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.

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. (I like to top with a good shake of salt as well)
9. Serve warm. We like to dip the warm bread in basalmic vinegar.

This is another from Favorites. Love that cookbook this week!