You don't need a sourdough starter to make bread!

You don’t even need yeast.  One of the threads on social media at the moment is people sharing information (bragging) about their sourdough starters.  I have only recently started baking with yeast let alone cultivating a sourdough starter.  We eat very little bread so I couldn’t be bothered to keep the darn thing alive.  In lockdown I might even start talking to it…..

But you can still have bread.  Here is Bella’s (Mother-in-law) yogurt bread: it is surprisingly easy and very good.  For many years it was the only bread I ever baked (and ever so healthy!).

500g whole-wheat flour                

1 teaspoon salt

1 heaped teaspoon bicarbonate of soda                 

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 500 ml carton plain yogurt

Optional – about 50g of seeds – sunflower or mixed – to taste.

Heat oven to 180C

Put flour into a large bowl.  Add salt, bicarb and sugar and mix well. Add yogurt and mix together – you can start with a spoon but will need to use your hands to incorporate everything.  Place into a lined 500g tin and bake for 1 – 1 ¼ hours.

This makes a fairly dense loaf but it keeps and toasts quite well.