18/02/2021

Easy bread recipes for kids

Baking bread is guaranteed to be one of the top answers to the question ‘what’s your favourite smell?’. We agree, there’s not much that tops fresh bread!

Now’s the perfect time to get your kids involved in the kitchen in time for Real Bread Week next week.

We love a bit of home baking in the Barracudas head office so we’ve asked around and selected our top recipes from our team. Whether you’re a sucker for savoury or swoon at the sweet stuff, you (and your kids) won’t be able to resist these easy bread recipes for kids:

Standard loaf

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
1 packet of yeast (2 ¼ tsp)
1 cup warm water
¼ cup butter, melted
1 tsp salt

Instructions

Add 1 cup of flour and all the sugar and yeast to a bowl
Leave aside in a warm place for 10 minutes
When the mixture looks puffy, add 1 more cup of flour and the salt and melted butter and stir together
Once combined, add the final cup of flour and stir again
Dust ¼ cup of extra flour on a clean surface
Knead the dough for 10 minutes. Press down with the heal of your hand, then fold the dough in half. Press down again, fold and repeat
When the dough changes from being sticky to smooth and silky, place in a greased loaf tin
Cover the tin with cling film, or a clean towel and place in a warm spot for 45 minutes to rise
When it’s doubled in size, punch it back then leave to rise again for a further 10 minutes
Whilst you’re waiting preheat your oven to 190℃
Bake for 25 minutes

When it’s cooked through (check by inserting a skewer - if it comes out clean, the bread is fully cooked) cool in the tin for 5 minutes than transfer to to wire rack to cool thoroughly before slicing

Walnut bread

This is a really easy recipe to introduce kids to bread with more bite!

Ingredients

400 g Very strong wholemeal bread flour
250 g Strong white bread flour
2 tbsp Unrefined light muscovado sugar
100 g Walnuts (pieces, chopped and toasted)
1 ½ tsp Salt
1 Easy bake yeast sachet
3 tbsp Olive oil
450 ml Warm water

Method

Put the flour, walnut pieces, light muscovado, sugar and salt together in a large bowl
Sprinkle over the yeast so that it is evenly dispersed and then pour in the oil and warm water (Mix 1 part boiling water to 2 parts cold to get the right temperature)
Mix together with your hands until the mixture combines to make a rough dough ball
Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and stretch and knead the dough for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic
Shape into an oval and put on to a greased baking tray
Use a sharp knife to score a few diagonal lines on tops of the loaf
Cover loosely with cling film and leave in a warm place until doubled in size (this will take approximately 30-40 minutes)
Preheat the oven to 220°C, 200°C fan, gas 7
Remove cling film from bread and reduce the oven temperature to 200°C, 180°C fan, gas 6 Bake the bread for 35 minutes until golden

Quick flatbreads

This recipe from BBC food couldn’t be easier and is ideal to make with the kids:

Ingredients

200 g/7 oz plain or wholemeal flour
¼ tsp salt
100 ml/3½ fl oz warm water
2 tbsp oil (olive, sunflower or vegetable), plus extra for cooking

Method

Kid’s job:

Place the flour and salt in a large bowl and trickle on the water bit by bit
Mix the water and flour together. Kids can mix using one finger so that they don’t get a whole hand covered in dough (Tip: Doughy hands can be cleaned by rubbing a little more flour onto the hands over another bowl or the bin) 
Add the oil and knead the dough - you're aiming for a soft dough. If it's too sticky add a little more flour, if it's too dry add a splash of water
Knead the dough for five minutes - kids can do this in the bowl or on a clean surface using one or two hands

You can cook the breads straight away or leave the dough to stand for about half an hour. This is a good time to make a quick filling such as a grated salad or dip.

Divide the dough into four balls, or six if you have a smaller frying pan
On a clean surface, roll each ball of dough one at a time using a rolling pin. If you pick up and move round the flatbread often you know it hasn’t stuck. (You may need to sprinkle a little flour on the surface but only use a little - too much will dry out the dough.) Don’t worry if they aren’t perfect circles!

Adult’s job:

Heat a large frying pan. Take a sheet of kitchen paper and rub a little oil onto the surface of the pan. Cook each flatbread for about two minutes on one side - it should puff up a little
Flip the flatbread over using tongs and then cook for a couple of minutes on the other side. The flatbread should have turned lighter in colour and may have a few spots of brown
Keep the cooked flatbreads warm, wrapped in foil or a clean tea towel, until the others are cooked
If you want crisp flatbreads you can now rub them with a little olive oil, chop into strips or triangles with scissors and then ask an adult to bake them for 5-10 minutes, or until crisp

Banana Bread

Kids love a sweet treat - and this Mary Berry recipe is great for using up any overripe bananas too!

Ingredients

100 g (4 oz) softened butter
175 g (6 oz) caster sugar
2 eggs
2 ripe mashed bananas
225 g (8 oz) self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp milk

Instructions

Lightly grease the loaf tin and line it with non-stick baking parchment

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4
Measure all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and beat for about 2 minutes, until well blended
Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface
Bake for about 1 hour, until well risen and golden brown
Leave the cake to cool in the tin for a few minutes, then loosen with a small palette knife and turn the cake out
Remove the lining paper and leave on a wire rack to cool completely
Slice thickly to serve

Chocolate chip soda bread

This fantastic Jamie Oliver recipe is a great one to make with the kids to enjoy as a weekend breakfast treat!

Ingredients

80 g blanched hazelnuts
1 large free-range egg
1 tablespoon semi-skimmed milk
500 g plain flour , plus extra for dusting
1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
75 g quality dark chocolate chips (70%)
300 ml buttermilk
1 tablespoon oats

Method

Preheat your oven to 220 ºC/425 ºF/gas 7
Lightly toast the hazelnuts in a dry frying pan, then crush with a pestle and mortar
Whisk the egg and milk in a small bowl
Sift the flour and bicarb into a large mixing bowl, then stir in half of the toasted nuts, the chocolate chips and a pinch of sea salt
Make a well and pour in the eggy milk, then mix in enough of the buttermilk to bring it into a ball of dough
Knead on a floured board for a few seconds, pat into a 15 cm round and place on a non-stick baking tray
Cut a deep cross in the top, then scatter over the oats and remaining nuts
Bake for 40 minutes, reducing the oven to 200 ºC/400 ºF/gas 6 after 15 minutes
Turn the bread over and bake for 5 more minutes, or until it sounds hollow when the base is tapped
Enjoy while still warm

We hope you enjoy these fantastic easy bread recipes for kids! Making bread from scratch isn’t just fun to do, but is much healthier and tastier than the sliced white we tend to pop in our supermarket trolley each week.