Ally's Kitchen
What do you do when you have a hankerin’ for homemade bread, but you don’t want to wait hours for it…you don’t want to have to knead and knead…you don’t want to pull out a bread making machine…but, you WANT fresh hot yummmy bread? Well, you simply follow this recipe and, from start to finish, a couple of hours or less! Yes, you can reduce the time needed by skipping the 20-30 minutes to let the dough raise…it won’t dramatically nor negatively affect the end result, but if you have that extra time, do it! I wanted to add some savory to this bread, so the scallions and watercress do that…it’s kinda like a salad bread! Enjoy the Scallion & Watercress Rustic Peasant Bread ~~rustically couture eating!
Preheat oven 425
Makes: One loaf
What you need:
2 ¾ cups self-rising flour (divided)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp coarse ground pepper
½ cup chiffonade sliced green onions/tops
1 cup fresh watercress
¼ cup olive oil
¾ cup water
What you do:
In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 ½ cups flour, baking powder, sea salt, pepper, onions and watercress and blend well with your hands.
Combine the oil and water in a cup and slowly pour in. Using a rubber spatula blend and combine well (for several minutes). The dough will be thick. Use your hands to knead (about 3 minutes) in the bowl adding a little extra flour to help with sticking.
Shape dough into desired form. Put in a well-greased baking container (I used a copper pot to get a round shape.) Cover and let sit for about 20 minutes to raise.
Bake in a preheated 425 oven for about 45 minutes or until there’s a hollow sound when you peck on the top. (You can also do the toothpick test, but in my case it’s a 10″ skewer test!) Remove from oven and from the baking container. Let cool about 15 minutes. Eat! (Note: The shape/container in which you bake the bread can affect the cooking time. If you choose to make a ‘ciabatta’ like loaf, the cooking time will be less than if you bake the loaf in a compact round pot.)
©Alice D’Antoni Phillips Ally’s Kitchen
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