Easy, no knead, no yeast recipe perfect for first time bread bakers.
You’ll need:
350g plain flour plus extra for dusting
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
285mls buttermilk OR same amount of milk and a tablespoon of lemon juice
All you’ll need is a bowl, scales a baking tray and a measuring jug.
This is what to do:
This recipe is super easy, hard to go wrong and makes you feel like a pro, but with minimal effort. I’ve chosen it for the blog today as it’s a great lockdown recipe. No bread flour or yeast needed. The loaf isn’t huge, but that’s a good thing really as this bread really is best baked and eaten on the same day (and at its very best eaten warm).
Get the oven on at 180c and sprinkle your baking tray with a little flour. It’s easier to do this now before your hands get covered in sticky dough!
If you’re using the milk and lemon juice, measure out the milk and add the lemon juice and set it aside while you get on with everything else.
Weigh out the flour, bicarb and salt into your mixing bowl and give it a wee stir just to make sure the salt and bicarb are mixed in, then pour in your milk mixture. Don’t worry if it looks a bit split. That’s exactly what you want.
Mix everything with a butter knife (that way you won’t be tempted to over mix) then bring together with one hand until it looks smooth. Don’t be tempted to knead! What you’re looking for is a soft, very slightly sticky dough. See handy hints for more info.
Form it into a ball and pop it onto your floured baking tray and then flatten it slightly and sprinkle lightly with flour (use your non doughy hand!) then cut a deep cross in the top. This not only makes it look pretty, it helps it bake through evenly.
Bake on the middle shelf for 35 to 40 minutes till it’s firm to the touch and a skewer comes out clean. Now, you can tap the bottom and see if it sounds hollow (we said that in our original post) but if you’re a new bread baker these sorts of instructions are not always helpful! Your hollow might sound different to someone else’s. Our lovely bread baker Fernando can tell with one tap, but he’s been baking for a long time! What I would suggest is do the skewer test (put a skewer in the middle and if it’s ready it will come out clean) and when it’s ready take a good look at your loaf, note the colour and how long it took so next time you bake it you’ll feel a bit more confident. See handy hints about baking times.
Handy Hints:
Don’t be tempted to use bread flour. It won’t make the loaf better!
The dough should feel soft and very slightly sticky, not wet. If it’s wet, sprinkle in a little more flour, if it’s dry, add a tiny bit more milk. Flour is unpredictable, sometimes you’ll need more or less liquid, so go by touch and feel. After making this a couple of times you’ll feel way more confident in your judgement.
Don’t be tempted to knead. You really don’t have to!
Oven temperatures really do vary, so never go by time alone. Always test and if you’re really not sure, give it 5 more minutes. The worst that can happen is it’s slightly drier than it should be. That’s much better than a raw, inedible loaf!
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