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No bread flour, but want to make bread? Need cake but only have bread flour? No self raising flour in the cupboards? No problem. Try one of these clever baking hacks.

With less frequent shopping trips and irregular grocery deliveries during this time, you may not be able to get hold of all the baking ingredients you would like, yet still want to spend time in the kitchen baking.

Award-winning organic flour brand Doves Farm have shared the secrets behind How to Make Self Raising Flour, How to Make Bread with Plain Wholemeal Flour, How to Make a Cake with Strong Bread Flour and How to Make 3 Ingredient Soda Bread Rolls in only half an hour and using just milk, flour and tonic water or lemonade.

soda bread

Baking Hack 1: How to Make 3 Ingredient Soda Bread Rolls

These emergency, no knead, half hour, soda bread rolls need just a very hot oven and three ingredients. If you have the time and the inclination, add a pinch of fennel seed or linseed to the mixing bowl. Eat immediately or when cold, store in a tin and re-heat before serving. Recipe yields six rolls.

Ingredients

– 250g Doves Farm Organic Plain White Flour
– 100ml lemonade or tonic water
– 90ml milk
– Flour, for dusting

Method

– Pre-heat the oven to 200°C
– Dust some flour on a large baking tray and the work surface
– Measure the flour into a mixing bowl
– Add the lemonade or tonic water and milk and stir into a soft, slightly sticky dough
– Tip the dough onto the flour dusted surface, sprinkle with flour and cut it into 6 pieces
– Form each piece into a ball and put it on the baking tray
– Using a sharp knife, carefully and quickly, score a cross onto each dough ball
– Bake for 20-25 minutes

Baking Hack 2: How to Make Self Raising Flour

Self raising flour already contains the raising agents which gives a nice rise to baked goods. To make your own self raising flour combine plain flour with baking powder.

Ingredients

– 100g Doves Farm Organic Plain White Flour
– 2 tsp baking powder

Method

– Measure the flour and baking powder into a bowl and stir to combine
– Sieve the flour blend into another bowl
– Use this flour blend as self raising flour

Baking Hack 3: How to Make Bread with Plain Wholemeal Flour

Plain flours are big on flavour and bake into great tasting breads. The rise might be a little less impressive than with a bread flour, but the real wheat taste will be there.

Ingredients

– 500g Doves Farm Organic Plain Wholemeal Flour
– 1 tsp Doves Farm Quick Yeast
– 1 tsp sugar
– ½ tsp salt
– 325g tepid water
– 1 tbsp oil
– Oil, for tin

Method

– Put the flour, yeast, sugar and salt into a bowl and mix together
– Stir in the water, and when everything looks craggy and lumpy, stir in the oil
– Using your hands, gather everything together into a doughy mass
– Knead the dough for 100 presses
– Cover with an upturned mixing bowl and leave in a warm place to double in size, about an hour
– Rub some oil around the inside of a 1kg/2lb bread tin or insert a baking liner
– Knead the dough for another 100 presses
– Shape the dough and put it into the prepared tin
– Cover the tin with an upturned mixing bowl and leave in a warm place for 40 minutes
– Pre-heat the oven to 200˚C and bake for 40-45 minutes
– Remove from the oven and turn out onto a wire rack to cool

Baking Hack 4: How to Make a Cake with Strong Bread Flour

Strong bread is not usually used for cake making but if that’s all you have in the cupboard then this is the recipe to follow. We like to fill sponge cake layers with buttercream and jam.

Sponge Cake Ingredients

– 2 eggs
– 125g caster sugar
– 100ml sunflower oil
– ½ tsp vinegar
– 100g Doves Farm Organic Strong White Bread Flour
– 20g cornflour
– 3 tbsp baking powder
– Oil, for tins

Filling Ingredients

– 50g butter (or vegan butter)
– 100g icing sugar
– 3 tbsp strawberry jam
– Icing sugar, to dust

Sponge Cake Method

– Rub some oil around the inside of two 18cm/7” round, loose bottom cake tins and pre-heat the oven to 160°C
– Break the eggs into a mixing bowl, add the sugar, oil and vinegar and beat well
– Measure the bread flour, cornflour and baking powder into another bowl and stir to combine
– Sieve the flour blend onto the egg mixture and, using a metal spoon, gently cut and fold everything together. Take care not to over-mix
– Divide the mixture between the prepared tins and smooth the tops
– Bake for 20-25 minutes
– Leave the cakes in the tin for 5 minutes then turn them out onto a rack to cool

Filling Method

– Put the butter into a mixing bowl and beat until softened
– Add the icing sugar a little at a time mixing to a smooth buttercream paste
– Spread over one cold cake
– Spread the jam over the other cake and place it, jam side down, on the buttercream
– Before serving sieve a little icing sugar over the top of the cake

Struggling to find flour and yeast? Doves Farm have also launched an Organic Flour Baking Box (£11 plus delivery), available to purchase on their website and delivered direct to your door! The pre-packed box is available most weekday mornings, subject to availability, and contains a useful selection of their organic flours – including plain, self raising, bread and specialty flours – plus Quick Yeast for bread baking. Find out more here.

For more baking hacks and recipe ideas, take a look at our archives.