5 Bizarre Bread Recipes For When You Can't Cook And Can’t Be Bothered
Turns out, with so much time on our hands, that the whole of the UK has now become a population of aspiring amateur breadmakers. And as our prepper, Sharon, explained last week, as you can’t stockpile bread, it’s good to know how to make your own. Don’t despair if your local supermarket’s aisles are empty of flour, though, as there are plenty of easy alternatives which require fewer ingredients, less time and (crucially) less finesse - for those days when you are feeling lazy but fancy a treat.
1. Bread Without Yeast or Bread Flour
It might be your first assumption that the foundation of all good bread is yeast but it turns out there are some tasty recipes that skip this painstaking step of baking.
What about Paul Berry’s soda bread which only uses five ingredients (though heads up, you do need buttermilk for this recipe!) or Nigel Slater’s cheese scones which can be a great way to try out different cheeses in the fridge. Other popular yeast-free bread alternatives include flatbread and sourdough - check out these recipes for some inspiration.
Who can resist a cheesy scone?
2. Making Your Own Flour
If supplies are running low, here’s a handy hint for making your own self-raising flour - and no, this isn’t as hard as it sounds. Just add 2 teaspoons of baking powder to every 150g of plain flour, making sure to sift through regularly so the baking powder is distributed throughout - it’s as simple as that. Store it in an airtight container.
3. Sweet Bread
Wondering what to do with that old tin of cocoa powder gathering dust at the back of your cupboard? Why not try this deliciously simple no-yeast cocoa bread - a sweet bread that only takes an hour to bake and doesn’t require yeast, butter or eggs.
And if you have a sweet tooth and prefer your bread on the dessert side, it’s worth having a look at these banana bread recipes - another staple of the lockdown diet.
4. Reusing... pasta and potato water?
A top tip from the culinary goddess, Nigella Lawson, is reusing water you’ve cooked potatoes or pasta in. While this might initially sound like Nigella is finally cracking under self-isolation, apparently it will help the bread rise and improve its texture.
Nigella suggests tasting the water before using and if it’s too salty, to dilute it with fresh water as well as leaving any salt in the recipe out.
5. Beer Bread
Another yeast-alternative is… beer. Check out this budget-friendly recipe from Jack Monroe (the whole loaf costs a mere 36p to make!) She recommends using a beer with some sediment at the bottom of the bottle if you can, but any will do if you’re restricted. Add some bicarbonate of soda and a little vinegar and you should have the equivalent of standard bread dough.
A pint with Jack
