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Bread

To Make Bread Without Yeast

A yeast‑free bread made by mixing flour, salt, baking powder, and water, then boiling or steaming the dough.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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To Make Bread Without Yeast

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the dough

  1. Put flour in a bowl and mix in salt and baking powder.

  2. Add water to form a light, firm dough.

  3. Knead quickly with floured hands and shape into balls the size of small eggs.

Cook

  1. Plunge balls into boiling water and boil for about 20 minutes until done.

  2. Alternatively, place in a single layer on a steamer above boiling water and steam instead.

Serve

  1. Serve with meat and gravy, or with treacle or sugar.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Flour
Forms the main structure of the dough and sets as the bread cooks.
Baking powder
Releases gas in the dough, helping it rise and become light.
Water
Hydrates the flour so it forms a cohesive dough that holds its shape.

The step that matters

Knead quickly and shape the balls. Baking powder starts releasing gas as soon as it is wet and heated, so the dough should be handled briefly and shaped without delay. Overworking develops gluten and makes the dough tough and dense rather than light.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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