Homemade Bread in a Slow Cooker
Can you make slow cooker bread? You bet! Transform any bread recipe with two rises into a soft, delicious loaf that bakes unattended on your counter without turning on the oven.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes - 3 hours
- Total Time: up to 4 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 loaf 1x
- Category: Bread
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 ½ cups of warm water (105–115 degrees)
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 2 ¼ tsp active-dry yeast
- 2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- Vital wheat gluten – 1 Tbsp per cup flour (optional)
Instructions
- Grease the bottom and sides of your slow cooker well with butter and set aside. (We use this slow cooker.)
- Follow the bread recipe according to the instructions through the first rise and shaping of the dough.
Note: For Man Bread, that looks like this: In the bowl of a stand mixer or large bowl, add warm water, honey, and yeast. Stir a few times until the honey dissolves. Once the yeast starts foaming (5 minutes or so), add the flour, melted coconut oil, and salt. Once your bread dough comes together using the dough hook, knead for 10 minutes on medium-low. Leave your dough ball in the bowl and cover with a towel. Let the bread dough rise for 30 minutes. - Place the unbaked dough in the buttered slow cooker and turn it on high. The bread will complete its second rise and bake at the same time.
- Allow bread to bake for 45 minutes and check the internal temperature using an instant-read thermometer. Bread is done when the internal temperature reaches 180-200 degrees. This may take up to 3 hours, depending on the slow cooker. After the initial 45 minutes, check the temperature every 30 minutes until you are familiar with the timing of your slow cooker.
Note: The bottom and sides of the slow cooker bread will become a beautiful golden brown, but the top will remain pale.
Notes
- Any bread recipe that calls for two rises should work as a slow cooker bread.
- Slow cooker bread will come out fully cooked and soft, but it will not have that golden brown crunchy crust that the oven is known for. You can run the loaf under the broiler or use a mini blow torch to achieve that same hard crust if you desire.
- This slow cooker bread method would be AMAZING for soft dinner rolls! Here’s my favorite dinner roll recipe if you want to give it a try.
- The shape of your slow cooker will make a difference. Use a machine whose capacity is twice the size of your unbaked dough. I have this slow cooker.
- Because slow cooker temperatures vary, don’t leave the house on your first attempt at making bread in the slow cooker. You’ll need to time your slow cooker to see how long it takes your bread to reach the appropriate temperature. Once you’ve successfully made a loaf, you’ll be able to set it and forget it.
- Handle the bread as little as possible while baking. Opening and closing the lid and testing for temperature can damage the loaf, so your first loaf may be a bit on the ugly side while you figure out the best timing for your slow cooker. Once you’ve got the details figured out, you’re good to go. (And even ugly bread tastes good!)
- I hear it’s possible to bake the bread in the slow cooker in a loaf pan…but I haven’t tried it myself and therefore can’t vouch for it. And if you have a smaller slow cooker, your loaf pan probably won’t fit anyway unless you use mini loaf pans. You can also line the slow cooker with parchment paper for easier cleanup.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 179