Slow Cooker Bread – 🍞🙌🏻💛 Learn how to make yeast bread in your Crock-Pot in less than 2 hours! Knead it briefly once, place the dough in your slow cooker, and let it do all the work! This is the EASIEST loaf of homemade bread you’ll ever make! It has a crunchy crust with a soft and chewy center and is lovely toasted, as sandwich bread, or use it like you’d use French bread to sop up pasta sauce or dunk into soup.
Easy Slow Cooker Bread Recipe
I know it seems crazy that you can make bread in a slow cooker but you can!
I’ve made plenty of non-savory recipes in a slow cooker before including Slow Cooker Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, Slow Cooker Hot Fudge Chocolate Cake, Slow Cooker Bread Pudding, and more!
What I love about this easy yeast bread recipe is that apart from freeing up your oven, and not heating up your house, it’s such a short and sweet recipe. Basically mix everything together to form a dough, knead it for 3-4 minutes, shape it into a ball, and plop it into your Crock-Pot to cook. No waiting for the dough to rise, no kneading a second time, which makes the active time in this recipe is very minimal!
For those of you who are bread makers (or if you’re new to bread making and have been previously scared off!) you know there can be a lot of steps which is NOT the case in this recipe.
The bread is a denser bread, not a Fluffy Sandwich Bread. The crust on this bread is crunchy but not hard, and the interior of the bread is soft and chewy. Slice it, toast it, and I love to serve it with butter and honey or jam. You can also make it more savory (see the FAQs below).
Why Make Bread in a Slow Cooker
- You’re making this to serve at a holiday meal or special family dinner and your oven is already maxed out and there’s simply no room but you want fresh, homemade bread.
- You live in an apartment or place where you don’t have an oven. Or hey, maybe you’re going through a kitchen remodel and temporarily you don’t have an oven.
- It’s hot out and you don’t want to turn on your oven.
- You’s so curious that you’ve just got to try this! Especially because the recipe requires minor kneading and no need for a first rise + more kneading before baking.
Whatever the reason, I know you’re going to love this soft and chewy homemade bread. Plus, there’s nothing better than the intoxicating aroma of bread baking as it wafts through the house!
Ingredients in Crockpot Bread
- Water
- Granulated sugar
- Honey
- Instant dry yeast
- All-purpose flour
- Oil
- Salt
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How To Make Bread in a Crockpot
This is an overview of this easy Crock-Pot yeast bread recipe. More details are provided in the recipe card below and FAQs are addressed below as well. Make sure to read through them all if it’s your first time making bread!
- Line a large Crock-Pot with parchment paper. To a large 2-cup measuring cup or similar, mix together lukewarm water with sugar, honey, sprinkle the yeast in, stir to combine, and allow it to rest for 10 minutes during which time it should become foamy and creamy looking. Tip – This is called ‘proofing’ the yeast (proving it is alive and works) and while this isn’t technically necessary with instant dry yeast, for this recipe, it’s what you do. If your yeast doesn’t foam up, stop now (it was dead), and try again – because otherwise your bread will never rise later!
- To a large mixing bowl, add the flour, oil, salt, and pour the yeast water mixture into the bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine and then using clean hands, turn the dough out onto a floured countertop.
- Knead the dough with your hands for about 3-4 minutes. It will be sticky but not so sticky that it is impossible to work with. If it’s that sticky, add a couple tablespoons of flour, at a time, until you can knead it into a smooth ball.
- Place the dough into the slow cooker and cook on high for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
- When your your loaf is cool enough to handle and slice, do so and serve it as desired.
Storage
At Room Temp: This recipe will keep airtight at room temp for up to 3-4 days. It’s better that you don’t refrigerate it. Just keep it on your counter or in your pantry.
In the Freezer: This recipe will keep airtight in the freezer for up to 1 to 2 months.
Recipe FAQs
This exact recipe was developed to be slow cooked rather than baked and so I haven’t used this exact dough recipe and baked it just to see what would happen. There’s the issue of not kneading it other than the one and only time, and the oven temp that throw me.
However, I have a recipe for Honey Whole Wheat Bread which has a lot of similarities in ingredients to this Crockpot Bread but it’s baked. Simply halve that recipe (it makes 2 loaves – or make the full recipe if you’d like) and while it calls for whole wheat flour, you could probably use all-purpose instead. Omit the milk entirely if you’re using solely AP flour since it’s not as ‘thirsty’ as whole wheat flour is and you’d have excess liquid.
Bread making is trial and error with exactly how much liquid and flour you need, but that recipe is a good jumping off place for a very similar loaf. My Best Sourdough Bread (no starter required) is also an excellent baked loaf of bread!
I use instant dry yeast. I use one standard sized packet, which is 1/4 ounce (or 2 1/4 teaspoons). I have always been partial to Red Star Platinum Yeast. It gives amazing results and is very forgiving in my experience with water temperature, rise times, kneading, and so forth. One packet of it is my gold standard. However there are a ton of brands on the market that are very reputable and old school standbys.
Instant dry yeast and active dry yeast are very different. You want INSTANT (not active) for this recipe. In general, instant is more potent, quicker acting, it has more active living yeast cells, and you don’t have to “proof it” – meaning, to dissolve it in a warm liquid at a specific temperature before using it. While most bakers will always dissolve either type of yeast in a liquid, with instant yeast it’s technically not necessary.
For this recipe you do absolutely need to use instant dry yeast because there is no dedicated rising time, you’re not kneading the dough a second time, you’re relying on the activation of the yeast to do ALL the work and so you need a strong, fast-acting yeast. I do not recommend trying to see what happens if you use active rather than instant yeast. I don’t think the recipe will work.
I do have a big stand mixer that’s equipped with a dough hook that can knead bread. However, for me it’s more work to lug out the beast of a mixer and then later on wash the bowl and dough hook by hand, and put it all away again. It’s simply easier to knead by hand for 3-4 minutes because it’s an easy dough to work with. However, if you want to use a stand mixer (don’t try with a handheld electric mixer) fitted with a dough hook, you can.
Try increasing the honey for a sweeter bread (1 to 2 additional tablespoons and reduce the water by that same amount, 1-2 tablespoons).
For more savory bread, add in herbs such a dried rosemary or thyme, onion and garlic powder, everything bagel seasoning, or whatever you like. I would go with about 2-3 teaspoons of herbs and seasonings but use your judgment and adjust things to your preferences.
If you’d like a more browned crust, brush the crust with melted butter, place it on a baking sheet, and place under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes. However, do this with extreme caution because broilers are 500F+ degrees and you don’t want to accidentally burn your precious loaf – and that can happen in the matter of 30 seconds too long in the broiler. Keep a VERY watchful eye on it!
I recommend an oval shaped 6-quart slow cooker, although both 5-quart and 7-quart will work. Don’t use the smaller round ones since it’s not quite big enough to allow for enough space to let the bread cook properly.
I haven’t tried this slow cooker bread recipe with gluten-free flour so I cannot comment or make recommendations. I’ve never baked homemade yeast bread with gluten-free flour, so it’s out of my wheelhouse entirely. I’d use your favorite blend and hope for the best!
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Slow Cooker Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 packet instant dry yeast, about 2 ¼ teaspoons, or 1/4-ounce
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more to flour the countertop or for the dough
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, or another neutral oil such as canola, avocado, etc.
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- To an oval 6-quart slow cooker or similar (5 quart or 7 quart are fine, but don't go smaller/round, and bigger is unnecessary), place a piece of parchment paper and I like to spray my parchment with cooking spray, although it's optional. Set aside momentarily.
- To a 2-cup glass measuring cup or similar, add the water (warm water from the tap is fine, no need to warm it more), sugar, honey, and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow it to rest for about 10 minutes, during which time it should turn foamy and creamy. This is called 'proofing' the yeast, or proving that it's alive. While not technically necessary when using instant dry yeast, I always do it to make sure my yeast is good. Tips – The water should be warm, but not too hot because you don't want to kill the yeast which can happen if it's too hot. Water that feels nicely hot to wash your hands in is what you're looking for. If the yeast does not turn foamy and creamy, it means it's dead or not active, and you would need to start over. Don't use it because your bread will never rise!
- While waiting for the yeast to proof, to a large mixing bowl, add the flour, oil, and salt.
- Add the yeasty water mixture to the flour mixture, and using a wooden spoon, stir to combine and form a shaggy dough.
- To a clean countertop, sprinkle a few tablespoons of flour, and turn the dough out on the countertop and begin kneading it. Knead it for about 3-4 minutes, or until a smooth round ball can be formed. It will grow in size as you knead it and star to 'resist' your kneading. This is what you want, the yeast is alive. Kneading and Dough Tips – Bread dough by its very nature is sticky and tacky and in general, the less flour you add, the lighter and more airy the finished bread will be. However, if your dough is so wet and sloppy that you can't really knead it, or it's just not coming together, sprinkle it with a couple tablespoons of flour, knead, and repeat as necessary until it's firm enough to knead and take shape.
- Place your round ball of dough onto the parchment paper in the slow cooker, cover it with a lid, and cook on HIGH for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until done. I have not tested on low and believe HIGH is better suited for this recipe. Cooking Tips – If the bottom of your bread is cooking too quickly, flip it over halfway through the cook time. Bread is done when the crust has browned and set, and the interior is cooked through. In general, I would err on the side of more cooking, and not less. You don't want to slice into it and find that it's raw. You cannot put it back! Baking does not work that way so I like to be extra certain it's done. You can try to insert a long wooden skewer in it, and if it comes out gooey at all, it's not done. Because slow cookers vary a ton in their heat output, the cook time of 1 1/2 to 2 hours is an estimate only, and you should slow cook your bread as long as necessary, even if that mean 2 1/2+ hours. Also, if your kitchen is warm or cold, the flour you used, the density of your dough, will all affect cooking duration. Finally, RESIST the urge to keep checking on your bread because every time you lift the lid of your slow cooker, heat escapes, and it unnecessarily slows down the cooking process. Check after an hour or so, but be mindful.
- Allow the bread to cool before slicing and serving. You can also toast it, serve it with butter, honey, jam, jelly, etc.
- Optionally, if you’d like a more browned crust, you can place the loaf on a parchment lined baking sheet, preheat your oven to broil, brush the crust with melted butter, and place it under the broiler for 2-3 minutes. BE VERY CAREFUL if you are doing this! Bread is delicate and can go from fine to burnt to a crisp in less than 30 seconds under a 500F+ degrees broiler so make sure to stand in front of your oven and watch it the entire time, like a hawk, so you don't burn it.
- Storage – Bread will keep airtight at room temp for up to 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to 1-2 months.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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What a great simple bread recipe!!
Thanks for the 5 star review, Bej, and glad it turned out great for you!
Quick question, for those trying to reduce sugar intake. Can this be made with out sugar?
The yeast needs sugar to activate so it’s necessary, you can’t skip it, and when you think about it, it’s only a tablespoon for an entire loaf of bread so it’s like 1/2 tsp per serving, if that.
Great recipe–i baked for 2hrs & 15 mins (i have a 5 quart slo-cooker) The only thing i will do differently next time is to use half the salt. Will make again for sure!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I am glad it came out great for you in your slow cooker!
What a timely recipe! We were low on bread and I didn’t feel like going to the store. I made it with half white, half whole wheat, and added a tablespoon of vital wheat gluten (to help it rise) and it was delicious. Bonus that it didn’t heat up the kitchen. This would be a good recipe for someone wanting to dip their fingers into baking with yeast.
Kris, long time no talk! Glad to see you popping in with a comment and still coming to my site and making my recipes! I am so glad this was timely, delish, and didn’t heat up the kitchen! I agree, this is a great recipe for people who want to dip their toes into the yeasted breads world. Don’t be a stranger!
This works great, but don’t flip bread, just use broil a minute or two to brown top after bread cooked. Also, important, place paper towel over top of slow cooker then put on lid, otherwise moisture drips down off lid and makes top of loaf soggy.
Great tips and suggestions!
I love all your bread receipes. This slow cooker is easy and taste so
good. Thanks for your receipes.
Thanks so much and I’m glad you’re fond of my recipes!