Stovetop Soft Fluffy Bread (Printable)

Soft fluffy bread cooked on the stovetop—no oven needed for fresh homemade loaves

# What You'll Need:

01 - 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

02 - 1 ½ teaspoons instant dry yeast

03 - 1 teaspoon sugar

04 - 1 teaspoon salt

05 - 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for greasing

06 - 1 cup warm water (about 110°F)

01 - Combine flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly to distribute ingredients evenly.

02 - Pour in warm water and olive oil. Stir with a wooden spoon until a shaggy, sticky dough comes together.

03 - Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth, elastic, and no longer sticky.

04 - Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour until doubled in size.

05 - Punch down risen dough to release air. Shape into a round loaf by folding edges toward center and smoothing the surface.

06 - Grease a heavy-bottomed skillet or 10–12 inch nonstick pan with olive oil. Center the dough in the pan.

07 - Cover with a tight-fitting lid. Cook over lowest possible heat for 15 minutes, checking occasionally to prevent burning.

08 - Carefully flip bread with a spatula. Cover and cook another 12–15 minutes until golden brown and hollow when tapped.

09 - Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before slicing to prevent crumbling.

01 -

Its incredibly freeing to bake bread without waiting for your oven to preheat or worrying about temperature accuracy
The stovetop method creates this beautiful thick bottom crust that you just cant get from traditional baking
From mixing bowl to warm bread in under two hours means you can decide on fresh bread at 5pm and actually have it with dinner

02 -

The lowest heat setting on your stove is still higher than you think, so dont hesitate to lift the lid and check the bottom more frequently than you would with oven baking
A heavy bottomed pan makes all the difference here because thin pans will scorch the crust before the interior has a chance to cook through
The hollow sound when you tap the bread is your best indicator that its done, trust that more than the visual appearance alone

03 -

Keep the lid on tight during cooking to trap the steam that helps the bread bake evenly and develop that soft interior texture
If you have a cast iron skillet, use itthe heat retention and distribution will give you the most consistent results