How to Make Bread Without Yeast

Estimated reading time: 20 minutes

Any bread made without yeast is typically referred to as unleavened bread. Cultures throughout history have made their versions of unleavened breads including Jewish Matzoh bread, Indian Na’an bread, Greek Pita Bread, Central American Tortillas, and even hardtack which was a tooth-cracking unleavened bread popular during the civil war.

In most instances, the basic recipe was flour, water, and salt. The bread was cooked a variety of ways from frying pans to clay tandoor ovens to traditional ovens. The taste, texture, and hardness or softness of the beads varied depending a lot on proportions and cooking styles and temperatures.

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Enter the Yeast Substitutes

Most unleavened breads fall in the category of flatbreads. That’s no surprise because flour, water and salt do not rise. The result is a bread that’s not surprisingly – flat.

Some people tout sourdough bread as a great alternative to yeast breads, but in actual fact a sourdough starter is generated by the random capture of wild yeast. You may be making a sourdough bread without store-bought yeast, but it’s technically not a yeast-free bread.

Related: How To Make Homemade Yeast

Yeast substitutes vary but are somewhat common and you’ve probably heard of most of them. Whenever someone needed to make bread but had no yeast, these substitutes filled the void. In fact, you probably have some of them in the kitchen right now. Here are a few:

Baking Powder

The most common yeast substitute is baking powder. It’s a mix of baking soda and cream of tartar and causes a bread to rise a bit, but nowhere near as much as traditional yeast.

Most yeast bread recipes call for 30 minutes to an hour or more to allow the carbon dioxide bubbles to do their trick and inflate the dough into a loaf. With baking powder the rising action occurs during baking.

Another thing to remember with baking powder is that there is no rising period required before baking, and in many recipes you don’t end up with a dough but rather a very thick batter. These are commonly referred to as batter breads.

There are many batter breads that are well known particularly banana bread and we’ll detail the recipe and some others as well.

Baking Soda

Baking soda is also used in some recipes to cause a bread to rise. Once again the rising action occurs during the cooking or baking process, not before.

It’s not uncommon to see the addition of an acidic liquid to cause a bubbling reaction with the baking soda. Acids like vinegar and citrus juices are common in many recipes to trigger these bubbles which are actually carbon dioxide –the same gas bubbles generated by yeast.

Irish Soda bread is the most well known bread recipe using this yeast substitute and we’ll cover the recipe later in this article.

Beaten Egg Whites

If you’ve ever made a soufflé you’re familiar with the light, airiness of the small bubbles present in beaten egg whites. This same characteristic can be used to give a bread a light texture by folding beaten egg whites into the dough or batter.

The beaten egg whites should be folded in towards the end of the mixing process and don’t overdo it. Too much mixing crushes the bubbles in the egg whites.

Fresh Snow

Not a lot of us have tried this, but it’s a classic pioneer trick for giving some amount of lightness and texture for breads and other baked goods. The snow needs to be light, powder snow and freshly fallen.

The snow is folded into flour very quickly and baked immediately. With any luck, the snow will manage to create some air pockets in the batter or dough creating a texture that you might get with yeast or other yeast substitutes… maybe.

Why Make a Bread Without Yeast?

There are a few reasons people might want to make a bread without yeast. Some people are allergic to yeast. Yeast is actually a fungus that not only comes to life in bread dough, but multiplies and gives off a waste product. The waste product is carbon dioxide which is what causes any dough to rise. But it’s the fungus part that can cause an allergic reaction with some people.

Another reason to make a bread without yeast is the simple fact that it’s not available. It could simply be sold out or you may not be in close proximity to a store. During emergencies, stores may be closed or it may be impossible to simply get to a store. And then there are those times when you’re just out of yeast and don’t feel like going to the store just to buy one thing.

Related: 18 Survival Breads to Make in an Emergency

Whatever the reason a lack of yeast is no reason to skip bread as a part of your meals. It’s just a question of determining what you have on hand to work as a bread substitute. We’ll cover a variety of no yeast recipes here including conventional bread loaves. When all else fails there’s always a long list of ancient flatbreads and we’ll cover the classic recipes – just in case.

Flatbread Recipes

These recipes don’t use yeast or any other type of substitute or technique. The basic ingredients are flour, water and salt. What ultimately defines the bread is the shape and the cooking style. That also affects the taste and texture.

Indian Na’an – Cast Iron Flatbread

Na’an bread is a classic flatbread popular around the world and originating in the Middle-East. It’s traditionally cooked in a clay tandoor oven but a cast iron skillet works just as well.

Ingredients:

• 1 1?2 cups water
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 3 1?2cups flour, plus more for dusting
• 2teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Combine all of the ingredients and mix together and knead into 8 round balls.

2. Let the balls of dough rest for 5 minutes in a bowl covered with a damp cloth.
3. Roll the balls into rough circles about 6-inches in diameter.

4. Heat a cast iron skillet over a fire or on the stove.

5. Cook the flatbread for about 3 to 4 minutes a side until some browning shows.

6. Stack and serve.

Related: 6 Flatbread Recipes From Around The World

Hardtack – Ship’s Biscuit

Hardtack has a cracker consistency and is notoriously hard. It’s always recommended that hardtack be soaked in milk, broth or a soup before eating.

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups of flour
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Mix the flour and salt in a bowl.
2. Begin adding water in small amounts.
3. Knead on a countertop until a firm dough has formed. Add more flour if the dough is too sticky.
4. Roll out the dough until about ½-inch thick.
5. Cut into square crackers about 2-inches wide and high.
6. Poke 5 holes in the cracker.
7. Bake for 30 minutes or until hardtack begins to brown around the edges.
8. Cool on a wire rack for several hours and store.
9. Remember to always soak the hardtack in milk, broth, soup or stew before eating.

Related: How to Make Hardtack: A Cracker That Will Last A Century

Tortillas

Tortillas are a traditional flatbread that originated in Central and South America. It was made with either corn flour or wheat flour. The tortillas were originally cooked on a hot, flat rock but here again a cast iron skillet works just fine.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of flour
• 1 teaspoon salt, 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ? cup extra virgin olive oil or vegetable oil
• 1 cup warm water

Directions: 

1. Combine the flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. Mix the dry ingredients until well combined.
2. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the oil and water. Stir well until all dry ingredients are incorporated and the dough begins to form a ball.

3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 1-2 minutes until the dough is a smooth ball.
4. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Divide into 16 equal portions. Turn each piece to coat with flour.
5. Form each piece into a ball and flatten with a rolling pin or with a tortilla press.

6. Cover flattened dough with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes.
7. After the rest period, heat a large pan over medium heat.

8. When the pan is hot, place one dough circle into the pan and allow to cook 45 seconds to 1 minute or until the bottom surface has a few pale brown spots and the uncooked surface is bubbly.
9. Flip to other side and cook for 15-20 seconds.

The tortillas should be nice and soft but have a few small brown spots on the surface. 

10. Remove from pan with tongs and stack in a covered container or zippered bag to keep the tortillas soft. 

Alternative Yeast Recipes

These recipes use something in place of yeast including baking powder, baking soda, beaten egg whites or even snow. The recipes vary in terms of preparation and cooking styles but all result in a form of bread popular in cultures throughout history.

Related: 3 Super-Easy No-Yeast Bread Recipes

Bannock – Frying Pan Bread

Bannock bread is a bread recipe attributed to mountain men, trapper and gold prospectors. It was baked in a large, cast-iron frying pan over an open fire and flipped from time to time to bake it thoroughly.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of flour
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• ½ cup of dry milk powder
• 2 tablespoons of shortening
• Water

Directions:

1. Before you add the water you need to cut-in the shortening using a couple of knives or a pastry cutter.
2. After the texture appears crumbly, slowly add water until you get a putty-like consistency.

3. Oil a cast-iron frying pan. You could also use bacon, pork fat or beef fat.
4. Pour the mixture into the pan.
5. Place the pan over some coals or on the stove top and brown for about 3 to 5 minutes.
6. Flip the bread over in the pan and finish the other side.

7. You might want to flip a few times to cook the bread through and to prevent burning. When you think it’s done, poke a stick into the center of the bread.

If it comes out clean and dry the bread is done. If not you can let it rest in the pan off the heat until it finishes.

Related: How to Make Bannock

Pita Bread

Pita bread is a classic part of Greek cuisine and is known for a pocket that forms between the two layers of the dough. The reason pita has a pocket is because of the high heat in an oven (up to 500 degrees F). The high heat is critical to form the pocket.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (or whole wheat flour)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 3 Tbsp olive oil

Directions:

1. Whisk the flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl.
2. Stir in the water and olive oil and knead to form a moist dough.
3. Form into a ball.

4. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for 5-30 min.
5. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
6. Roll out the dough into a long log on a very lightly floured work space.
7. Cut the dough into 8 equal parts and form 8 balls.

8. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, flatten each into an 1/8? high flat disk
9. Lay pita bread on two sheet pans lined with baking paper – spacing the disks apart from each other.
10. Spray lightly (or brush) with water and bake immediately at 500 degrees for 3 to 4 minutes a side or until puffed and golden. The high heat will cause the pita flats to inflate.

11. Remove from oven and serve immediately or allow to cool to store for later. The pitas will collapse after baking but if cut in half the pocket will show.

Related: How Pioneers Made Bread With No Yeast

Banana Bread

Banana bread is a classic batter bread using baking soda as a rising agent. The best type of bread pan for batter breads are the Pyrex glass pans rather than the metal bread pans. The glass is gentler on the batter and will not burn the sides of the loaf.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. cinnamon
• ½ cup butter softened
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 1/3 cup yogurt or sour cream
• 4 large, very ripe bananas
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¾ cup chopped almonds or walnuts or pecans (optional)

Directions:

1. Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 350°F. Lowering the oven rack prevents the top of your bread from browning too much, too soon.
2. Grease a metal 9×5-inch Pyrex loaf pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
3. Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together in a bowl. Set aside.
4. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
5. With the mixer running on medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then beat in the yogurt, mashed bananas, and vanilla extract until combined.
6. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until no flour pockets remain. Do not over-mix. Fold in the nuts, if using.
7. Pour and spread the batter into the prepared baking pan.

8. Bake for 60–65 minutes, making sure to loosely cover the bread with aluminum foil halfway through to prevent the top from getting too brown.

The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with only a few small moist crumbs. This may be after 60–65 minutes depending on your oven, so begin checking every 5 minutes around the 60-minute mark.

9. Remove bread from the oven and allow the bread to cool in the pan set on a wire rack for 1 hour. Remove bread from the pan and cool bread directly on the wire rack until ready to slice and serve.

Irish Soda Bread

Contrary to its name, soda bread was first made by Native Americans who used wood ash as a natural source of soda to bake the bread. Immigrant Irish pioneers later adopted the recipe as their own.

We’re going to skip the wood ashes and use baking soda out of the box. Although in a desperate emergency you could try using an equal amount of clean, wood-ash as a substitute for your substitute.

Ingredients:

• 1 ¾ cup buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 4 ¼ cups flour plus some for countertop
• 3 tbsps. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 5 tbsps. Butter cold and cubed
• 1 cup raisins (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
2. There are options for the baking pan. Use a regular baking sheet and line with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat (bread spreads a bit more on a baking sheet), or use a seasoned 10-12 inch cast iron skillet or grease a 9-10 inch cake pan or pie dish.
3. Whisk the buttermilk and egg together. Set aside.
4. Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl.
5. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter, a fork, or your fingers. Mixture is very heavy on the flour, but do your best to cut in the butter until the butter is pea-sized crumbs.
6. Stir in the raisins if you’re adding them.
7. Pour in the buttermilk/egg mixture. Gently fold the dough together until dough it is too stiff to stir.
8. Pour crumbly dough onto a lightly floured work surface. With floured hands, work the dough into a ball as best you can, then knead for about 30 seconds or until all the flour is moistened. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour.
9. Form the dough into a round loaf and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet.
10. Bake until the bread is golden brown and center appears cooked through, about 45-55 minutes. Loosely tent the bread with aluminum foil if you notice heavy browning on top.
11. For a more accurate test, the bread is done when an instant-read thermometer reads the center of the loaf as 195°F (90°C).
12. Remove from the oven and allow bread to cool for 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack.
13. Serve warm, at room temperature, or toasted with desired toppings/spreads.

Cloud Bread – Egg White bread

Cloud bread is curious bread that’s not only made without yeast, but without flour or any kind. The key is to whip egg whites until white peaks form in the whipped egg whites and sugar. Cornstarch serves as a binding agent.

Ingredients:

• 3 Egg Whites
• 2 ½ Tbsps. Sugar
• 1 tbsp. Cornstarch

Directions:

• Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Whip the egg whites with mixer until big bubbles form.
• Add the sugar.
• Whip the egg whites and sugar until small bubbles form again.
• Add the cornstarch.
• Whip egg whites until stiff peaks form.
• Pour egg white mixture onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and form into a loaf or mound.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes.

Snow Bread

It’s hard to know who figured this out, but somewhere along the line a desperate pioneer or mountain man decided to add freshly fallen snow to flour as a substitute for yeast. It worked! It’s also not real easy to find a formal recipe for snow bread, but there are some stories about how it was made that give you a pretty good idea. Here’s a quote from one of them:

“Mix equal parts of light, dry snow and flour or meal quickly together, (using a strong spoon or stick to stir with.) When well mixed, pour the mass into a pan, and bake immediately. A rather hot, “quick” oven is essential. Bake from twenty minutes to one hour, according the thickness of the loaf.”

Many forms of bread and cake can be made by slightly varying these proportions, according to the other ingredients: the rule being to have a due degree of moisture. If too much snow is used, the bread or cake will be heavy.

A little corn meal and pulverized sugar may be mixed with dry flour, and then the snow stirred in, if a short and tender, as well as light sweet cake is desired.”

Learn More: Snow Bread. A Food History Story

Stock Up

If you’re stocking foods for emergencies it makes sense to have a good supply of some of the things we covered. This would include baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, corn starch and while you’re at it – store some yeast.

An important thing to remember about yeast storage is that it keeps longer when refrigerated or at least kept in a cool location. You can buy it in bulk and you may never have to think about how to use snow to make bread, let alone a spoonful of wood ashes. Then again, it’s always a good idea to have plenty of baking powder and baking soda on hand.

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