Day 5- No-Work Sourdough Peasant Bread
I hate spending a fortune on bread from the grocery store, but so often I forget to make it also. Sure, I could make some regular bread in about 3-4 hours, but if sourdough is only a few more hours in the making then I’ll do that.
But I don’t! I just forget, or postpone it over and over. Life is busy as heck!
This no-work bread is the perfect solution for a busy day. Fix it in less than an hour, then forget it. Let it do its magic for a few hours, and then bake it… IN ITS BOWL! For real, in the bowl.
This is what makes PYREX or similar borosilicate glass so wonderful. It’s usually oven safe. I’ve got a Pyrex Cinderella Bowl dedicated just for this role. If you don’t have something like it, you could also use a glass bread pan the same way.
This is called peasant bread because, as the rumor goes, it was an easy bread to prepare and not have to fuss over while doing other things for the day. Not sure if that is true or not, but it works for me. You literally prepare it before work, then toss it in the oven while you’re preparing dinner. (Hooray for low-maintenance baking!)
If you make nothing else besides this recipe with your sourdough starter, you still get the reward of natural-yeasted bread and healthy fermented foods in your diet. I call that a win.
Remember to refeed your sourdough starter according to your regular schedule. If you need a refresher course on sourdough and its benefits, you can refer to any of these posts.
Sourdough for Beginners, Part One ~ This has the basics and benefits of sourdough bread and how to begin.
Sourdough for Beginners, Part Two ~This has the world’s best sourdough crepe recipe!
Sourdough for Beginners, Part Four ~ This features a divine pie dough, perfect for all your pastry needs.
Sourdough for Beginners, Part Five- the Final ~ This is part five, the final segment in our Sourdough for Beginners journey. It’s been fun. Be sure to check out the recipe index for additional sourdough recipes in the future.
No-Work Sourdough Peasant Bread
Equipment
- 1 mixing bowl
- 1 food scale
- 1 medium sized oven-safe bowl
- 1 parchment-lined baking sheet or pizza stone
Ingredients
- 200 grams or 3/4 cup active sourdough starter
- 500 grams or 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 375 grams or 1.5 cups purified drinking water
- 15 grams or 2.5 teaspoons salt
Instructions
- Measure out all ingredients into a medium mixing bowl, and loosely mix together. (Do not use the bowl you intend to bake in.)
- Allow dough to rest for 30 minutes.
- Once dough has rested, it will still feel very wet. Fold or knead the dough the best you can for 50-100 turns. After this many stretch/fold turns, your dough will look very smooth and evenly mixed.
- Generously butter your oven-safe bowl.
- Coax your loose bread dough into the oven-safe bowl. Cover with plastic or a clean tea towel and allow to rise in a draft-free area until the dough has doubled in size. The timing will depend on how strong your starter is, and whether it was at it's peak or not. It will also depend on the temperature of your home. Aim for approximately 4-6 hours.
- When dough is ready, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, turn out the bread boule onto a parchment lined baking sheet, or pizza stone, and bake it, dome up, for another 15 minutes to allow it to get a nice golden brown color.
- Allow the bread to cool before slicing into it.
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