Super Easy Lockdown Bread Recipe
One of the popular trends during #lockdown2020 was learning to make your own bread – often out of necessity, and this lockdown bread recipe was the ultimate mother of necessity.
Italy was on a pretty serious lockdown for a few months and waiting in line for a loaf of bread wasn’t always an appealing option during the height of the pandemic. So I made do. The big problem was I had no yeast. The shops were all out, and I couldn’t find any online. I tried making my own mother starter yeast.
I combined flour, water, and a pinch of honey in a jar to form a gooey substance. I placed some plastic wrap around it with a few holes so the yeast could breathe. I put it aside in a warm spot and would check in on it every few days to see if it would bubble a bit (signs of life). A proper mother starter yeast takes weeks to create, some are even known to be over a hundred years old! My 3-day old mother starter didn’t seem like the most viable option, but it would do.
Luckily, in the meantime, I found a nearby farm that delivered goodies home to home and was willing to stop by the local mill and bring us bread. Where there is bread, there is yeast! I got my hands on some beautiful fresh yeast – 1 pound’s worth of yeast, and some beautiful baking flours.
I froze most of the yeast. I mean, I’m grateful for the pound of yeast but I don’t eat that much bread!
TIP: Fresh yeast lasts in the freezer for over 3 months; in the refrigerator for more or less two weeks till it begins to lose its potency.
This lockdown bread recipe takes a full 24 hours to make, but the actual time you spend prepping and working the dough is less than 10 minutes total – which is what makes it a super easy, and delicious recipe. If you want to make bread fast and regularly, and don’t want to spend hours kneading bread, this is the recipe for you!
Lockdown Bread Recipe Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tsp fresh yeast or ¼ tsp dry yeast
- 2 cups bread flour (plus extra bread flour to work your dough)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp olive oil
- seeds to top the bread (optional)
Lockdown Bread Recipe Preparation
In a bowl, mix warm water and yeast. Stir slightly to dissolve the yeast. Mix the bread flour into the dissolved yeast and water mixture. You can use a mixer or simply do it with a wooden spoon. Add salt. Start mixing with your hands. Add a sprinkle of flour to a flat surface, and knead the bread for 3 minutes with your hands. Continue adding flour when necessary but only if the dough sticks to the surface.
Line a bowl with a teaspoon of oil, and place your dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a cloth. Place in a room temperature spot in the house with no temperature fluctuations, or in your oven. Do not turn the oven on! Let the dough rise for 12 hours so it can double in size.
Once the dough has risen, place some flour on a flat surface, remove the dough from the bowl and knead the dough for about 2 minutes, just long enough to give it some shape. You can shape the dough however you like – into a round loaf of bread or a long loaf of bread.
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Line a cake pan with some parchment paper. If you choose to do a longer loaf, use a banana bread pan. Place the dough in the pan and sprinkle a bit of flour on top of the dough. Then with a knife, make two slits on the top of the loaf. Cover the pan completely with a larger metal bowl, metal cover or parchment paper. The bread should be covered with something which can withstand the oven heat while baking.
Place the covered pan in the preheated oven and let bake for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, remove the cover from the bread pan and let cook for 20 more minutes. Remove from heat, let sit and enjoy your lockdown bread!
In a bowl, mix warm water and yeast. Stir slightly to dissolve the yeast. Mix the bread flour into the dissolved yeast and water mixture. You can use a mixer or simply do it with a wooden spoon. Add salt. Start mixing with your hands. Add a sprinkle of flour to a flat surface, and knead the bread for 3 minutes with your hands. Continue adding flour when necessary but only if the dough sticks to the surface.
Line a bowl with a teaspoon of oil, and place your dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a cloth. Place in a room temperature spot in the house with no temperature fluctuations, or in your oven. Do not turn the oven on! Let the dough rise for 12 hours so it can double in size.
Once the dough has risen, place some flour on a flat surface, remove the dough from the bowl and knead the dough for about 2 minutes, just long enough to give it some shape. You can shape the dough however you like – into a round loaf of bread or a long loaf of bread.
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Line a cake pan with some parchment paper. If you choose to do a longer loaf, use a banana bread pan. Place the dough in the pan and sprinkle a bit of flour on top of the dough. Then with a knife, make two slits on the top of the loaf. Cover the pan completely with a larger metal bowl, metal cover or parchment paper. The bread should be covered with something which can withstand the oven heat while baking.
Place the covered pan in the preheated oven and let bake for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, remove the cover from the bread pan and let cook for 20 more minutes. Remove from heat, let sit and enjoy your lockdown bread!
