Quick Bread Using Instant Yeast

I love it when bread can be made quickly and tastes amazing too, which is why this method for quick bread using instant yeast is my go-to for baking bread!

The reason I started making my own bread is because the price of bread locally has become so expensive. I begrudge paying almost €4 for a small loaf when I can make bread for a fraction of that price and have a home that smells delicious as well.

The only downside is that we eat it too fast for it to become ‘stale’ and used for toast. Oops.

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Kitchen Bits You’ll Need

There’s not much difference to the tools you needed for the easy no knead bread recipe:

• Scales
• Bowl
• Measuring spoons
• Whisk
• Jug
• A cover for the bowl
• A bread scooper thing
• Loaf tin
• Baking paper

Ingredients You’ll Need

Flour

I use straight up plain all purpose flour, though for the photos in this recipe, I used strong white bread flour.

Salt

I like to use a coarse sea salt for my bread, a tip I picked up somewhere long ago.

Instant Yeast

My go-to is the instant yeast from Italian brand ‘il Molino Chiavazza’. The information on the individual sachets suggests one sachet should be used with 500g flour (not sure the equivalent in cups for that), but I just do as I do, and it comes out beautifully every time!

Water

Straight from the tap, I make sure my water is warm to touch, but not warmer than me. Too warm and it’ll be bad for the instant yeast!

Specific Ingredient Amounts

• 3 ½ cups / 430g plain all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
• 1 sachet (7g) instant yeast
• 1 ⅓ cup / 330 ml water, at room temperature

Substitutions To Consider

Flour: You could swap out regular all-purpose white flour for something more suited to your dietary requirements, but I have not yet tested this myself.

Making The Quick Bread Using Instant Yeast

There are few steps for this quick bread!

Step 1: Place the flour, salt and yeast in a bowl and combine with a whisk.

Step 2: Pour the water into the bowl and stir with a metal spoon or a silicon spatula if you prefer to combine.

Step 3: I like to cover my bowl with foil, so that the air inside is trapped and creates a moist warm environment for the yeast to do its thing. Place the foil covered bowl somewhere warm – this can be next to a warm oven, outside in a sunny spot or even in a laundry cupboard if it’s warm.

Step 4: After one hour I take a metal spoon and give the dough and good stir to knock it back. Then I cover it again with the same foil and place back in its warm spot.

Step 5: While the dough is proving for the second time I prep the tin in which the instant yeast bread will be baked. This is usually in a loaf tin, but I do sometimes use my Dutch oven instead.

Step 6: After the second hour is up, and the dough has doubled in size, I knock it back again with the metal spoon and then transfer the dough to the prepared loaf tin. Then I cover it for one more hour so that the dough can do its thing one more time.

Step 7: About 45 minutes before the bread is ready to be baked, I preheat the oven so that it is hot enough to receive the bread.

Step 8: Making sure the bread remains lightly covered, I pop the loaf tin with the dough into the oven, placing it on the middle shelf, and then bake it for 30 minutes with the cover in place.

Step 9: After 30 minutes, I remove the paper cover, and continue to bake the bread for another 15-20 minutes, until the bread is browned on top and the bottom hollow sounding when knuckles are rapped against it. You will need to remove the bread from the tin in order to check this!

Step 10: Once cooked, the bread is removed from the oven and turned out onto a wire rack. I remove the baking paper immediately, so that the crust has a better chance at staying crisp, and then cover lightly with a fresh towel or bug net.

Things to Note

• Bread should always be allowed to cool somewhat before you cut into it. The dough when very hot will be soggy and your bread knife will drag through it and ruin your bread.
• Use a metal mixing bowl where possible for your bread dough, as this helps to transfer heat from outside the bowl to the contents within. This in turn creates an environment that the yeast rather likes.
• If you do not have a warm spot to prove bread in your home, you can put the covered bowl in direct sunlight in the window, or even outside on top of a small table or pile of bricks if need be. Do not let the ‘lack’ of a warm spot in your home put you off as it did me for many years!

Serve It With…

I’m sure I am not alone is stating that fresh bread is always best served warm with slated butter on top. there are variations of course, such as lemon curd for a tangy tingle on the tongue, or some freshly grilled bacon for a bacon sandwich.

If you fancy a sweeter bread, you should try my egg free banana bread recipe, which uses this one as it’s base!