When you need bread in a hurry, or the shop has run out? This no yeast, no rise loaf that anyone can bake, that uses only 4 everyday ingredients is the answer.
Emergency no yeast bread is variation on a soda bread: it uses plain milk and baking powder rather than buttermilk and bicarbonate of soda.
Because baking powder is a quick-acting leavening agent you don’t need to allow time for it to rise before baking.
The recipe also doesn’t use strong bread flour, as there’s no need to knead the dough to develop the gluten.
The ingredients flour, plain milk, baking powder and salt are all everyday basics found in your fridge and store cupboard, which means you can easily make a fresh loaf whenever you need one.
It is really easy and straightforward to make a loaf of emergency no yeast bread.
Step 1: Heat the oven to 190°C (Fan)/Gas Mark 6 .
Step 2: Mix the dry ingredients (flour, salt and baking powder) in a large bowl.
Step 3: Add the milk, and bring the dough together. Give it a brisk knead to make sure the milk is evenly distributed throughout.
Step 4: Form into a flat loaf – no more than about 1½”/3cm thick. Important! It mustn’t be too thick otherwise it won’t rise or bake through properly. Then score the top to make a deep cross.
Step 5: Place on a floured baking sheet, then put in the oven and cook for about 35 minutes. The loaf will still be quite pale once cooked, don’t expect, or wait for it to be golden brown.
Step 6: Check it is cooked – flip it off the baking sheet and give it a tap, if it is done it will sound hollow.
Because the loaf doesn’t have much time to rise, it will never achieve a particularly light texture. This recipe will always result in a hearty, rustic loaf that’s best enjoyed fresh from the oven and dripping with lashings of butter.
This is the dough before it goes in the oven. As you can see, it’s formed into a round pancake, about 1½” (3cm) thick, and deeply scored with a cross across the top.
Can I Make a Vegan No Yeast Loaf?
Absolutely yes! Use your favourite soy or nut milk, and add one tablespoon of lemon juice just before mixing the dough.
Can I Make Emergency No Yeast Bread with Gluten Free Flour?
This recipe – as is – doesn’t work with gluten free wheat flour, so I’m afraid not. Sorry! We are working on it though, so watch this space!
I’m Out of Milk! What Can I Do?
You can use a 50:50 mixture of yogurt and water instead. Mix the two well together before adding to the flour. Or you can make up some powdered milk, as per the packet instructions, and use that.
Can I Freeze Emergency No Yeast Bread?
Yes – this no yeast bread freezes well – I like to slice it, wrap in a plastic bag, freeze, then toast from frozen.
When you need bread in a hurry, or the shop has run out? This no yeast, no rise loaf that anyone can bake, that uses only 4 everyday ingredients is the answer.
- 1 lb plain flour (500g)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 pint of milk (310ml)
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Heat the oven to 190C (Fan) / GM 6. Place a baking stone or heavy baking sheet in the oven to heat.
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Mix the dry ingredients. Stir in the milk, and bring the dough together.
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Knead briefly until a uniform consistency.
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Shape the dough into a round disc about an inch to an inch and a half (about 3cm) thick and score the top. This is important! Don't make a round ball of dough as it won't cook in the middle.
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Bake on the hot stone or baking sheet at for about 35 minutes until pale brown and sounding hollow when tapped on the bottom.
Important! We cannot stress enough that the dough needs to be a flat pancake - not more than 1.5" (3cm) deep when it goes into the oven, or it will not cook properly in the middle.
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This bread is great with soup, such as these ready-made soups from award-winning Irish brand Cully and Sully – if you have not got time to make yeasted bread then you probably haven’t got time to make soup, so they are ideal for those occasions.
These are fresh soups, although with a fridge life of a few weeks, from the chiller cabinet and come in 400g packs at a very reasonable £1.50 from Tesco – ideal with fresh bread for lunch shared between two, or as a very easy complete meal for one. If I still had an office job I can see myself having a Cully & Sully soup once or twice a week at my desk; heated in the office microwave.
The soups are all velvet smooth and well as hearty and filling, the pea and minty soup tasted fresh and sweet, the mint wasn’t at all overpowering. Tomato and basil soup was rich and comforting. Chicken and vegetable was packed with chicken and the vegetable was full bodied with lots of flavours.
Of course we like to embellish our soups a little – I’d suggest a drizzle of good olive oil, sprinkle of pepper and a few basil leaves for the tomato, crumbled feta for the pea and mint, some grated cheese for the chicken, and a few frazzled onions for the vegetable.
Sponsored review for Cully & Sully. All opinions our own.
This recipe was originally posted in March 2011, and updated in November 2017. Here’s the rather rustic loaf from our original post.
Sally - My Custard Pie
I think everyone needs a recipe like this up their sleeves. In fact I might make some emergency bread for when my children come home from school today (as there seems to be nothing else for them to eat in the house!) Enjoyed this slightly different challenge – especially reading everyone elses.
Helen
Hope they enjoy it Sally.
Err on the side of over baking, mine was slightly underdone.
Jane Mitchell
You’ve got to use your loaf!
Claire
Might have to give your emergency bread a go. I usually make a soda bread when I need bread fast.
Helen
I must get to grips with soda bread too.
Love bread, and the feel of working with dough.
Harika
Soft and spogy. Looks very fresh and yummy.
Helen
Love homemade bread, so much better than shop bought.
sarah
Helen, thanks for hosting! It took me out of my normal baking, for sure. :) I think emergency bread is such a useful standby. And thanks for introducing Katie Stewart–she’s new to me today.
Helen
Katie is wonderful, good classic, simple and affordable cooking. I have three of her books. My mother sent me off to University with one of them!
I think that the original TImes Cookery book is due a reissue with photos.
Sarah, Maison Cupcake
Sounds great, probably even I could manage this?
Helen
You undersell yourself Sarah!
Sarah
Love Shipton Mill, and my other favourite is Bacheldre. I must check out that challenge when I am back on the blog wagon.
Oh, and it’s bollocks that you need strong flour to make bread. Rye flour is extremely low in gluten, yet you can make great sourdough with it. French baguettes are made with soft flour.
It all comes down to what kind of bread you want to make, and there are a lot of other factors involved than just gluten or protein content (not all the protein in flour is gluten).
Helen
That is interesting Sarah,
I have gone back to basics with bread and am doing sordough from scratch series now. Just need to experiment, and read Dan Lepard!
Krithi
Quick bread… wow.. love the (c)rust…
http://krithiskitchen.blogspot.com
Herbs & Flowers in my Platter – Coriander/Cilantro
Helen
So tasty, and much better than shop bought.
Corina
I need to remember this for when my bread machine fails me. I still haven’t managed to complete this challenge but I’m looking out for local flour and hope to get around to it sometime, even if I’m very late.
Helen
Thanks for persisting Corina, I still need to post last months challenge!
I think my dough was slightly too dry, it is a great breakfast loaf, mix, bung in oven, shower and get up whilst it is cooking.
JohannaGGG
what a wonderful looking loaf – I need a good emergency bread like this because some days there is no loaf and no energy for all that yeast palaver!
Helen
It’s a really easy alternative to using yeast, and ideal as a quick loaf.
Lou
Hi Helen – thanks for a great challenge!
Like your emergency bread and I love the picture of the flour explosion – I would never have thought of that but after you had said it, it made me laugh.
Pudding Pie Lane
This bread doesn’t look like you made it in 35 minutes! It looks like it took HOURS. Well done, and fantastically shaped too, yum yum :)
Helen
Thank you. I really enjoy making homemade bread.
Dawn Jones
Could you do this with gluten free flour? My daughter has a gluten intolerance. But loves bread. And shop bought gluten free is so expensive!
Helen
Hi Dawn, we are working on a GF version, but it is not as simple as just using GF flour sadly.
Joanna
What fun! Your loaf looks lovely. A really useful recipe for quick bread.
Helen
I really enjoy making, and of course eating homemade bread.
Camilla @FabFood4All
This is fab Helen, you’ve gone one better than my no-knead loaf, a no rise loaf – must give this a go:-)
Helen
Reducing the time considerably, ideal for time saving.
Kara
I love baking my own bread, nothing beats waking up to the smell of fresh bread in the morning
Helen
The smell of homemade bread is something rather magical.
Julia
I’ve been in a bread making mood for the past 2 weeks :). Gotta try this one – love that there is no yeast needed and it still comes out looking perfect!
Helen
The time saved is such a bonus.
Mel
I’m always running out of bread so this is very handy – I will be sure to make some next time I run out! Those soups look delicious, I might have to pick some up to try.
Helen
The soups are delicious, ideal for these colder days.
Amanda
The texture of this bread looks fantastic, and I’m also loving the flavors of these soups from Cully & Sully! That Pea and Minty Soup would be so perfect for lunch on a cold day like today!
Helen
I do love a nice hearty soup on a cold day.
Tina | The Worktop
I haven’t tried these soups before, but I’ll keep an eye out for them next time I’m at the shop. They look lovely, especially with the bread!
Helen
Very tasty soups and lovely consistancy.
rika
I’ve never tried to make my own bread at home! This recipe looks so easy to make.
Helen
So easy to make and well worth the effort.
Tara
Oh wow! This bread looks wonderful and the photos are just beautiful. Sounds perfect with a bowl of soup on this chilly morning.
Helen
I love homemade bread with a nice warm bowl of soup.
HodgePodgeDays
It’s so handy to have a quick bread recipe to hand, especially if you’ve got a pot of soup on the hob screaming out for some crusty bread.
Helen
Hot soup and crusty bread are the perfect partners.
Hazel Rea
You can also make emergency glutenfree bread. Before my son went to University I adapted a recipe so he could make himself bread without scales (he used a measuring jug) and it was cooked in a frying pan to avoid using an oven contaminated with gluten containing flour from pizzas cooked by other students.
Helen
Lovely that you gave your son the means to make his own bread.
Gareth Torrance
Never thought that you could make bread without yeast….
Helen
So handy, because it takes such less time.
Lyndsay-Rose
Ohhhh I might have to give this a go! Especially if it takes less than an hour
Helen
it is a staple here!
Amy Deverson
Ooh fab post – I love making bread in a bread maker but this sounds like a great alternative for those emergencies.
Helen
It makes a really good loaf considering how fast it is.
Nayna Kanabar
I really like the cully and sully range of soups , especially as there are many vegetarian options and your bread would go perfectly with it .No soup is compete with out a crusty slice of bread to dunk into the soup.
Helen
a hunk of crusty bread really makes a bowl of soup
Agata
The bread looks fab but given the choice would swap it for a pea and minty soup… oh it sounds delicious. I just love all things mint
Helen
Pea and mint is such a great flavour combination.
Lynne Harper
I love ready made soups that are tasty :) takes the pressure off on busy days. the bread looks incredible as well x
Helen
Tasty ready made soups are ideal for busy days, and so handy to have in.
Chris
LOVE the idea of emergency bread! Completely agree, it’ll totally be better than a trip to the shop. I’m already drooling at the thought of a thick slice with a tonne of butter!!
Helen
Can’t beat homemade bread. And so much more satisfying, because you made it yourself!
Elizabeth
It would be more dense than regular bread, right? I only had wheat flour. Then I couldn’t tell if it was cooked or not. *facepalm* I left in a little longer than the recipe suggested. Seemed spongey, not doughy.
laura
must you use cow’s milk? would nut milks work?
Helen
I am experimenting on this one at the moment.
Chef Robert
I didn’t have any milk I just used water bread still turned out great
Helen
Glad your bread turned out well.
Chef Robert
Oh yeah I used an egg in there as well cooked it a little lower temperature for a little bit longer it almost turned out like focaccia.
Anna
Do you have a recipe for “not quick” bread. The whole point is to let the dough ‘brew’ for few days to break up the grains and make them either for digestion. The whole celiac, gluten sensitive started because of quick yeast and shortcuts in the baking. If you have a recipe for real old fashion bread, please post it.
Helen
Hi Anna,
Thanks for commenting. Absolutely we have so many recipes for bread including sourdough which we regularly bake. As we said this is a quick bread – an alternative to say, soda bread (which I am really not too keen on) for when you have forgotten to bake, and want something bready that is homemade.
https://fussfreeflavours.com/category/recipes/baking/bread-baking/
Faye
HI Helen…. I have been seeking recipes for No Yeast bread. If they happen to include fruit, nuts or even vegetables …. I AM interested!
Fit is not too much trouble, could you reply via email…. and of course post your reply for other interested folk :)
Thanking you in advance Helen
Faye in Halifax Nova Scotia…..
Helen
you could easily add dried fruit, nuts and seeds to this, I’d go easy on fresh grated vegetables as they may be too moist and make the loaf too heavy.
Elena
I just tried this recipe…..it flopped…I used gluten free flour and the rest I followed with accuracy, but the bread is heavy and the middle is almost uncooked….the cooking time was more than 40 min, the outside of the bread is a lovely crunch, but even though I scored it several times and the thickness when the dough went into the oven on a hot cookie sheet, is still NOT like bread and didn’t rise very much at all.
Back to more recipes…..I’d like to make a fabulous gluten and yeast free bread….even if it’s flat and not fluffy……still searching….thanks anyway
El
Helen
Hi Elena, It doesn’t work with GF flour, we’ve tried and the loaf needs to be far flatter when it goes in the oven. Updating the recipe to make that clearer.
Laura
Would it make a difference if you used semi skimmed milk, or is full fat best?
Helen
Any type of milk goes!
Sarah K.
This was WONDERFUL! So easy to make, with ingredients I had on hand. And fast. Crusty, dense, rustic…Thank you SO much! (I couldn’t get the stars to work but this is truly a 5-star recipe!)
Helen
Thank you so much for for the feedback Sarah, I am so glad you enjoyed it.
Sonja
Can this bread be sliced then frozen?
Helen
Absolutely. Slice and freeze in a plastic bag, then toast from frozen.