Yep, you CAN make an amazing bread without yeast that’s just like proper bread! 5 common ingredients: flour, baking powder, oil, milk and sugar. It’s a no yeast bread based on Damper, a traditional Australian bread historically made by swagmen and drovers over campfire – except we’re using an oven!
Use for sandwiches, toast, grilled cheese, French Toast – anything you normally make with sandwich bread.
Bread without yeast
This no yeast bread is inspired by the Australian Damper, a traditional bushman’s bread made with flour and water that was cooked over campfires.
Except I’ve brought it into the 21st century to make the crumb fluffier, more tender and tastier, and made it look like sandwich bread rather than a freeform loaf. (Oh, and we cook this in an oven instead of over fire!)
This is THE emergency bread that you make when you don’t have yeast, or you don’t have time to make yeast bread. It has a proper crumb like real bread, rather than being crumbly like muffins which many no-yeast breads are. It’s mixed in a bowl with a wooden spoon – no kneading, no rising. You’ll have this in the oven in mere minutes!
Is it as good as a yeast bread? Yeast gives bread a chew and stretch in a way that bread made without yeast will never have. But this is as darn close as you will get to a yeast bread recipe without using yeast. And it’s off the charts delicious for something that takes 3 minutes to get into the oven!!
What goes into sandwich bread without yeast
Bread lovers might recognise this as a simpler version of Irish Soda Bread. It’s easier because the dough is just mixed up in a bowl (ie no kneading at all) and it doesn’t require buttermilk or baking soda which aren’t pantry staples for everyone.
Here’s all you need to make bread without yeast (let’s pretend I didn’t forget to put the milk in the photo!!!):
Flour – plain/all purpose flour, or switch up to half with wholemeal/wholewheat. Can use self raising in place of flour and baking powder;
Baking powder – this is what gives this bread rise. Skip if using self raising flour, or substitute with baking soda;
Milk – any type, dairy or non dairy, fresh or powder (reconstituted), full or no fat. Can be substituted with water plus 1 tbsp oil or butter;
Oil – Just 1/4 cup gives this bread some much needed moisture. Without it, it’s very dry. Any neutral flavoured oil is fine – canola, vegetable, peanut, grapeseed, rapeseed, sun flower, even a light olive oil;
Sugar – just 1 tablespoon makes quite a difference here to bring out flavour; and
Salt – for seasoning,
No egg. That’s the secret to the real bread-like crumb!
The flour and baking powder in this recipe can be substituted with self raising flour.
How to make bread without yeast
This is just like making your favourite Chocolate Chip Muffins! Mix the dry ingredients, then add the oil and milk. Mix, pour, bake!
Why use a loaf pan? Because the mixture is a very thick batter rather than a kneadable dough (like Friday’s pizza dough or focaccia). So you can’t freeform it like Irish Soda Bread. If you don’t have a loaf pan, make it in a muffin tin – well greased, 20 minutes at 180°C/350°F.
It takes 50 minutes in the oven, so I like to do half the time uncovered to get a lovely golden brown crust, then I cover it the rest of the time (otherwise the crust gets a bit thick and dark).
LOOK at that crust!↓↓↓ It’s tempting to just lift the whole thing off and run away with it! (Swipe the butter while you’re at it)
TIP: Let it cool completely before slicing, otherwise it will be susceptible to crumbling on the edges. On Day 2, it slices 100% perfectly!
Slice it up like normal bread then use it for anything and everything you ordinarily use sandwich bread for. A simple ham sandwich. Or an epic Pastrami or Reuben sandwich. Grilled cheese – or cheesy GARLIC bread. Toast it and slather with jam, Vegemite, peanut butter or whatever you heart desires.
Dunk into soups and stews. You can even make French Toast or Bread and Butter pudding!
Storage
As with all homemade breads, this no yeast bread is at its best on the day it’s made. But even the day after, it’s still very, very good thanks to the touch of oil which keeps the crumb moist. Then on Day 3, a light toasting is all that’s needed to resurrect it.
It also freezes 100% perfectly – which is what I’ve done with the 8+ loaves I’ve made in the past few weeks, trying to nail the recipe. I’m going to be eating this for weeks and weeks – no complaints here!! ~ Nagi x
Watch How To Make It
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Sandwich Bread WITHOUT Yeast! (Dead easy)
Ingredients
- 4 cups flour , plain/all purpose (Note 1)
- 8 tsp baking powder (Note 2)
- 3 tsp white sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp cooking / kosher salt (REDUCE to 1 tsp if using table salt, Note 3)
- 2 1/4 cups milk , warmed (any – Note 4)
- 1/4 cup oil , any plain (vegetable, canola, sunflower, rapeseed, grapeseed, light olive oil)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 220°C/430°F (200°C fan).
- Grease a 22 x 13 cm / 9 x 5" loaf pan, then line with parchment/baking paper with overhang (to lift out).
- Mix dry: Place flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl, mix to combine.
- Add wet: Make a well in the centre, pour in oil and milk. Mix until flour is fully incorporated – batter will be thick but stirrable.
- Fill pan: Scrape into loaf pan, using a rubber spatula to scrape the bowl clean and smooth the surface.
- Bake 30 minutes. Remove from oven, cover with foil.
- Return to oven. Turn oven DOWN to 200°C/390°F (180°C fan), bake 20 minutes.
- Remove from oven. Cool in pan 5 minutes, then use excess paper to lift out and transfer to cooling rack.
- Cool completely before slicing – 45 minutes+. It IS more delicate than yeast breads (can't change science!) but slices far better than the usual "cake like" no yeast breads. Slices perfectly on Day 2 and beyond.
- Use for sandwiches, toast, grilled cheese, french toast, bread and butter pudding – anything you use "real" sandwich bread for!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Video Bomber. I cut him from the video edits 😂
wil u debloem melk en olie zeggen hoeveel gr en ml het is? wij werken niet in kopjes
Dank u wel
This came out perfect! The taste is a little bland, but we enjoyed it. Might look through comments to see how to add more flavor.
Do you get packets of dried soup mix where you live. Because we make a similar recipe in South Africa, but we add a packet of dried soup mixture (it is a spice/salt/start mixture used to thicken soup) for flavouring.
Brown onion soup is the best one, but I assume any flavour will be good.
That sounds awesome!! I’m going to try this!!!
I like thyme so I put some of that in.
Can I make this in a Bread maker
Wow, I have never been successful baking any type of yeast bread. I never thought I could bake bread, but this recipe turned out great! It is actually delicious homemade baked bread. I am amazed – – no yeast, no kneading,, no leavening time. Super easy! Beyond impressed! Thank you!
Do you grease the pan?
Oops, I see it now. It’s going in the oven now
I was really excited about this recipe. I had to add an extra cup of water because it was too dry and not like a thick batter. I also tried a couple of different things: I let it sit for an hour on a cooling rack and cut off a slice and it was crumbly. Then, I wrapped it in foil and let it sit overnight… and it was a whole different story. I could cut it very thin (about 1/3″) and it didn’t crumble at all. I tried making a regular sandwich with it and a grilled cheese sandwich and I feel like it would be great as toast and as an open-faced sandwich. Two slices of this bread was a little too dense for me but everybody’s different. This recipe is definitely a keeper! It’s nothing like yeast bread but that’s okay I wasn’t expecting that. Next time I make it I’m going to add some chopped nuts and sunflower seeds. 👍
Did you sift before measuring? For consistent results you need to sift before measuring to un-pack the flour. That, or weigh it. If you don’t you can end up with too much flour and a too dry mix.
Has anyone tried to convert this to almond flour?
Your yeast free bread looks nice. Can i use white spelt flour or suggestto me a good quality g/f flour please Nagi.
My bread did not rise and it is not fluffy it is very dense. I’ve been cooking it for double the time now and it’s still raw on the bottom. I don’t know what to do now. Any advice?
OMG! I just made this and it’s AWESOME! Baking it the way it says results in a really crunchy crust. The next time I may bake it entirely under foil so it stays a bit softer. I have a medical condition where I can’t have yeast. So this has saved me. I truly thank you for this recipe!
Can this be done in a bread machine?
Bread machines are such a pain to clean, why would you want to?
I cooked it and it worked! I was surprised by how well the recipe turned out: it was my first time baking a loaf of bread ever.
Surprisingly good for sandwiches and grilled cheeses. A+ added to my emergency recipes list.
Yes it was an Awesome recipe! I made 1 self rising and one all purpose so Delicious 😋
Hi Natascha it is the same 3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon
How do you store it? Since it has no preservatives, in the fridge?
Recipe article says you can freeze it!
I sliced it and froze it. Next leaf I’m making raisin bread with this recipe.
Oouu sounds good I love raisin bread! Cranberries are another good idea!
I would like to make this for my sons lunch for work. I pack his lunch every day. Is it suitable for packed lunches? You said we would have to resurrect it by lightly toasting it. It wouldn’t work if on the third day I was making ham and cheese sandwich or would it.i
Can someone please tell me if it’s 3 teaspoons of sugar or honey or 1 tablespoon? In the description it says 1 tablespoon but recipe says 3 teaspoons…
3 teaspoons equals 1 Tablespoon.
3 teaspoons =1 tablespoon
Now I’m adding Honey!☺️
I used 3 tsp. You noticed that too!
3 teaspoons and 1 tbsp are exactly the same
Nevermind, I figured it out, lol.
In your description you say 1 tablespoon of sugar, or honey, but the recipe says 3 teaspoons. Which do I use for honey? I’m excited to try this today, so a quick respo se is appreciated. Ty in advance!
What is causing my bread to bulge? The bulge creates a crumbly layer at the top that isn’t quite adhered, and thus breaks off. Hasn’t kept me from making the bread every week :0), but I would love a better way. Thanks Nagi.
Can I use butter instead of oil in the no yeast sandwich bread?
how much flour do you use cause u can see any measurements in the recipe?
Question. Can this recipe be put in a bread machine?
I mixed this up on the cake cycle in my bread machine to see if it can be done in a machine. I adapted it by looking at the few non yeast bread recipes the machine has. The dough was thicker than the video shows on this site. Plus you do not get the option to put the liquids in a well. KVA
Hi nagi
Wat is the best way to store the left over no yeast bread
Many thx Corina. 😊
I made this bread with water instead of milk and it came out great! Love the crust.