with a slightly crispy (not crunchy) crust.  I, of course, can never wait the requisite time for cooling before cutting into the loaf - something about freshly baked bread!  I am not going to "lose" my crusty bread recipe - these are two different types and I love them both.

The calorie count of this recipe actually surprised me.  It makes two good sized loaves.  Deciding to err on the side of caution, I divided the recipe into 20 slices (it definitely makes more slices than 20).  Keeping with the 20 slices, the bread comes in at 84 calories per slice.  Not that bad for a homemade bread!

If you are so inclined give it a try - be sure to let me know your thoughts!