This Milk Fadge Bread recipe makes a lovely textured bread with no yeast needed. It slices well once it is cold, making it perfect for sandwiches and toast.
Milk Fadge – No-Yeast Bread
Even with a well stocked store cupboard like mine (keep scrolling for my list), I can be let down.
So when I realised I had no fresh yeast today I reached for a packet of dried yeast, only to find that my storage skills had been sadly lacking, as the box was dated March 2011 and was out of date!
I don’t like to take the risk with out of date yeast, as if it doesn’t work, you have wasted all your precious bread ingredients.
There was only one thing for it, make my mum’s old stand by emergency bread recipe, Milk Fadge, which appears in nearly all of the Be-Ro cookbooks going right back to the 1930’s and is a very nice bread, despite being made with no yeast.
This recipe makes a lovely textured bread, and slices well once it is cold, making it perfect for sandwiches and toast.
We used to love it when we were little, my sister and I – I remember sitting at the tea time table with big chunks of this bread, still warm spread with melted butter and freshly boiled eggs.
It was very popular during the war too, as an easy bread to make when there was no yeast available and very little fat in the rations.
You CAN make this bread with NO fat added, but, the texture will be much heavier and more “pudding-like”. As it is, it only uses 50g of fat to 450g of flour.
I made a batch today and served it for lunch with some cheese and salad……the other half of the fadge is being saved for tonight’s tea, which is home-made soup. It makes a perfect Sepia Saturday bake, as well as a fabulous Rural Emergency Bread too!
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My Rural Store Cupboard
I am known for my large store cupboard, larder, pantry and multiple freezers.
Whilst many people are embracing a minimalist lifestyle, and are madly de-cluttering their homes, as is the new trend, I am firmly resisting such a measure.
Well, on the food and kitchen front anyway, although I am sure my magazines need thinning out soon! It’s not that my home is excessively cluttered, although that may be a matter of opinion.
It’s just that I live in a rural location with the nearest shops and post office being several miles away; and, those are small local news agents shops, not large supermarkets.
I am very lucky that the nearest farm shop (which is excellent) is only two miles away, but again, two miles away when there’s a howling gale or two foot of snow is two miles too far.
So, my back up stores are more excessive than my “townie” friends, who frequently marvel at my tins and jars whilst mockingly calling my store cupboard “Arkrights” ( taken from the sit-com BBC “Open All Hours” starring Ronnie Barker).
When you live in a rural location, it’s so important to have back-up stores – something that people who live in towns tend to forget.
And my back up stores are pretty much what most people’s basic store cupboard might be, but with a little extra!
I cannot live without my freezers, and they are a boon when the weather gets bad and we get snowed in, or even when the car fails its MOT…….yes, we won’t go there right now.
I thought it might be handy to list what I find invaluable to have in my pantry, it’s not a definitive list by any means, and I am sure I will forget lots of things, but nevertheless, it’s my basic back-up of stores needed for living in the country.
The Rural Larder & Pantry:
- Tinned chopped tomatoes
- Tinned kidney beans
- Tinned sweetcorn
- Tinned tuna
- Tinned salmon
- Baked beans
- Custard powder
- Assorted jams (Usually home-made)
- Assorted chutney and pickles/relishes (Usually home-made)
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Soy sauce
- Porridge oats
- Assorted stock cubes
- Tinned fruit
- Tea and coffee
- Cocoa
- Lentils & assorted pulses
- Rice
- Tomato puree
- Sugar – white, light brown & dark brown
- Flour – plain white, self-raising white, plain wholemeal
- Bread Flour – assorted types
- Yeast – dried quick action
- Pasta – assorted packets
- Cooking oil (Olive oil and rapeseed oil)
- Vinegar (malt and wine vinegar)
- Lemon juice
- Honey
- Marmite
- Golden syrup & black treacle
- Dried mixed fruit
- Condensed milk & evaporated milk
- Mustard powder
- Mayonnaise
- Salad Cream
- Salt & pepper
- Dried milk powder
- Assorted Dried Herbs & Spices (Such as: Oregano, Sage, Thyme, Bay, Cumin, Coriander, Ginger, Mixed Spice are essential)
- Curry Powders
- Fresh garlic
- Onions
- Potatoes
The Rural Fridge and Freezer:
- Whole chicken & chicken portions
- Fish
- Fish fingers
- Minced beef
- Bread
- Vegetables
- Sausages
- Bacon
- Home-made pies and casseroles etc
- Chops (Lamb and Pork)
- Oven Chips for emergencies!
- Milk
- Eggs – my own free-range eggs (I have hens)
- Butter
- Cheddar cheese – Mature, great for cooking
- Parmesan cheese or similar hard Italian cheese
- Stork margarine or other cooking fat
- Trex – white vegetable fat
- Salad
As I mentioned before, the list is by no means definitive, but with a back-up store like that, you can cook and bake all manner of tasty family meals such as: cakes, biscuits, pies, tarts, casseroles, Spag Bol, curries, breakfasts, on toast supper dishes, Toad-in-the Hole, a Sunday roast, cottage pie, steamed puddings, cold desserts, soups, stew and dumplings, scones, pancakes, sandwiches and toasties, fish cakes, salads, flans and pasta bakes…..the list is endless!
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More Sepia Saturday Bakes & Cakes
Rural Mums
Time to go now, I hope you have enjoyed my Sepia Saturday Rural Ramblings……before I share my recipe, I want to share a link to a fabulous website.
Rural Mums is a wonderful site JUST for rural folk, with recipes (some of mine are featured), competitions, community forums, country events, British gifts, kitchen garden, country garden and much more.
No Yeast Milk Fadge Bread Recipe
Milk Fadge: Emergency Bread (No Yeast)
Print recipe
| Serves | 4 to 6 |
| Prep time | 5 minutes |
| Cook time | 30 minutes |
| Total time | 35 minutes |
| Allergy | Milk, Wheat |
| Dietary | Vegetarian |
| Meal type | Bread, Breakfast, Lunch, Main Dish, Salad, Side Dish, Snack, Soup, Starter |
| Misc | Child Friendly, Serve Cold, Serve Hot |
| Occasion | Barbecue, Casual Party, Christmas, Halloween |
| Region | British |
| From book | Be-Ro Home Baking 24th Million Edition |
Ingredients
- 450g (1lb) Self-Raising Flour (I used Be-Ro)
- 50g (2ozs) Margarine or White Vegetable Fat (or 25g of each)
- 300mls (1/2 pint) Milk
- Salt to taste
Note
A simple no-yeast quick bread that has a nice crumb and texture, due to a little fat being added to the dough. This makes a perfect emergency stand-by bread and can be sliced once cold for sandwiches and toast. Add seasonings of your choice, I sometimes add dried herbs and a little grated cheese. Perfect when served with stews, casseroles and soups.
Directions
| Step 1 | Pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 and lightly grease a baking tray or line it with greaseproof paper. |
| Step 2 | Add some salt to the flour and mix well, before rubbing in the fat with your fingertips, until it is all rubbed in to the flour. |
| Step 3 | Add the mill and with your hands bring the dough together; knead for 1 to 2 minutes and then shape on a floured board, into a large round. Cut a cross on the top with a sharp knife, glaze with a little milk and bake for 20 to 30 minute, or until risen, golden brown and hollow when tapped underneath. |
| Step 4 | Allow to cool on a wire rack and serve warm with butter. Can be sliced (for sandwiches and toast) once it is cold, and is better eaten on the same day, although it toasts well the next day. |
| Step 5 | Serve as part of supper, breakfast or tea; also goes well with stews, soups and casseroles. |
Are you a “Townie” or a “Country Cousin”?
Do you have a basic store cupboard for emergencies?
Head to the comment section and let me know!
Kathryn says
Love the ida of this emergency bread and your very handy pantry list! My kitchen cupboards are in a bit of state so I’m trying to use up bits and pieces so I can start again and develop a pantry that is actually useful!
Jude A Trifle Rushed says
Super list and the bread is great. I often make soda bread but this would make a good change. Thank you.
Karen says
Thanks Jude, it is similar to soda bread but not as “rough” on the mouth, as soda bread can be sometimes when lots of bicarbonate of soda has been added.
rita cooks italian says
I bake sometimes soda bread, it is quite convenient to bake without using yeast. This one looks soft and less compact than soda bread.
Karen says
This loaf doesn’t have that bitter taste that soda bread has sometimes, and it is slightly softer in texture!
Caro says
I think your storecupboard list looks perfectly normal, Karen – and not unlike my own! Even living in London, it’s such a faff to negotiate traffic to the nearest supermarket (plus I dislike wasting time on food shopping) that I like to stock up. If the urge to bake – as when viewing your delicious looking bread – overtakes me, I’m all ready to get going! Wonderful, tempting photographs!
Karen says
Thanks Caro! I always like to have enough in so I can bake, as you mentioned, when I feel the baking urge! Karen
kellie@foodtoglow says
If that’s your pretty wooden pantry then I am well jealous! Great list and super recipe. I have never heard of fadge (what an odd name) but I must give it a try, even though we have stores galore near me. I must admit that at the Millennium I went into paranoid provider mode with all manner of squirreled away necessities, that thankfully we didn’t need. My husband would say that with the state of my cupboards that I am well set for the next Millennium too.
Karen says
I WISH that was my pantry Kellie, it’s amazing isn’t it! I really do need a big store of stuff being so rural, and many a time I have been relieved that my excessive hoarding has resulted in many a hot meal when we were snowed in! Karen
Denise says
I am so with you on the food stocks front even though I am only 5 minutes from the nearest supermarket. Maybe this is ingrained from my mother and grandmother when other things may have been light on the ground they could always provide a hearty meal at the drop of a hat from their stocks of canned and pantry foods. Minimalism is definitely not my middle name either! Much to the despair of my husband. Love this no yeast bread and am wondering where the word fadge comes from?
Karen says
Thanks Denise, it’s nice to know that I am not the only one who hoards! I am not sure where the name fadge comes from, although, there are potato fadge recipes that originate from Ireland and Scotland – I will have a little look to see if I can find out the origins of the name! Karen
Michelle says
I’m only half a mile from Morrisons but my store cupboard is like yours (well, apart from the pulses because none of us eat them) When I had my new kitchen I got one of those pull out ‘shufflers’ in one of the cupboards to maximise the space and imrove access. Wish I had room for a store cupboard like yours – it’s amazing! And room for hens but that’s another story…
Michelle says
*improve*
Karen says
Thank goodness I am not the only one Michelle! I couldn’t live without my hens, not just for the eggs but for their quirky characters too! Karen
Maya Russell says
Thank you for this yeast free recipe. I’d like to give it a try. It looks nice.
Fiona Matters says
I love this idea. I’m always worried about running out of yeast. It’s always the things that you’re sure you’ve got tonnes of that you forget! Luckily for me my local shops are less than two minutes away. Ah the benefits of living in a city.
Ali says
This looks great, despite now living so much closer to the town my store cupboard is similar to yours, perhaps a little less in the freezer!
My Grandparents lived just off Exmoor and they had not one but to walk in Pantries. Filled with mostly homemade jams, chutney’s, bottled and pickled fruits and veg. The huge bags of different flours so bread and cake making could always be done, with a farm next door eggs were never a problem and their own veg & fruit freshly grown a meal could always be made. No meat needed as my Grandpa was vegetarian very rare back then and my Gran made do with the occasional offering of meat!
I would love a walk in larder!
Handmade by Lorna says
I have a walk in pantry and I love it – I also have a stand alone pantry in the kitchen, they are both full to the brim, I have far too many ingredients!! I am pining this bread recipe as yours looks totally delicious.
Caz McLaughlin says
Hi there! In the last couple of hours I have been going through my vintage recipe books. It’s early spring here in our part of the world and they were waiting for me to return them to their shelf after some half-hearted attempts at organization. Guess what….. I failed miserably! Nothing takes me away from the task in hand than talking about or reading about great food.
To cut a long story short I came across the term ‘”fadge.”Thinking it was a misprint of the word fudge my curiosity got the better of me.
In the recipe given in my book (1920,s) only flour and potato were mentioned. I guess this was probably the result of food shortages in the aftermath of World War 2. Butter wasn’t mentioned at all but I am convinced thrifty housewives of the time would have made do with dripping/suet or lard. For flavour and lightness. [My grandfather tells me that a good butcher was always generous with the trimmings when it cane to large needy families] Plus, the recipe also stated to knead for TEN minutes. Good lord! That equates to bricks……………
Loved your post. So relatable. I grew up in the country and the saying is true. You can take the girl out of the country but you can’t take the country out of the girl. My home is semi-rural nowadays. My freezers are a boon. I can relate to your comment about Arkwright. Nobody complains when they get a tin of red salmon and they were expecting tuna.
In these trying times the old recipes that stood the tests of time, wars and the Great Depression have really become our comfort foods. Take care. Stay safe. Cheers from The Lands Down Under. Caz.
n.
Karen Burns-Booth says
Hi Caz
I am so sorry for my late reply, I have been so busy with B and B guests, and other work about the house.
Firstly, THANK YOU for your AMAZING memories and comments here…..I found your observations fascinating and very similar to my own thoughts too.
That is one of the reasons I love old recipes like this, as you say, they have stood the test of time and are completely relatable now as they were then.
Thanks again,
Karen
Helen Firth says
I have been wondering what milk fadge tasted like for the past 70 years, as my mother cooked from an ancient BeRo book. Now I know.
Karen Burns-Booth says
Yes! It is a funny name, for a bread but very tasty. Karen
Melissa says
I have all of those items in my pantry too! And my freezer and fridge are usually full to bursting as well. We live in town and I could certainly be better organized as to shopping and food storage, but let’s face it, there is nothing more satisfying than throwing a meal together with what you have on hand AND having it come out deliciously. 🙂
I so enjoy all your vintage cookbooks and vintage recipes. Thanks so much for the love and work that you put into this site.