We’ve spent nearly 3 months in quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I’ve been going through ingredients in order to minimize visits to the grocery store. While I’ve maintained a mostly gluten-free diet the last few months, there’s leftover wheat flour that needed to be used. The idea of making quarantine bread hit me.

It turns out that bread yeast is a hot-ticket item like toilet paper. Active dry yeast has become increasingly hard to find, so I ended up asking my neighbors for some through a “Buy Nothing” Facebook group. Now with all the ingredients in tow, I could finally make a loaf of bread that’s simple yet delicious.

Worth the time and effort

This bread takes about 4 hours to prepare and rise; the prep and rise time totals about 3 1/2 hours, and the bake time is half an hour. The end results are a fragrant and fluffy loaf that smells and tastes like heaven.

You will need

• 3 3/4 cups of wheat flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
• 1 tablespoon of flax meal (ground-up flax seeds)
• 2 tablespoons of rolled oats
• 1 1/2 cups of warm water
• 1 packet of active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons of sugar

Steps to make and bake Quarantine Bread

Stir the sugar in the warm water; the sugar is what the yeast feeds on. Make sure the water isn’t too warm, or else it will kill the yeast.

Stir in the yeast, and let it “proof” for 10 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when it looks foamy.

Mix the flour, salt, flax meal, and rolled oats thoroughly together.

Dig a little well in the center, and slowly pour in the yeast water.

With a wooden spoon, mix until a sticky dough forms. When the spoon can no longer mix, use your hands to finish this step. If it’s too sticky, you can add more flour, one tablespoon at a time, until it’s no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl.

Take the ball of dough out. Clean the bowl thoroughly and lightly grease the sides. Then put the dough back in.

Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 2 hours. The yeast will work its magic to make the bread dough rise.

When the 2 hours is up, you’ll have a beautifully risen dough. Carefully set the plastic wrap aside. Punch the dough down and lift it out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface.

Knead about 20 times, then put it in a greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

With the same plastic wrap, loosely cover the dough. Set it aside again, and let it rise for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Towards the end of preheating, slash the dough diagonally with a knife a few times.

Put the pan with the dough into the oven, and bake for 30 minutes. Towards the end, the fragrance of baking bread will waft in the kitchen, and it’s probably one of the greatest smells ever.

When the bread is done, let it cool for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Let it cool completely before slicing it.

The most beautiful loaf of bread

The end result is a gorgeous, fragrant loaf of bread. The crust is thick and hearty, and the inside is steamy and fluffy. The first bite melted on my tongue, and it tasted like heaven.

The bread can be stored in the fridge for a few days. It does get slightly more dense each day. You can slice and toast it in order to revive the fluffy texture.

This bread is so versatile. You can add your favorite toppings, such as peanut butter, avocado, plant-based cheese, or whatever your heart desires. You can even slice it up and make French toast. There’s no right or wrong way to enjoy this bread.

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