I have yet to try the life-changing bread again, but I took note of the link to a yummy-sounding bread that the always awesome Erin brought to my attention. I tucked it into my spacious memory (spacious because nothing stays in there for long) and went about my daily business. Then one day about a week ago, I had a hankering for homemade bread and hunted down that link.
I’ve made it twice in the last week and have another one planned for today. Friends, this bread is absolutely delicious. The one I baked on Sunday morning got wrapped in parchment paper, then taken to a friend’s house for an early afternoon playdate, and it was still comfortingly warm from the oven. My friend sliced the loaf up and everyone (all eight of us) devoured it up. Only two slices were left by the time we left a few hours later.
But the best part? It totally lives up to its name and is a supremely easy bread to make. This is my favorite kind of recipe: unfussy ingredients, very little prep/baking time and amazing results. It’s a dense, hefty bread with a yielding and tender crumb — the word “rustic” comes to mind. I imagine this is the kind of bread that Heidi would take with her to the Swiss mountainside for her lunch, quietly munching on a thick slice with a slab of cheese while sitting next to goats. Did you ever read that book? It was one of my childhood go-to reads.
And you can change up the ingredients for a variety of flavors and textures. I’ve followed the recipe exactly and also tried a version with a funky quinoa/amaranth/chia/nuts/seed/oats blend, and the bread came out fantastic every time. I’m going to venture that this might very well be the life-changing bread.
Thanks for the wonderful recipe, Erin!! There will be many, many more loaves in the future…
There is nothing better than fresh and rustic bread!!! I’m not very good baker, although i would like to try some day…here everyone is in the baking fever because the Great British Bake program.
I’ve heard that the GBB is a huge hit but I haven’t seen it yet. Sounds like a show I’d love! 🙂
Yum…this looks delicious! Your pictures are beautiful!
Thank you, Teresa! I’m always so very pleased when my photography is complimented – I’m working really hard to improve 🙂
I like that! And “easy little bread” sounds manageable! Much less intimidating than “life-changing bread”. Even if it fails, it does not matter. Not like “Oh, I failed at making a life-changing bread….” 😉 Here in Germany we give bread and salt as a gift, when someone moves into a new home. This bread looks like the perfect gift.
Ha, so funny Ute! I agree, the pressure is significantly less with this bread. I am loving the housewarming gift idea. I’ll have to remember that one!
I’ll try his. I don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed by 101 Cookbooks!
101 Cookbooks is so great – such amazing photography too!
so good, right?? I’m so glad you have been making it. It’s a good semi-last minute idea whenever I make soup and have nothing else to put along side it. I love that all you need is a wooden spoon and a loaf pan- no kneading, no mucking up your counters… should be called the cleanest little bread recipe.
SO good. And SO clean (which makes me love it more). I also gave this recipe to another friend of mine yesterday and she baked it today! I need to find out if she likes it as much as I do 🙂
That looks delicious and sounds so easy! My go to bread is the no knead recipe from NYTimes but sometimes I don’t plan ahead and haven’t started the dough the night before. This would be perfect when you want bread now. Thank you for sharing! And this bread looks like a lot more fun than that life changing bread, I have to say.
Ha, so true – this one was so much less head-ache inducing than the psyllium monstrosity I made 🙂 I have a no knead bread cookbook, which I should actually open one of these days. Might have the same recipe as the one from the NYT…
Yummy looking bread!
I used to love Heidi when I was growing up – I even remember having a Heidi-themed duvet set! I always find it strange seeing the English version as I grew up with an Afrikaans-dubbed version in S Africa.
Hope K feels better soon.
That’s so funny! I watched a Japanese-dubbed version of Heidi growing up! And I love how Afrikaans sounds – one of my good friend’s husband is from South Africa and he speaks to his kids in his native tongue (they live here in Seattle). It’s very cool. Thank you for your thoughtful comment, Rhoda!
I made this today, and it’s delicious plus easy to put together.
Thanks for the recipe and your inspiring photos!
Fantastic! So glad you had a chance to try it out. Also, I received your message, Joan and I owe you an email back!
Thanks for the bread recipe Sanae – I made it last night and we had it with our pumpkin soup. So delicious, so easy!
Also, I read your more recent post and It sounds like you’re all having an awfully tough time. And how difficult to have sleepless, anxious nights on top of everything else… I hope K gets better very soon.
Oh, so glad you got a chance to make it Marisa! Isn’t it incredibly easy? And thank you for the kind thoughts. Yes, lots going on and fortunately, K seems to be on the upswing.