French Peasant Bread

This is a very simple bread to make. It is absolutely fantastic to eat! It's very similar to Macaroni Grill's appetizer bread that they bring to the table.

(If you are looking to make it taste even more like Macaroni Grill, add a small amount of crushed rosemary and shake kosher salt on the top of the loaves just after they've been brushed with the final butter.)

The first time I tried making it some friends were over, and we gobbled down a loaf in just a minute or two. I like it best fresh out of the oven dipped in balsamic vinegar. I just bought a gigantic bottle of vinegar at Costco this week, and I'm dying for some bread. Maybe on Sunday.

French Peasant Bread

1 package dry yeast
2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
4 cups flour
1 tablespoon oil
3 tablespoons butter

1. Place yeast, water, sugar and salt in a warm bowl and stir until dissolved.
2. Add flour and stir until blended, but DO NOT KNEAD.
3. Cover and let rise one hour or until doubled in size.
4. Flour hands, remove dough from the bowl and place in 2 rounds on an oiled cookie sheet.
5. Let rise an additional hour.
6. Brush the top with melted butter and bake at 425 for 10 minutes.
7. Reduce oven temperature to 375 and cool an additional 15 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and brush again with butter.
9. Serve warm.

This recipe comes from one of the three vital cookbooks every woman should have -- we'll cover the other two another time. The cookbook is..... "Favorites" by the Ivory Family. You can purchase a copy here by calling the Make-A-Wish foundation. They will ship it media mail, so the shipping is really cheap. I highly recommend you call them on Monday!