No-Yeast, No-Knead Slow-cooked Country-style BreadPhoto byGin Lee

No-Yeast, No-Knead Slow-Cooked Country-style Bread

This loaf of bread is absolutely perfect for country dinners! It is one of the simplest slow-cooked bread recipes to make. There is no need for yeast or kneading, making it incredibly easy to prepare. Even on the busiest days, you can still whip up a delicious loaf of bread, and you won't even have to worry about getting your hands sticky with this no-yeast, no-knead bread dough!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of self-rising flour
• 2-1/4 cups of milk
• Butter, lard, vegetable shortening, or cooking spray for greasing your bread pan

Instructions:

Let's get started by combining 3 cups of self-rising flour in a mixing bowl. Slowly pour in 2-1/4 cups of milk while gently stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula. Be careful not to overmix the dough, as this could lead to a tough loaf of bread. The dough should have a wet consistency but not be too runny. You may need to adjust the amount of milk used to get the right texture.

Preparing the dough.Photo byGin Lee

Now, let's prepare our crockpot by greasing it with butter, lard, vegetable shortening, or cooking spray. Spoon the wet dough into the pot, making sure it's evenly spread out. Generally, I wet the palms of my hands to help smooth the top of the dough a little; this is optional. Since the bread dough doesn't contain yeast, the bread will not be as smooth, even after it's done slow-cooking.

Cover the crockpot and cook the bread for 2 to 3 hours on the highest setting. After the first 30 minutes of cooking, I like to add just a few small drops of canola oil around each side of the dough. If you grease your crockpot really well beforehand, then this isn't a necessary step; it's just something that I prefer doing to help with the browning process. Not to mention, it helps release the loaf of bread better once it's done slow-cooking. Today, my loaf of. bread was done in just a little over two hours.

Once your loaf of bread is finished slow-cooking, the top of the bread should not be sticky, and the bread will spring back in place when you poke the top of it with your fingers.

Remove the bread from the crockpot and transfer it to a cooling rack, or allow the bread to cool in the crockpot with the lid off.

Before lifting the bread out of the crockpot, use a spatula to go around the edges of the bread. Then slowly use the spatula to gently lift the bread up and out of your crockpot. This part can be a little tricky! If you'd prefer, you can cut the loaf into halves or slice the bread first for easy removal.

No-Yeast, No-Knead Slow-Cooked Country-style BreadPhoto byGin Lee

I am thrilled to share that the bread has been slow-cooked to perfection! The top may appear off-white, but fear not—you have the option to transfer it to a baking tray and brown it in the oven if you wish. However, I have decided to leave mine as is today so that you all can appreciate its authentic appearance. Enjoy!

Happy bread-making!