It started out as a mistake. Or so I thought. But a “ruined” yeast dough turned into a miraculously pillowy-soft loaf quickly and easily. Dan named it Blunder Bread. What seemed like a goof was a gift—perhaps the squishiest, fluffiest bread I’ve ever made. Perfect for sandwiches and toast. And delicious enough for a snack.
The blunder, as it turned out, wasn’t a blunder at all. Just before Christmas I set out to make Dick’s Sticky Buns. I had substituted a “flaxseed egg” in the recipe, and in the moment I thought I’d put in too much. Too many flecks of flax. Rather than dump the dough, I said what the heck and baked it into two loaves of bread.
But I hadn’t put in too much flaxseed after all. The dough would have made fabulous sticky buns. Instead, though, a blunder became my new favorite sandwich bread.
The secret? Baking powder.
Scalded milk in Dick’s sticky bun dough makes a fluffy, tender crumb. But the real secret to success lies in the baking powder. Her recipe calls for both yeast and baking powder. The baking powder creates gas almost instantly. So the buns notoriously rise fast and high—the baking powder gives the yeast dough that extra boost for a quick, super-high rise.
So why hadn’t we ever thought of turning Dick’s soft, fast-rising bun dough into bread? And why don’t all yeast bread recipes include that extra whammy of baking powder? Will we see baking-powder yeast bread trending on TikTok?
A very tender yeast bread.
Well, you won’t see a crusty bread recipe with baking powder. Rustic yeast breads call for long rises and gluten development for tangy flavor and chewy texture.
But if you want a tender, fluffy, soft bread in almost no time, baking powder will get you there.
And see? Every once in a while we’ll blunder into a great recipe.
Blunder Bread: Pillowy-soft yeast bread with a baking powder boost
Makes two high loaves (8 ½” x 4 ½” pans)
- 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed and 3 tablespoons water to make flaxseed “egg”
- 5-6 cups bread flour or more (as much as needed to make a soft, stretchy dough)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 packages dry yeast (4½ teaspoons)( (SAF Instant Yeast or Red Star Quick-Rise Yeast)
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 cups lukewarm milk, scalded and cooled*
- ½ cup water (can use ice water to cool down the scalded milk, added directly to milk)
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- Butter for greasing pans and glazing loaves
*Or substitute instant dry milk powder, which needs no scalding. Add 2/3 cup powder to dry ingredients and then add 2 cups water with wet ingredients.
- In a glass, mix flaxseed “egg” by combining 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons water. Let sit for 5-10 minutes until gelatinous.
- In a large bowl, combine 4 cups of bread flour, salt, sugar, yeast and baking powder. Stir with a dough whisk or wooden spoon for about a minute.
- Add cooled milk, water, oil and flaxseed egg. Mix vigorously using the dough whisk or wooden spoon. Stir in more flour (about 2 cups), until you’ve made a soft, elastic dough. Knead the dough about 5-7 minutes on a lightly floured surface until smooth and stretchy. It will remain soft.
- Add a drop of oil to the bowl, put dough back in and rotate to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let dough rise about 90 minutes. The dough will weigh about 60 ounces.
- Punch down dough and cut in half. Form one half into a ball, then press out to a rectangle a little shorter than the length of the 8 ½” x 4 ½” greased loaf pan. Roll up dough, seal the seams, and press into the pan. Repeat for the other half. Cover with plastic wrap.
- Let rise about 45 minutes, until doubled in size.
- In the meantime, preheat oven to 350°. Remove plastic wrap and bake for about 35 minutes. Remove from oven when an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center registers 190° in the middle of the highest point. Each baked loaf will weigh about 26 ounces.
- Remove from pans, then rub butter on top to melt and create a shine. Cool on a rack. Bread freezes well.
