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| Warm, hand‑shaped bread buns on tray - soft, simple and beautifully homemade. |
Making bread at home is inexpensive, satisfying, and surprisingly quick and easy - just ordinary flour, water, active yeast granules, olive oil, and a few minutes of hands-on time. No special flours, no additives, no preservatives, and definitely no need for a bread maker unless you already have one. It’s real food made from real ingredients, and it feels so good to bring something so simple and honest out of your own oven.
Store‑bought bread has become pricey, and many of the ultra‑processed loaves don’t seem as filling or satisfying as they once were, not to mention sugar content. With everyone watching their food budgets and trying to stretch ingredients further right now, homemade bread is one of the easiest ways to cut costs without sacrificing quality. Homemade bread is more filling than store-bought, and you don’t need expensive equipment to make beautiful bread buns at home.
These homemade knotted bread buns are soft, fun to shape, and properly filling. The semolina gives them a slightly firmer, golden crust that makes each bite even better (the semolina is an optional ingredient - if you don't have it, leave it out). These buns pair with everything from weeknight dinners to family lunchboxes, and they’re the kind of everyday baking that fits naturally into a slow‑living kitchen. In a world full of shortcuts and packaged “hacks”, taking a few minutes to knead dough feels almost old‑fashioned in the best way. It slows you down, reminds you that simple food is often the most economical, and brings a little European‑style bread‑with‑every‑meal comfort to the table.
Pro-tip: Sprinkle the tops with dried rosemary or other herbs of your choice, or dot with sliced olives or sundried tomatoes, or try other toppings of your choice.
Ingredients:
- 3 cups High Grade white flour
- 2 tsp active yeast granules
- 2 tsp white sugar
- 1 cup warm water (not hot or the yeast will die)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp ground semolina plus extra for sprinkling on the oven tray (optional)
- Olive oil to grease the tray and to brush after cooking
Watch my short breadmaking tutorial here:
Method:
In a large bowl, combine the yeast, sugar, and warm water. Leave it for 15–20 minutes until the mixture is foamy (blooming).
Add 2 cups of the flour, salt, semolina, and olive oil, and mix with a table knife until the dough begins to come together. Add more of the flour if the dough is to wet and sticky. Once it forms a rough ball, turn it out onto a lightly floured bench.
To knead, lightly flour your hands, then using the heel of your hand gently push the dough away from you, then fold it back and turn it slightly before repeating. Everyone develops their own rhythm - sometimes I use one hand, sometimes two - as long as you’re pressing, stretching, and folding, you’re doing it right. Knead for 5–10 minutes until the dough feels smooth and elastic.
Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a tea towel or cling wrap, and leave it in a warm spot for about an hour or until doubled in size. Sometimes I get caught up doing something else and forget about the dough for 3-4 hours and it still comes out great.
Turn the risen dough out onto a lightly floured bench and knead briefly, then shape it into a large sausage. Cut into roughly 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a long sausage about double the width of your hand. Lift and tie the into a knot, tucking the ends underneath. Transfer to a greased oven tray sprinkled with semolina flour. Leave it to rise again for 15–20 minutes while you heat the oven to 200°C fan.
Bake until lightly browned on top (about 10 minutes).
Brush with olive oil while warm and transfer to a cooling rack.
Serve warm from the oven or freeze when cold for later use if not eating straight away.
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| Soft homemade knotted bread buns with a golden semolina crust. |
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| Warm homemade pumpkin soup with pepitas and a shake of chili flakes served with knotted bread buns |
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