Homemade Skillet Bread (No Oven)

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   How do you make homemade bread in a skillet? Gather your ingredients. The flour amount is approximate — you may use more or less, so go by how the dough looks and feels.

2. Step 2:

   

   Grab a large bowl — this makes a lot of dough. Warm the water until it's pleasantly warm to the touch, around 100°F (38°C). That's the sweet spot for the yeast: too cold and it won't wake up, too hot and it dies. Add the yeast, sugar, and salt to the water and stir.

3. Step 3:

   

   Start adding the flour in batches, sifting it as you go. This aerates the flour and makes the dough soft and fluffy. Whisk well after each addition. The dough will thicken with each batch; once the whisk can't keep up, switch to a spoon.

4. Step 4:

   

   Then keep kneading by hand. You could use a mixer, but since we're baking bread without an oven, let's do it by hand. Keep adding flour, but only a little at a time now. Watch the dough — it shouldn't be too wet, but don't make it too stiff either. As soon as it stops sticking to your hands, stop kneading. I used a bit more than 500 grams of flour; you may need more or less.

5. Step 5:

   

   Shape the dough into a ball, cover the bowl, and set it in a warm spot to rise for an hour. I put mine in a cold, turned-off oven — it's warm in there and free of drafts.

6. Step 6:

   

   After an hour, the dough should have doubled. Gently punch it down.

7. Step 7:

   

   Use a heavy-bottomed skillet — this is key to the bread baking through properly. Grease the bottom and sides with vegetable oil. Mine is nonstick, but I greased it anyway, just to be safe.

8. Step 8:

   

   Put the dough in the skillet and press it evenly across the bottom with your hands. Cover with a lid and let it rest another half hour.

9. Step 9:

   

   The dough will rise again. Set the burner to the lowest possible heat. Put the skillet on and cover it. Cook the bread about half an hour, watching so it doesn't scorch. A clear lid helps — try not to lift it, so the bread can rise fully.

10. Step 10:

    

    Once one side is well browned, flip the bread over. Cook the other side another half hour, this time without the lid.

11. Step 11:

    

    Take the finished bread out of the skillet and wrap it in a towel for an hour. Once it's cooled, it's ready to eat.