• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Savvy Bites
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Easy Dinners
  • One Pot
  • Fakeaways
  • Recipes
  • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Easy Dinners
    • One Pot
    • Fakeaways
    • Recipes
    • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Home » Easy Baking

    The Best & Most Basic Bread Recipe

    Last Updated: Feb 15, 2022 • By Deborah Rainford • 6 Comments • About 5 minutes to read this article.. • This post may contain affiliate links

    • Share
    • Yummly
    Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

    Soft and fluffy with the perfect rustic crust. This easy basic bread recipe is the best bread that will ever grace your kitchen. It's only 5 ingredients (all available from Aldi) and it only takes 60 minutes to make.

    Basic bread a no-knead bread recipe made using Aldi ingredients.

    Imagine fresh bread straight from the oven broken open, steaming hot, and slathered with butter and dipped into soup or chilli. This is the homemade loaf of bread that will turn you into a bakeoff champ! So let's stop talking about how fluffy and crusty this loaf is and start talking about how you make your own 60-minute bread and start dunking!


    Basic Bread
    Like this recipe? Pin it to your Baking pinboard!
    Follow SavvyBites on Pinterest


    ingredients for making no-knead bread all ingredients from Aldi.

    Ingredients for Making this Basic Bread Recipe

    1. Strong Flour
    2. Yeast (fast-acting)
    3. Sea Salt
    4. Honey
    5. Warm Water

    Step 1 & 2 making no-knead bread using Aldi ingredients.

    Making Bread Step By Step

    • Start by adding all of the ingredients *except the water to a large bowl. Measure out the water in a jug and make sure that it is warm to the touch. Pour the water into the flour and use a wooden spoon to mix.
    • You will end up with a rough shaggy looking dough like in the above photo on the right.

    Step 2 & 3 making no-knead bread using Aldi ingredients.

    • Once you have poured in the water and you have a rough dough scoop it onto the worktop and knead the dough for about 5 minutes. Or you can use a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. A stand mixer is a "nice to have" when making bread. But it's not necessary to have.
    • Once you have kneaded the dough it should spring back when poked and the dough should be smooth and springy. See the photo above on the left.
    • Leave the dough in the bowl to rise for 45 minutes while you preheat the oven. Once the dough has risen, there should be an indentation left in it when poked. See above photo on the right.

    Step 5 & 6 making no-knead bread using ingredients from Aldi UK.

    • Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a floured surface and reform it into a round loaf shape. Place the loaf on a piece of baking paper. Using the corners of the paper lift the dough into a cast iron pan and cover. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes covered, then uncover for the last 10-15 minutes.
    • Once you've baked the perfect loaf of rustic white bread, leave it to cool on a wire rack until cool enough to slice. Or tear it steaming hot and dunk into soup. It's your choice!

    What kind of yeast should you use to make this basic bread recipe?

    Fast-acting dried yeast is what this recipe uses. It is the one available from Aldi and it works perfectly every time. If you're not sure if your yeast is still active, you can add it to some warm water and if it starts to froth on the top after about 5 minutes, it's still active and ready to use.

    Why does this recipe have honey?

    Honey or sugar is sometimes an ingredient in bread as it helps to speed up the yeast. I always prefer to use honey but you can use some white sugar, or skip it altogether. It's not necessary, but if you are in a hurry, then it will help to speed up the rise of the yeast a little bit.

    No-knead basic bread on paper using Aldi ingredients.

     

    The Best & Most Basic Bread Recipe

    Bake fresh bread without the effort. This Dutch oven bread is simple to make and perfect for everydaybaking.
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Baking
    Cuisine: British/ American
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes
    Resting Time: 12 hours
    Servings: 12 portions
    Save This RecipeSaved!
    Author: Deborah Rainford

    Ingredients

    • 500 g strong bread flour
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 10 g active dried yeast
    • 350 ml warm water
    • 1 tablespoon honey
    • Extra flour for dusting
    Metric - US Customary

    Instructions

    • Place the bread flour and salt in a large bowl and whisk in the yeast.
    • Pour the warm water into a measuring jug and add the honey. Mix well.
    • Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour the water in. Using a wooden spoon, or your hands mix the water into the flour to create a dough.
    • Flour the work top well and place the dough onto the work surface. Knead well for about 10 minutes until the dough springs back and is smooth and supple.
    • Place the bread dough into a clean bowl and cover with a tea towel. Leave in a warm place to rise for 1 hour. While the dough is rising preheat the oven to 200ºC and place an empty cast iron Dutch oven into the oven to get hot.
    • Once the dough has risen and double in size, gently knock the air out of the dough and form it into a round ball with the seam on the bottom. Place the unbaked bread dough onto a large piece of baking paper and gently lift the paper into the hot cast iron pot. Cover and bake the bread for 25 minutes.
    • After 25 minutes remove the lid and let bake for another 15 minutes. Until the bread is golden and the crust is crisp. Very carefully pick the edges of the paper up and lift the bread out of the pot. Slide the bread onto a cooling rack and discard the baking paper, or use it for more bread.
    • The bottom of the bread should sound hollow when tapped.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 160kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 198mg | Potassium: 54mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 2mg
    Tried this recipe?Tag Me @savvybites or tag #savvybites!

    THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING AND COOKING ALONG WITH ME! IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE OR HAVE A QUESTION, I’D LOVE IT IF YOU LEFT A COMMENT AND A RATING. YOU CAN ALSO FOLLOW ALONG ON PINTEREST, FACEBOOK AND  INSTAGRAM TO SEE WHAT WE’RE EATING, PINNING AND A LITTLE BEHIND THE SCENES TOO!

    « Hearty Vegetarian Pasta Soup (Tortellini)
    Egg Fried Rice »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Suzie

      October 14, 2020 at 2:50 pm

      5 stars
      Absolutely brilliant everyone loved the bread I was so proud

      Reply
      • Deborah Thompson

        October 15, 2020 at 11:08 am

        That's amazing Suzie!!! Thanks so much for leaving a comment and a rating. I love that you used the word proud!!!! That's exactly what I want for people. To be proud to feed their families amazing food and to be proud of themselves for making something amazing!!! 🙂

        Reply
    2. Nadine

      July 22, 2021 at 7:05 am

      When are you meant to add the salt? The pic shows salt but I can't see quantity. I just realised now I have made it without salt 🙁

      Reply
    3. Scott G

      August 22, 2021 at 6:49 am

      Great basic bread recipe used brown flour and made into rolls and worked well.
      Bread rolls went superb with some home made veg soup!
      Will definitely use again, and so much better than shop bought.

      Reply
      • Deborah Thompson

        September 06, 2021 at 1:01 pm

        I'm so happy you like the recipe. It's such a great basic recipe for turning into all kinds of rolls and loaves!

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Deborah! Savvy Bites was created to answer the question "what's for dinner?" It's a place where fresh, (mostly) healthy, everyday recipes are made with inexpensive and common ingredients from Aldi UK.

    More about me →

    Popular

    • Aldi Weekly Budget Meal Plan with Free Shopping List- Week 82
    • Aldi Weekly Budget Meal Plan with Free Shopping List- Week 81
    • Aldi Weekly Budget Meal Plan with Free Shopping List- Week 80
    • Easy Old Fashioned Apple and Strawberry Crumble
    • Start Here
      • Privacy Policy
    • Recipes
    • FAQ'S

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • FAQ's
    • About

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Recipes

    • Meal Plans
    • One Pot

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2022 SAVVYBITES