How to bake bread at home during coronavirus quarantine
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Restrictions and quarantine associated with the coronavirus pandemic are already affecting the whole country. Police and EMU are starting to control the access to supermarkets. Some products to which we were totally accustomed are no longer so easy to get. One of them, bread.
It seems incredible to think that just over a week ago getting freshly baked bread was as easy as going down to the store and buying it. Today, with the coronavirus pandemic, it’s not so easy, it’s hard to get out of the house, many businesses have to close and it’s complicated to get certain products.
That’s why we take the opportunity to teach you how to make homemade bread. It may sound difficult, but making bread at home is much easier than it seems. And we give you many options, from the easiest homemade bread in just 30 minutes to more elaborate breads from other countries.
Easy bread recipes to make during quarantine
If you’ve never made bread, be warned, it’s a wonderful experience. The fact of seeing how from such humble ingredients as flour, water and salt -for some recipes just that is enough- just by mixing and baking them comes out something that not only floods the house with a delicious smell of freshly baked bread but is also delicious, is something almost mystical.
Quick bread in 30 minutes
.Irish bread, soda bread or baking soda bread is one of the easiest breads to make in emergencies, you don’t need to have special baker’s yeast at home, just baking soda, you don’t need to wait for the dough to ferment before baking and you don’t need to have any kneading skills because the dough is very manageable. You get down to it and in less than an hour you can be sinking your teeth into it.
English muffins, muffins made in the pan
Although the dough has to rest, because it does carry yeast, English muffins have the advantage that they are made in the pan in a moment. They are the muffins used to prepare eggs Benedict, but you can use them for whatever you want with both sweet and savory fillings.
Bagels, just like the ones in the movies
Bagels are bagels you’re tired of seeing in the movies. They require a bit of patience when it comes to making them, because you first shape them and cook them in water and then bake them, but except for the fact that you have to do more and it takes a bit longer it’s still easy.
Don’t let the coronavirus stop you from snacking like you’re on vacation in Manhattan.
Pan for torrijas
.We could not miss in the time in which we are a recipe for bread for torrijas, the sweet par excellence of Lent and Easter, so that this year, the best torrijas are the ones you can make at home.
Paratha, the Hindu bread without yeast and without oven
.Unlike other similar flatbreads such as Mexican tortillas, Indian parathas are characterized by the fact that they usually have some filling, by the aroma provided by the butter and by the kneading, folding and stretching technique that gives them a spectacular flaky texture.
Mexican wheat tortillas
Mexican tortillas, both wheat and corn, are so quick and easy to make that they are perhaps the way to replace bread within reach of more people. You only need flour, water and salt and the difficulty is the same as playing with play dough. Wheat tortillas are often used to make burritos or for lettuce wraps with salmon or similar.
If they are left over and become hard and dry, they become something very similar to what in La Mancha are known as tortas cenceñas and can be used as such, i.e. cutting them into pieces and using them to make the famous gazpachos manchegos.
Mexican corn tortillas
Unlike wheat tortillas, corn tortillas are often used to prepare tacos and enchiladas. The excess can be cut into triangles and fried or baked until crispy, that would be totopos -which we know here as corn nachos-. They can also be chopped up and used to make a famous Mexican recipe which is tortilla soup.
Homemade pan bread
During isolation it doesn’t all have to be survival breads. If you have a Thermomix-type food processor at home, you have no excuse not to enjoy professional-quality homemade loaves. Mind you, it’s easy to get hooked and then you don’t like supermarket bread as much.
Burger buns
.You may eventually have to end up thanking insulation for things like having eaten the best burger you’ve ever had if you finally get around to making homemade hamburger buns. In this recipe we’ve used, half plain flour and half spelt flour, but you can use whatever wheat flour you have at home, even if it’s only one type.
Potato and tomato focaccia
Focaccias are Italian flatbreads that usually have other ingredients that give them delicious flavors and aromas. They are usually eaten with cold cuts, but they are so good that it’s okay if you eat them alone as happens with this potato and black olive focaccia with cherry tomatoes.
Black olive bread
This black olive bread is a perfect bread for biscotti, cutting it into slices and toasting them in the oven, which we can then use to serve with cheeses or pates. Just imagining it makes my mouth water.
Colines or rosquilletas
Bread as a treat or appetizer, that’s what colines are, because they are so crunchy and delicious that they are a real treat on their own, without the need for more accompaniments.
Cream cheese buns
If you like burgers on brioche bread, this is the recipe you can’t miss. They are cream cheese buns, you can use them to prepare your favorite burger, for a pulled pork sandwich or as a dessert filled with cream and jam.
Chinese steamed bread
Although in Chinese restaurants we are used to fried breads, the truth is that Chinese bread is usually steamed, frying it afterwards is optional if you want it to be crispy, although obviously the healthiest option is to take it steamed like the ones in this steamed breads recipe.
Bao bread, the trendy bread
They were a boom four years ago and, since then, they have become common in the menus of many establishments, not only Asian cuisine. In no time they will be as common as spring rolls. The bao bread is a flat and spongy bread that is steamed and folded to accommodate the filling as if it were a taco. Another perfect solution to enjoy freshly baked bread if you don’t have an oven at home.
Whole wheat pita bread in skillet
You can also make them with white flour and, if you have an oven, baking them for 10 minutes at 200ºC. The grace of these pita breads is that they are inflated and remain hollow inside, so they are very easy to fill by making only a small opening. They are the typical breads to make kebabs or, cut into pieces, to accompany hummus.
