What was peasant bread made from?

Ingredients 2 cups lukewarm water. 1 (0.25-ounce) packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons) 1 tablespoon sugar. 2 teaspoons kosher salt. 4 cups bread flour. 1 tablespoon cornmeal. Melted butter. May 29, 2022

Why is no knead bread so good?

It slows yeast activity, giving enzymes time to break down starches that contribute sweet notes to the bread's flavor and improve browning .

Why do they call it peasant bread?

Peasant bread is a loaf that is baked with the skill of a craftsman, the love of an artist, and the storytelling of a writer . In the past, peasant bread was made with what was available to the farmers who were considered poor. These farmers managed the whole process of growing wheat, milling flour, and baking bread.

Why is my peasant bread so dense?

A “tight crumb” aka small holes in the interior of your bread can be the result of different factors: under-fermenting, over-fermenting, and a lack of gluten development .

How do you know if no-knead bread has risen enough?

What bakers call the “poke test” is the best way to tell if dough is ready to bake after its second rise. Lightly flour your finger and poke the dough down about 1". If the indent stays, it's ready to bake. If it pops back out, give it a bit more time.

Why is my no-knead bread so dense and heavy?

Usually bread will be dense when there is too much flour . Keep in mind this dough will be sticky and shaggy, do not add any more flour than specified. Other factors that come into play are humidity and age of flour. Little yeast, long rise, sticky dough are keys to a good, light loaf.

Why is my no-knead bread gummy?

Start by cooking your bread at the temperature prescribed in your preferred recipe, like the one mentioned in our no-knead rosemary bread recipe. Once finished, allow the bread to cool thoroughly and completely before cutting, as cutting too soon can also contribute to a gummy texture .

What kind of bread did peasants eat?

The bread was usually mean of rye, oats, or barley . Meat was expensive and usually only available on special occasions. Often eggs, butter, or cheese were substituted for meat. Vegetables such as onions, leeks, cabbage, garlic, turnips, parsnips, peans and beans were staples. Fruits were avaiable in season.

What was medieval bread made of?

It was made from wheat and rye flour mixed together . Rye was used on its own to make a darker loaf. In the cold, wet north and west of England, oats and barley were used to make bread. The lord's white bread was called pandemain.

What was ancient Greek bread made of?

Among the variety of breads were raised breads, coarse brown bread from emmer wheat and barley, white bread from fine flour, oven bread, bread baked in ashes and wafer bread, as well as soft cakes, such as sesame cake and barley cakes.

What did ancient Egyptians make bread out of?

This bread was made from an ancient type of wheat called emmer or, less often, barley . Loaves would be made in clay ovens crafted from the mud of the Nile; in Egypt, everything comes back to the Nile. Aish baladi was the great unifier in a nation of tremendous wealth and tremendous poverty.

Recipe: Jackie Olden's Grandma's Easy No Knead Peasant Bread (1986) (2024)

GRANDMA'S EASY NO KNEAD PEASANT BREAD

"You will love making this bread and everyone will want your recipe."

2 cups lukewarm water
1 package dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt (I used 1 1/2 teaspoons)
4 cups bread flour (if you like, use all-purpose flour)
1 tablespoon cornmeal
Melted butter

In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, sugar and salt. Stir until dissolved. Stir in bread flour. Turn the dough out onto a floured plate. Clean the bowl and grease with butter. Return the dough to bowl and cover with a damp towel. Let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes or until double in bulk.

Makes 2 loaves
Source: Can We Cook by Jackie Olden, 1986

Notes from Betsy at Recipelink:
This makes a very loose/slack dough. The loaves are moist with a tender crumb. This is how mine turned out:

FRENCH BREAD VARIATION (JUNE 8, 2009):
I made this recipe again, this time using bread flour, a little less water (a couple of tablespoons less) and baking the loaves in a French bread pan. (I used active dry yeast, not rapid rise, each time.) The dough was much easier to handle this time. In the first stirring of ingredients the dough was fairly stiff but still could be mixed with a wooden spoon. After rising the dough was slack but workable and could be shaped.

For anyone that hasn't tried making homemade bread or is waiting until they have a bread machine, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised if you try this recipe. It's 2 hours start to finish with only a few minutes of that time spent stirring and shaping. If you can't bake it right away you can store the dough in the refrigerator after the first rise and then shape, rise and bake it when you want.

LOAF PAN VARIATION (JULY 3, 2009):
I made this recipe again, using bread flour and placing it in a 10x5-inch loaf pan that was coated with cooking spray. I let the loaf rise for 45 minutes after shaping then brushed the top with egg white and sprinkled on sesame seeds. The baking temperatures and time was the same as above. If you try using a 9x5 loaf pan you may need to remove about a cup or so of the dough (you can use it to bake a couple of rolls on the side.) Here are the photos:

WHOLE WHEAT VARIATION (AUGUST 24, 2009):
I've continued experimenting with Jackie Olden's Grandma's No Knead Peasant Bread and this is my whole wheat version. For anyone that hasn't tried this recipe yet, it's such an easy way to have a fresh loaf of bread in a few minutes of measuring and mixing and 2 hours total time for rising and baking. If you don't have time to shape and bake the dough you can refrigerate it after the first rise to use later. I like to keep a container of the dough in the refrigerator to pull out and bake as needed, it even makes great pizza and foccacia dough (oil your hands and shape it on oiled parchment paper, top as desired and bake at 500 degrees F). I've kept the dough up to a week in the refrigerator, stirring down when I see it doubled or more in volume - just make sure you cover loosely and use a deep container or divide the dough in half because it can really grow! Here are the photos:

RAISIN BREAD VARIATION (OCTOBER 29, 2010):
Jackie's bread has become a staple in our house and my experiments with the recipe continue. This variation makes a dense and delicious raisin bread that's great for toast. The next time I make it I'm going to try 2 cups of whole wheat flour, 2 cups white flour and 3 teaspoons yeast. Here is the photo:

Recipe: Jackie Olden's Grandma's Easy No Knead Peasant Bread (1986) (2024)

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