This is a bread loaf made without yeast or any other non-standard pantry ingredients. It’s as close as you will get to real bread made with yeast! It has a proper crumb like real bread and it’s sliceable, rather than being “muffin-like” which many no-yeast breads are. Loosely based on Damper, a traditional Australian bread historically made by swagmen and drovers over campfire (except I’ve brought it into the 21st century!)

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!

Notes

1. Flour – can sub up to half with wholemeal/wholewheat. Can also use cake flour and bread flour (but using bread flour won’t give you a better result in this one, unlike yeast breads).
I haven’t tried but do not think this one will work with gluten free flour.
Self raising flour (aka self rising flour) is just plain/all purpose flour pre mixed with baking powder. Can sub the flour in this recipe with self raising flour. If you do this, skip the baking powder (don’t bother subtracting 8 tsp flour, this recipe is flexible enough).
Baking powder – I know 8 tsp sounds like a lot, but this is a big loaf we’re making here, and baking powder doesn’t have the same kick-start rising power as when you use baking soda (bi-carb) plus buttermilk, like in Irish Soda Bread. Hence we need more (but actually, 2 tsp baking powder per 1 cup flour is the standard).
2. BAKING SODA SUB – (aka bi-carb) use 2 tsp baking soda PLUS add 1 tsp white vinegar when you add milk (vinegar activates baking soda).
3. Salt – Table salt are finer grains than cooking/kosher salt so 1 tsp table salt is more salt than 1 tsp cooking salt. So if you only have table salt, reduce to 1 tsp, otherwise your bread will be too salty.
4. Milk – anything will do, low fat, full fat, power reconstituted, non dairy (I’ve used soy and almond milk, so confident others will work just fine). Also works with WATER but the crumb is not quite as tender.
5. Loaf pan – the mixture is a like a very thick muffin batter rather than a kneadable dough, which is why we can’t freeform it. You could bake it in a 20cm/8″ round or square pan (it will be slightly less tall), it might takes slightly less time to cook because it’s not as high.
You can also make muffins, 22 – 25 minutes at 180°C/350°F, or until skewer comes out clean.
6. Nutrition per slice, assuming 16 slices about 1.25cm / 1/2″ thick.

Nutrition

Calories: 146cal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 209mg | Potassium: 298mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 58IU | Calcium: 137mg | Iron: 1mg