Love comfort food baking but always seem to be short on ingredients? It's totally possible to bake bread at home without yeast. In fact, there are yeast substitutes and yeast-free bread out there that taste just as good as their yeasty counterparts.
While experienced bread bakers might turn to sourdough starters when they are out of yeast, we wanted to find a way to get our homemade bread fix without that much work. We turned to Jennifer Tyler Lee, author of Half the Sugar, All the Love: 100 Easy, Low Sugar Recipes for Every Meal of the Day, for her recommendations on easy substitutes for making bread when you don't have yeast on hand.
Bake Beer Bread—and DIY Self-Rising Flour
"There are a few alternatives for feeding our desire for homemade bread, even when we don't have yeast on hand," says Tyler Lee. "Beer bread is one of the easiest types of bread you can make. It only requires a few basic ingredients, and it doesn't use yeast."
Many beer bread recipes call for self-rising flour—if you don't have that ingredient on hand, you can make your own from scratch by adding 1½ teaspoons of baking powder and ¼ teaspoon salt to each cup of pastry flour called for in a recipe.
Try using pastry flour if it's available (it has a lower protein content), but all-purpose flour will work, too. Gluten-free blended flours will work here as well. "Beer bread has a flavor akin to sourdough, with a slightly bitter aftertaste. Its crumb is moist but more crumbly than your typical chewy, traditional homemade yeast-based loaf."
Choose Quick Breads Instead
You might have heard the term quick bread before, but what does it mean? Essentially, quick breads are any breads that do not require yeast. Instead of using yeast to make the bread rise, quick breads rely on other leavening agents like baking soda and baking powder to get height.
"Quick breads, like banana bread, zucchini bread, and cornbread are delicious and easy alternatives to yeast-based bread and can satisfy cravings in a pinch," says Tyler Lee. Her recipe for banana bread gets its sweetness from dates, and her zucchini bread incorporates pineapple for a delicious twist with less added sugar. Both are easy and healthy takes on classic quick bread staples.
Try a No-Yeast Bread Recipe
No-yeast breads are another option. The flavor and texture won't be the same as your typical bakery loaf. And the unusual aroma, more like cheese than bread, comes from the fermentation process that the ingredients go through. If you've made homemade yogurt, you'll know what to expect.
"This recipe is more of a craft project than a quick and easy bread-making project," she says. "It could also be a great science experiment for those cooking with kids."
There's always matzo, too.
FAQs
The world's best No Yeast Bread – Irish Soda Bread! Irish bread is unique because it's a 4 ingredient, 5 minute recipe made without yeast but still has a proper crumb just like “real” bread. You don't need to be Irish to make this.
What bread is made without the use of yeast? ›
Soda Bread
This sturdy breakfast bread comes together and relies on baking soda as a leavener. You can swap out the walnuts and dried currants with any chopped nuts, seeds and dried fruit you have in your pantry.
What are the 3 main types of bread? ›
There are three main kinds of bread in the world those that rise highest so are baked in pans, breads with a medium volume like rye and French breads, and those that hardly rise at all called flatbreads.
Which of these bread varieties is most frequently baked without yeast? ›
Quick breads are made without yeast and can be savory or sweet. They use chemical leavening such as baking soda or baking powder. The most common types are biscuits, sweet breads (such as banana bread), muffins, corn bread, popovers, scones, soda breads and pancakes.
Is sourdough yeast free? ›
Sourdough is naturally leavened bread, which means it doesn't use commercial yeast to rise. Instead, it uses a 'starter' – a fermented flour and water mixture that contains wild yeast and good bacteria – to rise. This also produces the tangy flavour and slightly chewy texture you'll find in sourdough.
Does sourdough have yeast? ›
Instead of using baker's yeast, sourdough bread relies on a starter: a mixture of water and flour that develops a population of wild yeast. This yeast produces lactic acid, the source of sourdough bread's distinctive tangy taste.
Is bread without yeast healthier? ›
For health conscious consumers yeast free bread has many benefits and is recommended for people suffering from Diabetes, Candida and other digestive problems. Eating most types of regular bread creates sugar in our body's when our body breaks down the bread into carbohydrates and simple sugars.
Do pancakes have yeast? ›
Beer, alcohol, crackers, doughnuts, pancakes, waffles and some types of breakfast cereal might also contain yeast. Usually, protein sources, such as meat, fish and poultry, don't contain yeast.
Does naan have yeast in it? ›
Naan is essentially a leavened flatbread, which means it contains some form of raising agent to provide its airy texture. Hence for this naan, the raising agent we will be using is yeast. Other variations do exist which may utilise self raising flour or baking powder/baking soda.
What are 3 quick breads? ›
Muffins, coffeecakes, scones, and pancakes are examples of quick breads, that like their name implies, can be prepared quickly in a kitchen.
Pretzels are a type of yeast bread that comes in two main varieties: hard and soft. The popular snack food gets its shiny, brown appearance from a chemical solution called lye that causes a unique chemical reaction during baking.
Does all bread require yeast? ›
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!
What happens if you bake bread without yeast? ›
Some differences could be that your bread will not rise as tall as you're used to, the flavor is a little different, or the texture may not be exactly the same. However, if you're out of yeast or don't have the time to wait for your bread to rise, these substitutes will undoubtedly get the job done.
Does rye bread have yeast? ›
The simplest form is made with rye flour, water, salt, and naturally occurring yeast.
Does all white bread have yeast? ›
White bread and whole grain breads, including whole wheat bread, are made with flour, water, and yeast, but minimal fermentation.
Is pita bread unleavened bread? ›
Pita, also Pitta, breads, also called Arabic bread, balady, shamy, Syrian bread, and pocket bread, are circular, leavened double-layered flat breads that originated in the Middle East. It is prepared with flour, water, baker's yeast, and salt.
