Easy Slow Cooker Bread
12 standard portions
Source field check · Original source retained
Dietary & allergen details
Based on listed recipe ingredients. No certification is implied.
- Celery: not fully checked
- Gluten-containing cereals: not fully checked
- Wheat: not fully checked
- Crustaceans: not fully checked
- Eggs: not fully checked
- Fish: not fully checked
- Lupin: not fully checked
- Milk: not fully checked
- Molluscs: not fully checked
- Mustard: not fully checked
- Tree nuts: not fully checked
- Peanuts: not fully checked
- Sesame: not fully checked
- Soya: not fully checked
- Sulphites: not fully checked
Check the actual product labels and preparation. Substitutions can change this information.
Ingredients
- 500 g Strong white bread flour
- 7 g Fast-action yeast
- 1 tsp Fine sea salt
- 350 ml Lukewarm water
Method
- Mix the dry ingredients: Put 500 g of Strong white bread flour, 1 tsp of Fine sea salt and 7 g of Fast-action yeast into a large mixing bowl and stir to combine.
- Add the water: Make a well in the centre and pour in 350 ml of Lukewarm water.
- Gently mix: Use a wooden spoon to gradually pull the flour into the water until everything comes together into a rough, workable dough.
- Knead the dough: Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead until it feels smooth, stretchy and elastic. By hand, this will usually take around 8-10 minutes.If you have a stand mixer with a dough hook, you can use that instead and stop when the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Shape the dough: Shape the dough into a tight ball.
- Put onto baking paper: Put it onto a piece of lightly oiled baking paper. If you like, cut a deep cross into the top of the dough with a sharp knife.Use the paper to lift the dough into the slow cooker.
- Cook on HIGH: Put the lid on and cook on HIGH.
- Check the bread is cooked: Carefully lift out the loaf using the baking paper. The base should feel firm and crusty and should sound hollow when tapped.For the most reliable check, insert a digital food thermometer into the centre. I look for an internal temperature of around 95°C/200°F.If the loaf isn't ready, return it to the slow cooker and cook for another 10-15 minutes before checking again.
- Brown the top (optional): Your bread is fully cooked at this point, but the top will naturally be paler than bread baked in an oven.For a darker, crunchier finish you can:- Put it in an air fryer at 180°C for around 4-5 minutes.- Put it into a hot oven at 220°C/425°F/Gas 7 for around 5-10 minutes.- Or turn the loaf over, remove the baking paper and cook it in the slow cooker for a little longer so the top makes contact with the hot pot.
- Let it cool: This is the difficult bit when the kitchen smells like freshly baked bread.Put the loaf on a wire rack and leave it for around 30 minutes before slicing.Cutting into bread immediately releases a lot of steam and can squash the crumb, leaving it slightly gummy rather than light and fluffy.