NO YEAST BREAD

This simple No-Yeast Bread can be prepared in a matter of minutes and doesn’t require any rising time! Bake it up and enjoy a delicious slice of hot baked bread in under 90 minutes!

If you’re looking for a yeasted bread check out our White Bread recipe, Honey Whole Wheat Bread recipe, or our delicious Dinner Rolls. And don’t forget the Honey Butter to slather on a hot slice!

Bread Recipe With No Yeast!

If you’re wondering what bread contains no yeast, it’s typically a variety of quick bread (or more precisely called soda bread). This particular No-Yeast Bread recipe I’m sharing is a quick bread/soda bread recipe. The bread rises from the gasses produced in a chemical interaction between the acids of the dough (buttermilk) and the baking agents (baking powder and baking soda). This results in a lovely rise without any yeast!

And don’t worry, this easy bread recipe with no yeast is quick to make — in fact, there is no rising time required. The bread whips together quickly in a large bowl with a wooden spoon and/or spatula (no hand or stand mixers required!)

Texture and Taste: Taste is buttery and rich with a mild flavor most similar to a biscuit flavor. While we love this bread plain, it is definitely next level served with butter or jam — it’s not necessarily intended to be eaten on its own. The texture is wonderful — it has a nice and crisp crust with a dense, tender, and moist-like interior. The bread has a much tighter crumb and a softer texture than your typical sandwich bread. We do enjoy this bread best the same day it’s made (similar to biscuits!) and it becomes a chewier/softer day 2-3.

The “Secret” To The Easy Preparation

Remember the “secret” preparation method for creating these amazing Drop Biscuits?

Quick re-cap: Most drop biscuits use cold cubed butter and a food processor or pastry blender to cut the butter into the biscuits. But instead of doing this, we actually melt the butter. This would typically be bad for the texture, but we form new butter clumps by mixing in cold buttermilk. When the cold buttermilk hits the melted butter, it forms small clumps (see the photo above). Those clumps will imbue the wonderful texture that results from pockets of butter without the extra work. (Thanks to Cooks Illustrated for teaching me this cool trick!)

We use this method again in this No-Yeast White Bread — we mix hot melted butter with cold buttermilk and get perfect clumps of butter. This is not only going to help the bread rise, but it will also give it a great texture. And, it’s SO much easier than cutting in cold butter!

By the way, if you’re looking for no-yeast bread rolls, I’d recommend trying out that drop biscuit recipe!

QUICK TIP

Fat (butter) forms small pockets throughout the biscuit dough. As it melts in the oven, the CO2 from the baking powder takes the place of the fat so the bread will rise. Without butter clumps in the biscuit dough, the biscuits will end up hard and flat — there is no place for the CO2 to go except out!

How To Make Bread With No Yeast

You’ll be amazed how quickly this bread comes together! Be sure to watch the quick video overview and check out the step-by-step process photos. Below are our top tips:

Watch the bake time. Keep an eye on the bread while it's in the oven. There is a lot of variation in bread baking times due to several factors. A couple of cues to look for: a nice golden brown crust and the bread should sound hollow when lightly tapped in the middle. If the bread is browning too much before it is baked through the middle, tent the top with a sheet of foil.
Cut an “X” in the loaf before baking. This helps to ensure the middle is cooked through.
Let's bake bread stand. Once you remove it from the oven, allow time for the bread to stand on the sheet pan for about 5-10 minutes and then on a wire cooling rack for at least 30 minutes. The residual heat and steam ensure the inside is fully baked through. As tempting as it is to cut in, don't rush it because you'll likely end up with a slightly doughy center.
Use buttermilk straight from the fridge — the colder the better. This will ensure the clumps form well in the melted butter.
Adding flour to the dough can be tricky. Humidity, altitude, and temperature can all affect how much flour you'll need. I always recommend starting with a little shy of what a recipe calls for and adding very slowly until the dough pulls off the sides of the bowl and is not too sticky. We don't want wet dough, but it should still have moisture in it.

Too much flour results in a dense and less-flavorful loaf of No-Yeast Bread. Too little and the bread will spread excessively.
When measuring flour for this bread, be sure to spoon and level the flour. If you press a measuring cup into a container and push the flour into the cup, you'll end up with way too much flour. Here's how to spoon and level flour.

Serving Suggestions

No-Yeast Bread is fairly plain in flavor (delicious, but plain!) and is enhanced by a topping of some sort. Here are our favorite ways to enjoy this bread:

Slice a piece while the bread is still hot and spread on a thick layer of room-temperature butter. If the butter is unsalted, add a pinch of salt to bring out the creamy flavors. You could also add on some freshly cut herbs like rosemary or thyme.
Add a citrus marmalade or berry jam. If the bread isn't fresh out of the oven, toast a slice first.
Make a sandwich with it! Add your favorite cheese and meat or prepare an open-faced sandwich with toasted bread and cheese!
Prepare biscuits and gravy but with a slice of toasted No-Yeast Bread instead of the biscuits! We loved this meal!
Use for French toast. Top with plenty of buttermilk syrup, pancake syrup, or blueberry syrup.
Dunk in some soup — here’s a list of 30 or our favorite soup recipes.

QUICK TIP

Use leftover buttermilk in one of these recipes: Our favorite Homemade Pancakes, this tasty Corn Casserole with creamed corn, or these Chocolate Chip Pancakes.

STORAGE

Storing No-Yeast Bread

No-Yeast Bread is always best right out of the oven (the same day it is made), but it does store fine. Since there aren’t preservatives in this homemade bread, it won’t last as long as store-bought bread, but it probably won’t be around as long, either!

Store leftover bread at room temperature in a cool dry place for up to 3-5 days, preferably in a container that allows some ventilation so the bread can “breathe.” Heat and humidity can cause bread to mold. I also don’t recommend storing it in the refrigerator, as it turns stale quickly (the dry air in the fridge will expedite staleness). To keep the bread soft, store it in an airtight plastic bag after it has completely cooled.

For any bread that is leftover after 2-3 days, I recommend storing it in the freezer, where it will keep fresh for up to 3 months. Slice it before freezing, and then take out one or two slices at a time, as you need them. Transfer slices straight from the freezer to the toaster or thaw at room temperature.

QUICK TIP

No-Yeast Bread is notoriously crumbly, so toast the bread first for more stability.

More Quick Bread Recipes

Pumpkin Bread with a crusty sugary top
Healthy Banana Bread made with Greek yogurt
Lemon Blueberry Bread with fresh lemon
Applesauce Bread with fresh apple chunks
Chocolate Banana Bread with chocolate chips

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