The loaf of bread produced by a slow cooker is actually rather good, and it’s also quite simple to make. It is also rapid because only one rise is needed; the slow cooker performs the second rise. In addition to flavoring the bread, adding seeds or rolled oats facilitates removing it from the slow cooker.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 2 hrs |
| Additional Time: | 2 hrs 10 mins |
| Total Time: | 4 hrs 25 mins |
| Servings: | 10 |
| Yield: | 1 loaf |
Ingredients
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 ½ cups bread flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon lukewarm water, or more as needed
- parchment paper
- ¼ cup sesame seeds
Instructions
- Stir 1 cup water and yeast together in a small bowl until yeast is dissolved. Let sit until frothy or foamy, about 10 minutes.
- Mix flour and salt together in a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid. Add yeast mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until evenly combined and no traces of flour remain. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons water and stir again; dough should be tacky but not wet.
- Cover container with the lid. Let dough rise at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Set slow cooker to High. Cut a piece of parchment paper to line the bottom of your slow cooker.
- Dust a clean work surface with flour. Fold dough briefly with floured hands to get rid of any air pockets. Shape into a round or oval loaf depending on the shape of your slow cooker.
- Sprinkle some of the sesame seeds on the bottom of the slow cooker. Sprinkle remaining seeds generously all around the loaf. Place dough in the slow cooker and cover with the lid.
- Cook on High for 2 hours. Lift the lid a couple of times during cooking to release the steam. An instant-read thermometer inserted deep into the loaf should read between 200 and 210 degrees F (93 to 99 degrees C). The surface of the bread should be dry and no longer spongy. Remove the loaf and tap the bottom; it should sound hollow.
- Remove loaf from the slow cooker. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before cutting, at least 1 hour.
- I have a 3.5-quart slow cooker. If your slow cooker is larger, the loaf will not be as high. You can also place the dough into a greased loaf pan if you have a large oval slow cooker.
- Instead of sesame seeds, you can use seeds sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, or rolled oats — or you can use a combination of any of those.
- If you like a brown and crispy crust, preheat your broiler and place the loaf on the top rack immediately after it’s finished baking. Broil until it starts to brown. Make sure to stand by and remove the bread right away when it has the desired color as it can burn quickly.
Reviews
The bread turned out okay, but my family didn’t care for the taste … a little too yeasty for them. I liked it.
No dairy, no sugar, and still makes great toast.
YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMY but wonder if it works equally well if I cut in half the recipe for a small slow cooker? Mine is a 1 1/2 quart cooker Thanks so much
Excellent bread. I leave mine in 2.5hrs. Agree brushing with olive oil &B putting under broiler 5mins makes it that much better. Have also brushed with honey after taking out from broiler. Highly recommend this recipe.
Super simple and it’s the only recipe I use to make delicious bread. Every single time.
Big hit! Family loved it! Will be making this again.
I made this today using rosemary seeds and it is wonderful!! Super easy and the crust is perfect. I will definitely be making it again and sharing the recipe with friends and family
Fab.u.lous. I have made bread for years, but this was a novel approach to bread baking.I had my doubts, but it was great. Crisp bottom crust, (brown the top under broiler per instructions), tender pillowy crumb. I used a ceramic soufflé dish inside an oval slow cooker to get a round, high loaf. I also used instant yeast, adding that and all ingredients together in one step. I used bread flour per recipe, but I would not hesitate to use AP flour if that is all you have. Great for summertime when you don’t want to heat up an oven. I never made bread in summer bc of that…but now you can have fresh bread all year round.
So easy and versatile. I added some VWG to my all purpose flour. I’ve used all sorts of add-ins: olives cheese everything seasoning rosemary oregano sautéed garlic, and even a cinnamon with a little brown sugar one. I love that it’s in the slow cooker especially in the summer.
I have never made leavened bread before and I decided to start with this recipe. The yeast step didn’t work for me as far as creating a froth. I poked around on the internet some and found you have to add sugar to get the yeast to activate. My yeast appeared to be dead, but I completed the recipe anyway. I got a raw-looking (but not actually raw inside) outcome that tasted all right but was not risen. I blamed the yeast. The next day I got some other yeast which I tried to activate with water, per this recipe. Nothing happened. Then I tried again using sugar, and I got a big froth. Yay. Maybe my loaf will rise! No. One hour in an airtight container and there was really no perceptible rise. The air in the container was noticeably warm, though, so I could tell something chemical was trying to happen. Kneaded and then put in slow cooker. 2 hours later I had a loaf nearly identical to the one from the prior day. TLDR: 1. Use sugar in step one of the recipe. 2. If you don’t mind a barely-risen doorstop for texture and size, this recipe is OK. The flavor is fine.
I loved this recipe and it turned out wonderful! Both my husband and I think its great. I’ll be making it again and again! I have a 4 qt oval slow cooker and that worked perfect! Thank you so much for posting and for the video!
Unbelievably easy! I’m obsessed with this bread and have made it three times in less than a week. Because of the lockdown, I don’t have bread flour and so have had to experiment with what I’ve had on hand. The first time I used 30% spelt flour and 70% einkorn. It was a nice loaf! The second time I used half einkorn, half all-purpose flour. It was even better! I can’t wait till I get some bread flour, as I’m sure it’ll be even better yet. I have used a combination of oats and seeds (sesame, poppy) to cover the bottom and top of the bread. Also, since I’m out of parchment, I have been lining the slow cooker with aluminum foil, and it works totally fine. I broil at the end as suggested. Thank you for an amazing recipe!
I have made it again and we still enjoy it. It’s nice to know what’s in your own bread.
This bread is great. Made it two weekends in a row. Used sesame and black cumin seeds. Will experiment with other seeds. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for the recipe! My kids and I really like it! This 2nd one looks better. Can’t wait to get to it! Sorry I don’t know how to use this camera yet. I’ll take pic as soon as I learn how to make it smaller I guess
Worked great and tastes magnificent.
This was a very good bread – I also added some sunflower seeds.