Easy, No-Knead Dairy Free Bread

Want an easy homemade bread recipe?  Look no further.  This dairy free bread uses one bowl and requires no kneading.

Whether you are looking for bread for someone with a dairy, egg, or soy allergy, a vegan diet, or for the low iodine diet (LID), this bread will work for you.

I preferred to make homemade bread when I followed the LID rather than scour bread labels for ingredients or figure out which brands use noniodized salt (LID Life was not available at the time.)

If you are the same way but don’t have any experience making homemade bread or access to a bread machine, this recipe is for you.  

What You Need to Make It

This recipe only requires 5 ingredients.

• Flour – you can use all-purpose, white whole wheat, or a mixture.  I like to do half and half.
• Salt (noniodized for LID) – Bread without salt has NO flavor. Milk is used to add more flavor to bread, so you don’t want to skip this.
• Sugar – to feed the yeast
• Instant yeast – Instant yeast is also sometimes called bread machine yeast.  For more about instant yeast, read in the FAQ below. 

How to Make Dairy Free Bread

This dairy free bread is also incredibly simple.

1. Mix all the ingredients until there are no dry bits of flour.  The dough will be lumpy but stretchy.
2. Let rise…
3. Until double.
4. Lightly shape into desired shape.  You can make this in a loaf pan or a pie pan or a glass bowl.  You choose your shape. (I double the recipe and made 2 loaves for the photo.)

Tips for Success

Use warm enough water.

You need the water warm enough to wake up the yeast and get it bubbling, but not so hot that it kills the yeast.  I have found that most people are so worried about killing the yeast that they do not get the water warm enough.  You want the water between 110 and 120 degrees F.  

Mix the dry ingredients first before adding the water.

You could just dump all the ingredients in the bowl and start stirring.  I prefer to gently stir the dry ingredients together first.  I think this helps distribute the yeast, salt, and sugar more evenly throughout the dough. 

Let it rise enough.

The time I suggest for rising is an estimate.  It will depend on how warm your kitchen is.  If you want the dough to rise quickly, turn your oven on while you make the dough.  Then turn it off and open the oven door to warm up the room.  You can also place the dough near a heat vent or in a sunny spot in your house.  

Shape it gently.

We all have heard of “punching” the dough.  But you don’t want to punch it as hard as you can and get rid of all the air you just spent an hour plus getting in there.   With this dough in particular, we want to gently shape it.  Bread gets its structure from gluten in the flour.  Kneading the dough develops the gluten and helps give that structure.  Since we didn’t knead this dough, that gluten structure isn’t as strong.  It won’t hold up as well to punching.

Cooking time will vary by shape.

Depending on if you make a loaf shape or a round shape, it will bake at different speeds.  I have found the loaf pan breads to bake faster.  Bread should sound hollow when you knock on the bottom if it is done.  You can also take the temperature of the bread like you would meat.  Bread is done at 195-200 degrees F.  

FAQ

What is instant yeast?

Instant yeast is a different strain of yeast and is ground finer so that it will dissolve faster into your dough than active dry yeast.  As a rule, recipes with instant yeast do not call for “proofing” the yeast in warm water with sugar, while those with active dry yeast do.  According to Epicurious, this step is unnecessary.  

However, I have heard of bakers liking to “proof” both kinds of yeast, just to make sure the yeast is not dead before they use it.  Yeast will keep in the freezer for up to 2 years, although I’ve had yeast in my freezer longer than that.  You can even use yeast straight from the fridge or freezer.

What is white whole wheat flour?

There are two common types of wheat grown:  soft white wheat and hard red wheat.  What we think of as “whole wheat flour” is made from hard red wheat flour.  White whole wheat flour is made from soft white wheat.  It has a less strong, bitter taste, and baked goods tend to more closely resemble their all-purpose flour counterparts.  

I like to buy King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour.  I buy quite a few and store them in the freezer until opening.  Whole grain flours can go rancid as they do have some fat in them if they are stored for a long time.

 

How to Store

Once done baking, turn the bread out of the pan and let cool on a cooling rack.  Once it is completely cool, you can wrap in plastic wrap or store in a resealable bag.  Air exposure will make the bread go stale.

Please note that homemade bread becomes stale faster than store bought bread, as it does not have the preservatives and conditioners added to the dough.

Other Recipes You’ll Love

Tahini Toast with Apples and Honey is a great use of your delicious bread.

Whole Wheat Honey Oat Bread is great if you are up for more of a traditional bread recipe that is also dairy free.