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When bread is hard to come by due to panic-buying in times of emergency, you may need to make your own. Though homemade bread may seem daunting to you, there are recipes that only call for a few basic ingredients that you probably already have.
With the current reality of a worldwide pandemic, going to the store for ingredients like yeast might not be worth the trouble. Instead, try these bread recipes that don't require yeast. Even the novice bakers can handle these simple recipes.
One thing to keep in mind is that no-yeast breads do not result in a traditional ball of dough. What you’ll end up with is a thick batter, or in the case of the bagels we’re going to make, a close approximation of a traditional dough.
Even though you’re not using yeast, your breads will rise, but baked goods made with baking powder and/or baking soda rise in the oven while baking, not before. The point is, don’t wait for your bread to rise before baking. It happens while it bakes.
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No-Yeast White Bread
This bread has a bit of a cakey texture but great fresh-baked bread flavor. It’s perfect with stew, or you could enjoy it warm with butter or jam. It is an ideal bread to accompany a meal, but maybe not your best choice for a sandwich, as it can be a little bit crumblier than the typical bread. Toasting slices could give it some integrity for a sandwich.
No-Yeast White Bread Recipe
Ingredients:
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- ½ teaspoon of baking soda
- 3 cups of all-purpose flour
- ½ cup of sugar
- 1 ½ cups of milk
- 1 teaspoon of butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ tablespoons of white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
Directions:
1. Preheat your over to 425 degrees.
2. Mix the ingredients together in the order listed, saving the vinegar for last. Stir until they are well combined.
3. Once you have a mixed consistency, add the vinegar. The vinegar will react with the baking soda and baking powder in a way that will help the bread have a significant rise, so it should be added last and just mixed to combine.
4. Oil or butter a bread pan and pour the bread batter into the pan.
5. Bake for 40-50 minutes. Check doneness by sticking a toothpick into the center of the bread; if it’s still wet, give it a few more minutes to bake until the toothpick emerges dry.
The bread will rise fully and turn a golden brown. Expect a kitchen full of comforting and homey smells, which is a wanted plus in the current world climate.
Store in a resealable bag or plastic wrap and it will be good for 3-4 days. You can refrigerate it to extend the shelf life a week.
Beer Bread
This bread has simple ingredients. It’s easy to make and even easier to devour. Depending on the beer you use, the flavor might change slightly. The beer flavor carries over mildly; if you wish for a bigger flavor, consider a bolder beer.
You can use this bread as a meal side, sandwich bread, or have it for breakfast with jelly. I used a hoppy beer, giving the bread a slight sourdough flavor and making it a great candidate for avocado toast.
This recipe calls for self-rising flour which helps fill the gap missing without yeast. If you don’t have self-rising flour, you can make your own. With just a few ingredients, this bread is easy and will scratch the itch of a major bread craving.
Beer Bread Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 12oz can of beer (room temperature)
- 3 cups self-rising flour*
- 3 tablespoons of white sugar
*To make your own self-rising flour: to each cup of flour, add 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder and ½ teaspoon of salt.
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients.
3. Slowly add the beer, stirring until mixed. The batter will be very sticky and not form a dough-ball.
4. Pour into a greased 9×5 bread pan and bake for 50-60 minutes.
5. This bread will have a pale color even when it’s fully baked, so test for doneness by sticking a toothpick or skewer into the center until it comes out clean. If it’s still wet, bake for another 5 minutes until the toothpick comes out dry.
And if you don’t happen to have toothpicks you could always use a wooden skewer or a knife.
Store wrapped in foil or plastic wrap in a cool, dark spot of your kitchen, and it will last 3-5 days.
No-Yeast Bagels
This bagel recipe is simple to make and yields delicious results! Though the process is a bit more complex than the bread recipes, it will only take you an extra 10 minutes to roll out the dough and shape your bagels.
Where no-yeast bread is a bit too cakey for a sandwich, these bagels are great for a delicious breakfast sandwich, burger bun, or bagel sandwich. They also would be a great breakfast to eat with cream cheese or butter.
I used ‘Everything Bagel’ seasoning, which you can find at Aldi or Trader Joe stores. If you don’t have that at home, you can top with seasonings you do have like garlic flakes, herbs, salt and pepper, sesame seeds or even cinnamon and sugar.
You could also try to add in raisins, cinnamon, blueberries or chocolate chips for a sweeter bagel.
No-Yeast Bagel Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ½ cups of plain Greek yogurt
- 1 egg (for egg wash)
- Preferred toppings or mix-ins
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Stir together the dry ingredients and then add the yogurt, mixing well with a spoon. The mixture will be flakey, so finish working it together with your hands until it’s malleable and sticks together.
3. When you can form a dough ball, move the dough to a floured work surface (a wooden cutting board is ideal if you have one handy).
4. Next, divide the dough into equal portions, making 6.
5. Roll out each piece into a sausage shape and connect the ends, creating the ring bagel shape.
6. Roll the joined edges together to smooth the seam and set bagels on a parchment-covered baking sheet. If you don’t have parchment paper on hand, just lightly oil your baking sheet.
7. Whisk the egg and use a brush to gently coat each bagel.
8. Then generously add your toppings or leave just the egg wash for plain bagels.
9. Bake for 15-20 minutes. They will turn a light brown when done. Enjoy!
Store in a paper bag or loose-wrapped foil.
No bread; don’t panic.
Baking during a stay-at-home order might mean that you use what you have with some resourceful approaches, which is the perfect mindset for a homesteader.
If you do need to go to the store, don’t worry when you see empty shelves in the bread aisle. Bread is often an item people buy in a panic, but as you can see from these recipes, you can bake a substitution with what you have at home.
In those instances when you do go shopping, stock up on your baking supplies. And maybe grab some yeast while you’re at it to open the door on many other baked breads that you can make.
These recipes are easy enough that you can involve kids to help them feel like they’re contributing and have fun in the process. Try letting the kids mix the ingredients and give them the important job of taste testers of the finished product.
As an added bonus, treat some of it as a math lesson allowing kids to look at measuring cups and learn the fractions involved. You can also talk about the reaction of ingredients to help them see how baking is science in action.
For those new to baking, taking the first step will likely be the hardest part of the process as uncertainty will feel like a lack of confidence and competency; however, the homestead-mentality necessitates taking steps into the unknown for the sake of resourceful, sustainable living.
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These recipes seem super easy. I may try the white bread today. Could I freeze the dough to bake later? Do these types of breads freeze well?
We made this today and added a rosemary infused oil to dip it in and it came out delicious!
This is such a super simple recipe, highly recommend as this will be a new household recipe! Thanks so much for sharing this with us!
From my understanding, the bagel recipe works well in an air fryer. I’m not saying that should be an item you want to lug around, but if you don’t have power, an air oven might work well. I will have to mention that baking powder expires so make sure you check the dates on the bottom of the can. Yeast also expires but they are thin and light-weight so something that should be added to a survival kit. Flatbreads only require 3 ingredients and you can adjust the recipe to make pasta. Vacuum pack flour and sugar by the pound so you won’t have to open a five-pound bag for a cup of flour. If you just have ziplocks, those are perfect for measuring, and you can just throw them in the freezer to kill or keep out bugs and such.