How to make bread

You just can’t beat fresh, home-baked bread. The mouth-watering yeasty aroma, the crack of the crust and the warmth of the soft, doughy inner, the way the butter melts as you spread it on… is it lunchtime yet?! Bread is the ultimate comfort food, and it honestly isn’t that hard to make bread, even if you’re a complete novice and starting from scratch.

So much tastier than processed shop-bought, it’s incredibly satisfying to sink your teeth into a loaf you’ve made yourself, whether you’ve kneaded it by hand and made it the traditional way in a tin or used a bread maker. Or, if you don’t have a bread machine, we have bread recipes that work a treat in our Remoska and Remoska Tria – or how about trying slow cooker bread? The world is your bread-filled oyster (not literally, we don’t have a recipe for those!)… and we’ve got a whole host of tasty recipes, ready and waiting for you to try, right here.

Making bread by hand

Depending on what kind of bread you want to make, there are hundreds of recipes, tips and techniques out there. What ingredients do you need? How about specialist kit? We know it can be a bit overwhelming, especially if you’re new to bread-making, which is why you’ll find really easy-to-follow videos on our Secrets to Great Bread guide, courtesy of local expert Peter Sidwell. Whether it’s a basic bread recipe for a deliciously crusty farmhouse cob to get your hand in, a twisty Roasted Garlic Sourdough or Mini Focaccias, it’s a great place to start (and even though we don’t sell those tins anymore, you’ll find lots more here).

If you’re new to bread-making and looking for easy recipes, a great place to start is with our Basic White Bread. If you prefer brown or wholemeal to white, there’s our Brown Seeded Bread, or how about a loaf of Walnut Bread if you fancy a different flavour? Then there are bite-sized Tomato & Poppy Seed Mini Loaves, Rosemary Flatbreads… you’ll find all these recipes and more right here on our blog.

In praise of bread makers

For those of us who lack the time, wrist strength (or inclination!) to make bread by hand, there’s always the oh-so-handy bread maker. It’s so easy to just lift the lid and throw in the ingredients, then tuck in to the finished loaf several hours later, and perfectly satisfying too.

All our bread makers come with instruction manuals with basic recipes to start you off, so when it comes to recipe inspiration, we’ve gone a little further than your standard white and brown loaves. Because convenient as bread machines are, they’re much more versatile than you might think and, with just a little more work, you and your machine can achieve so much more than just square loaf after square loaf.

A bit of experimentation with flavours, textures and shapes and your bread maker can soon be turning out so many loaves it will be like having a bakery in your own kitchen. Think herbs and spices, nuts and fruit; sweet or savoury; rolls, muffins and teacakes; rings and plaits, buns and bagels.

Try your hand at twisty, tasty Salted Pretzels; a savoury flavour-packed Spinach & Manchego Ring, or how about mixing sweet and spicy with a loaf of Chocolate Chilli Bread? For Easter, there’s a Hot Cross Bun Loaf, or go fruity and nutty with Cranberry, Orange & Pecan Bread, which gets a start in a bread machine before being finished off in the oven.

Our best bread maker

Just like parents, we don’t like to have favourites, and we love all our bread makers equally! If it’s in our range, it’s because we think it’s already the best of the best in its particular bread-making niche, whether you’re after the simple, smaller loaves you can make in our Compact Bread Maker, or want the greater versatility offered by our Bread Maker Plus (which comes with a handy weighing scale) or the bakes-pretty-much-everything customer favourite Touchscreen Bread Maker. But there are other appliances out there that make a mean loaf too…

Slow cooker bread (and other alternatives)

If you don’t have a bread maker, there are other machines you can press into service to make a lovely loaf. If you already own a Remoska, Remoska Tria or a slow cooker, you might never have considered that they can be used to make bread – but they can! Check out our blog about alternative bread makers and you’ll find everything from Wholemeal Walnut Bread for the Standard Remoska, a Malted Mixed Grain Loaf and a best-of-Italian-flavours Rosemary, Red Onion & Parmesan Focaccia, both baked to perfection in a Remoska Tria, to our delicious, made-in-a-slow-cooker Cranberry & Rosemary Soda Bread and Banana Bread recipes.

The artisan bakery

You’ve mastered white, conquered wholemeal, maybe even dabbled with granary… time to venture out into artisan country! There’s a wider world of bread waiting to be discovered – from delicately light to deep rustic flavours, you’ll find something to tempt every palate and a perfect accompaniment for every dish. Here are just a few of our favourites to begin with…

Cranberry, Orange & Pecan Bread – a lovely, sweet-flavoured loaf, and the perfect partner for cheese.

Focaccia with Mozzarella, Cherry Tomatoes & Rosemary – feast your senses on this fabulous focaccia, which takes its inspiration from the Italian tricolore.

Gluten-Free Seeded Loaf – all the goodness and flavour of a wholesome seeded loaf, but without the gluten.

How to make sourdough bread

We couldn’t leave the wonderful world of bread behind without a nod to our own personal favourite, tasty, tangy sourdough. If you love it, but think it sounds a bit difficult to make, try our super-quick Beginner’s Sourdough-Style Loaf. And if that floats your bready boat, follow our How to make a sourdough starter guide to start enjoying delicious loaf after loaf after loaf.