A no yeast bread that is super quick to prepare! With swirls of herbs and ribbons of melted cheese, this is a wonderful afternoon tea served with lashings of butter, or for dipping into soups.
I like to wedge chunks of cheese in the batter so you get lovely pockets of cheese and the lovely textured crust on top. But you could just mix it through – even faster to prepare!!
A terrific no yeast bread recipe
I don’t often bake with yeast because it requires patience for the dough to rise.
Oh, and the kneading.
I’ve actually got reasonable upper body strength. My challenge is my height. Sigh. OK, there you have it. I haven’t admitted this on my blog before but not only do I have abnormally small Baby-Hands, I am also vertically challenged.
For those of you also in the same boat, you will understand when I say that kneading is much harder for short people because the work surface is higher and you don’t get the benefit of being able to push down with your body weight.
I can’t believe I just wrote that. How embarrassing.
So. I love no yeast breads that don’t call for kneading – quick breads like this recipe, and these No Knead Dinner Rolls.
The ingredients of this no yeast bread are similar to a muffin but I altered the recipe to make it less crumbly, making it suitable to slice and even to toast. It is light, fluffy and super moist.
I like to add the herbs and slices of cheese in after pouring the batter into the bread tin so that you get “swirls” of herb and pockets of cheese in the bread, rather than almost invisible bits of herb and grated cheese all throughout which you can’t really see. But this step is optional. The easier and faster way to make this is to mix grated cheese and herb into the batter, then just pour it all into the tin.
This bread lasts quite well – really fresh for 3 days in a very airtight container, up to 4 is ok. Beyond 4 I would toast it and store it in the fridge.
Serve this as a side for meals, or for afternoon tea served with lashings of butter. It’s also fantastic for dipping into soups and slow cooked stews!
– Nagi x
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No Yeast Cheese, Garlic and Herb Bread
Ingredients
Cheese and Herbs
- 4 tbsp fresh herbs , finely chopped (I used a mix of dill, rosemary, parsley and thyme) (Note 1)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 5 oz / 150g block cheese (cheddar or tasty), cut into 2mm / 0.1" thick slices (about 10 to 12 slices) (Note 2)
- Butter for greasing
Dry Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups buttermilk (See Note 3 for substitute)
- 2 eggs
- 2 small garlic cloves , crushed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
- Grease a bread tin (21 x 11 cm / 8" x 4") or small cake tin with butter.
- Mix the herbs and olive oil in a small bowl.
- Sift the Dry Ingredients into a bowl.
- Combine the Wet Ingredients into a bowl and whisk to combine.
- Make a well in the centre of the Dry Ingredients. Pour the Wet Ingredients in and mix until just combined.
- Pour 1/3 of the batter into the bread tin. Dollop half the herbs across the top then use a knife to "swirl" it into the batter up and down, and also turning the batter over (refer photo below).
- Use half the cheese slices and push them randomly into the batter. Push some all the way in and leave some poking out of the batter.
- Pour the remaining batter over the top. Dollop and swirl the remaining herbs, then randomly wedge in the remaining cheese, pushing most of it below the surface of the batter. Even out the surface.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden. Remove from oven and cover with foil, then bake for a further 15 to 20 minutes (total baking time of 45 to 50 minutes). Check to make sure the centre is cooked by inserting a skewer - it should come out clean.
- Turn the bread out onto a cooking rack. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting.
Recipe Notes:
1 tbsp vinegar. Set aside for 10 minutes until the surface of the milk curdles. Then use the milk, including the curdled bits, as the buttermilk in this recipe. 4. Store in an airtight container for 3 days (4+ days, keep it in the fridge and toast to freshen up). 5. Nutrition per serving.
Nutrition Information:
If you enjoyed this recipe, I think you’ll LOVE my Cheese & Garlic Crack Bread!
Hi there. Can this recipe be altered to make buns vs a loaf for a quicker bake time?
Made this last night as a side for soup. I was surprised at how thick the batter was but it turned out great and was a big hit. Will definitely make this again and again.
I have this in the oven right now and I’m pretty confident it will turn out even with all my subs and additions because your recipes are generally really adaptable. I’ve used Palestinian zaatar as the herbs and some roasted butternut pumpkin, garlic and feta that I had leftover from last night’s dinner. Hopefully the Mediterranean flavours work together. One thing that could fail me is my panic when I accidentally combined the steps of making the buttermilk sub and combining wet ingredients without letting the milk curdle. Oops! Was trying to be quick while the baby was napping.
Dear Nagi, I baked this bread this afternoon. The taste was very good, however, it was dense in the middle part. What would be the cause of it? I used cold milk + 1 tbsp vinegar, as there was no buttermilk. Or it was because I cut the cheese in cube form?I will surely bake it again after knowing the cause. Many thanks, Nagi.
Hi Rose, sorry you had issues here! Was it dense like undercooked? N x
Really yummy! Used 3/4 cup WW flour (had just run out of AP and couldn’t be bothered to open a new bag), and used a finely chopped sautéed onion with a sprinkling of chipotle chilli powder instead of the garlic. Used sharp Scottish Cheddar cheese and a mixture of thyme, sage, oregano and chives from the garden.
Everyone enjoyed it!
Hi Nagi, my kids and I have tried your artisan bread and loved it. Just wondering for this herb bread can I use extra virgin olive oil?
Excellent recipe and tasty yeast free bread! Couldn’t get enough and will definitely be making it again! Thanks Nagi.
I have made this recipe numerous times and I just love it! I am not to savvy when it comes to baking and I have not messed this up. I have also gotten a bit more creative on adding my own spin on ingredients. I added some chili flakes last time and it was great!
Very tasty and moist! While I used an 8 x 4 loaf tin, it overflowed a little bit (I don’t think I buried the top cheese cubes deeply enough). Thank you!
After all, is it with yeast or not? Since there are two teaspoons of yeast in the ingredients, what happened that I didn’t understand? …
Hi Lenny, not quite sure what you’re looking at – there’s definitely no yeast in the ingredients for this recipe. N x
Hi, the recipe was great but i have a few questions
1. My bread came out to be dense kind of like a cakey texture, why do you think that happened? (I measured my ingredients accurately)
2. My bread only toasted on the top, the other two sides (walls) where white, why did that happen?
Please do help me and thank you so much for putting up such a great recipe
Baked early morn for a fresh breakfast idea! Using a gluten free flour was no problem; havarti dill was my cheese. Big wonderful loaf.
That’s great to know Deb!! N x
Hi.. this looks really fabulous but can I make it eggless?
Hi Nagi! Made this just now and taste just like Focaccia! I am now a fan of your. I have tried your Shepherds Pie, Strawberry bars, Cinnamon bread swirl and maybe tomorrow the Chicken Gyros. All your recipes turn out great! Thank you!
Good morning Nagi, I am so excited to try your beautiful recipe. I was just wondering would it be possible to substitute 50% of the white flour for whole wheat flour? (I need the extra fibre) and if so I’m assuming I may need to increase the buttermilk a little as well? So looking forward to hearing back from you. 😊😊
Nancy, I make this with whole wheat four and yes add a little more buttermilk. I also shred the cheese plus use chunks, and use whatever herbs I feel like that day. Good luck!
Thank you! It is so kind of you to respond. I can’t wait to try it now that I know that it will work.
Do you need to use full fat milk (plus vinegar) for the buttermilk sub?
Hi Anu, yes full fat is best here! N x
Hi Nagi could you pretty please put recipe ingredients in gs for the cheesy garlic herb quick bread? I dont have Aus cups and my US ones are smaller! I’m in UK! but lived in US so have their cups…thanks
Hi Yvonne, yes it’s one of my older recipes, I’ll update with grams. You’ll need 335g flour here 🙂 N x
I can’t wait to try this! Does it freeze well? If yes, how long will it last in the freezer?
Yes 100%! I just find it best to thaw and heat up before eating. I’d keep it in the freezer up to 3 months 🙂 N x
I made this for the first time for Easter brunch last Sunday and it was immediately perfect thanks to your wonderful and clear instructions and explanations! Thank you so much! The accuracy and clarity of your blog is unparalleled – no need to google additional questions or look for further explanations. Love. It.
That’s so great Sy!! N x
Hi would like to try this recipe. Can i use this recipe in a crockpot instead of oven?
Hi Lyn, I haven’t tried sorry!! N x
Hi Nagi, tried it last Easter Sunday and it went well! 🙂 cooked it for 2.5hours in a crockpot. My husband and kids love it! I hope i could attached the photo here. 🙂