How to make bread at home - and the ingredients you’ll need

Have you had a go at making your own bread? (Photo: Shutterstock)

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With the UK currently on lockdown, many people have been trying their hand at home baking as a means to keep themselves occupied while stuck indoors.

Bread and cakes are among the most popular choices when baking at home - so much so that there has been a shortage of flour on supermarket shelves in recent weeks.

If you are keen to don your apron and enjoy some baking during lockdown, here’s how to do it - and all the ingredients you’ll need.

What ingredients do you need to make bread?

To make a basic white or brown loaf, you will need the following ingredients:

- Yeast

- Butter, margarine, or oil

- Flour

- Salt

- Water

What kind of flour can I use to make bread?

The type of flour used to make bread will vary depending on the type of loaf you want to make, but common options include strong white bread flour, all-purpose flour, and whole wheat flour.

Bread or all purpose flour is best for baking normal bread, while self-raising flour is better for ‘quick breads’.

Quick breads, such as Irish soda bread, can be made with self-raising flour as they do not require yeast, which need time and fermentation to make the dough rise.

If you are using self-raising flour, choose a quick bread recipe that doesn’t need yeast.

Self-raising flour cannot be used as a substitute for yeast when making normal yeast bread. A good substitute for self-raising flour is using a combination of cake flour, baking soda and salt.

Where can I buy flour?

A rise in the amount of people who are home baking has contributed to a shortage of flour in supermarkets.

Mills have not had enough capacity to pack enough flour into bags for supermarkets due to such high demand.

If you are struggling to track down any flour in the supermarkets, there are some retailers online that still have some stock.

Healthy Supplies has a wide range of options, including wheat, corn, rice, buckwheat and pasta flour.

Buy Wholefoods Online also has stock available, with bread flour, gluten free flour, nut and specialist flour all on offer.

Shoppers could also pick up a variety of flour from Amazon, Brakes, and Sous Chef.