Description
My Peasantcore Bread:
This has replaced grocery store white bread in my kitchens for years. It stays soft for weeks and freezes well. No kneading required and a short rise time. Pretty much foolproof!
Make 2 BIG loaves, or 2 small loaves and 2 baguettes.
🥖 Ingredients:
* 6.5-7 cups all-purpose flour (start with 6.5, add more if needed)
* 3.5 cups warm water
* 2-3 tsp quick-rise yeast
* 1 TBS salt (more than average recipes, to help softness)
* 1-2 Tsp vinegar
* Optional- 1 tbs honey or sugar to boost the yeast.
Instructions:
1. Proof the yeast- in one cup of warm water, add the yeast and optional tbs of honey. (If you don’t use the honey, add in 1 tbs of the flour and whisk) and wait for the mixture to get foamy.
2. While the yeast proofs, add your dry ingredients to a large bowl.
3. Once the yeast is frothy, add it to the bowl along with the remaining 2.5 cups of warm water, then vinegar.
4. Combine until it comes together, it’ll be a bit sticky. If you want spongier, softer bread, you can knead it for a while and add more flour as you go, but this is not necessary.
5. Cover your dough and let it rise for 20-45 minutes, or until doubled in size.
6. Shape and place your dough in your loaf pans, or directly on a pan. It doesn’t matter.
7. Let it rise again for 20-40 minutes, until it grows about 30% in size.
8. While your bread rises, Preheat oven to 475 F and put a pan of water in the bottom shelf of your oven. This creates a steam bath and helps the bread spring, creating a nice crust as well.
9. With the water steaming and the oven heated, pop your bread in the top shelf.
10. Take the water/steam out after 10-15 minutes, when you’re satisfied with the spring of your bread.
11. Turn the oven down to 425 degrees and bake for another 10-15 minutes, until your bread is golden.
12. Take your bread out of the oven and immediately brush with butter or oil. This keeps the crust from getting stale and hard over time.
13. Let it cool completely before wrapping it up. I keep one loaf out and freeze the rest until needed. This feeds two people for two weeks. And it feels even better to make bread for your friends and neighbors!