Name: No Yeast Bread White Bread
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 1 small loaf
Ingredients: 2 cups (260g) all-purpose white flour ((plain white flour) plus extra for rolling); 1 tbsp sugar; 1 tsp baking soda ((= bicarbonate of soda)); 1 tsp salt; ¾ cup (180 ml) whole milk ((see notes)); 1 tbsp white or red wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar); 1 tsp lemon juice; Butter for greasing

You will also love… my No Knead Bread and Traditional Irish Soda Bread

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No yeast crusty bread on a wood board with butter on the side

Hey everyone… NOW is the time to finally bake bread from scratch. Only one (not so) small problem… yeast is tough to come by at the moment.

If you are thinking “can I even make bread without yeast?” the answer is a resounding YES.

One solution is, of course, using a sourdough starter instead of yeast. Many people have a veritable passion for sourdough bread but impatient ol’ me ain’t one of them. (<––––– UPDATE? I managed to master delicious and easy No Knead Sourdough Bread!)

White soda bread with butter on the side

Enter… my Emergency White Bread! This quick bread recipe uses all purpose flour, baking soda, buttermilk and salt. It is INCREDIBLY easy to make and also the fastest bread recipe ever!

No kneading, no waiting for the bread to rise, all you have to do is mix the ingredients together, shape them into a loaf and bake.

The hardest part is waiting long enough for the bread to cool down before slicing and slathering with butter… I can’t describe just how delicious it is!

No yeast soda bread on a round bread board with slices cut out

All Purpose Flour Bread

I usually use a mix of wholemeal and white flour to make this bread. Right now it’s tough to find any but the most basic flour so this recipe uses plain white flour.

But evenn if you have bread flour in your pantry I would advise you to use all purpose flour in this no yeast bread recipe.

No yeast white bread on wooden plate shown overhead

No Yeast Bread Ingredients

You can make this emergency bread (that’s what we dubbed it during early days of lockdown) with just four ingredients – flour, baking soda, buttermilk and salt. I prefer to add a fifth ingredient – a little bit of sugar to enhance the flavor.

If you haven’t got buttermilk – hard to source at the moment – then it’s very easy to make your own. Simply add a little vinegar or lemon juice to whole milk, stir and leave to thicken and sour.

No Yeast White Bread Step by Step

↓ For the full ingredients and detailed method, jump to the recipe card.

STEP 1 Mix the milk with the vinegar and lemon juice. Stir well and set aside for 10 minutes. The milk will thicken and look a bit curdled – this is what we want! If you have buttermilk you can use that instead and leave out the vinegar and lemon.

adding vinegar to milk to make soured milk

STEP 2 Put the flour, baking soda, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl and use a balloon whisk to combine. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.

STEP 3 Add the soured milk (or buttermilk) to the bowl.

STEP 4 Use a wooden spoon to gently mix the wet and dry ingredients until you have a shaggy sticky dough. Use your hands to bring the dough together but don’t overwork it, just mix it enough so that it comes together.

Mixing soda bread dough in a mixing bowl using a wooden spoon

STEP 5 Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work top and use your hands to quickly shape it into a round loaf.

STEP 6 Put the loaf on a greased baking sheet and pat it down slightly. Use a sharp knife to make a cross deep in the top of your loaf. This helps your bread to cook evenly so do not skip this step!

Scoring soda bread loaf with a large knife in a cross shape

STEP 7 Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until the bread is golden and the bottom sounds hollow if tapped.

STEP 8 Transfer the bread to a wire rack and allow it to cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

Spreading a slice of no yeast bread with butter

Tips and FAQs

MAKE IT VEGAN? Yes, simply replace the milk with a non dairy alternative such as soy milk.

HOW LONG DOES THIS BREAD KEEP? This quick bread does not keep as well as yeasted bread and this is precisely why this recipe makes a small loaf.

The bread will last for a couple of days in the bread bin but after that it will start to harden and become a little stale.

Your best option is to wait until the loaf has cooled down completely, slice, wrap and freeze. You can toast the slices straight from the freezer – delicious for breakfast or with a bowl of hot chicken and vegetable soup.

DOs AND DON’Ts Do add a bit more milk or water if the dough is too dry. Avoid adding more flour unless the dough is still very sticky when you turn it out. Handle the dough gently and avoid kneading it too much – unlike regular bread you really need to handle this as little as possible.

NEED TO KNOW
Baking soda is the same thing as BICARBONATE OF SODA. This leavening agent reacts with the acidity in the buttermilk (or the vinegar/lemon juice) to give your no yeast bread its rise. Do check your baking soda is within date if you don’t bake often.

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