Make your very own version of flavorful herbed peasant bread. With minimal effort and a dash of herbes de Provence, you'll feel like you've been transported to the South of France!
Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. Combine all of the ingredients, and mix and knead — by hand, mixer, or bread machine set on the dough cycle — until smooth, adding additional water or flour as needed.
Cover the dough, and let it rise for 1 hour.
Divide the dough into 4 pieces, shape into logs, and place in lightly greased mini loaf pans. For one large loaf, shape the entire piece of dough into a log and place in a lightly greased 9" x 5" loaf pan.
Cover and let rise until the dough has crowned about 1/2" over the rims of the mini loaf pans, or 1" over the rim of the larger pan, 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the warmth of the kitchen. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake the bread for 30 to 35 minutes for the mini loaves, 35 to 40 minutes for the larger loaf. An instant-read thermometer, inserted into the center of a loaf, should register at least 190°F. Tent the bread lightly with foil if it appears to be browning too quickly.
Remove the bread from the oven, turn it out of the pan, and cool on a rack.
