How to Bake Bread in an Instant Pot

Two weeks ago, I was about to enjoy one of those rare and blessed events:  being home alone for 24 hours.  No place to go, nobody to dress for, no meals to cook.  I would tidy up the house and enjoy not having my work immediately undone, and I’d spend some time writing.  Without anyone home, it was also a great time to kick off the self-cleaning function on the oven, because Aaron fusses about the smell. 

A friend told me years ago that her appliance repairman said not to use that function, that it caused ovens to die prematurely.  I had that thought come to mind as I was getting ready to press the oven cleaning button.  With Aaron out of work still, it would be a Very Bad Time for the oven to die. 

Naturally, I dismissed that thought.

Naturally, I soon wished I hadn’t.

The replacement has been ordered.  It will take a week to get here.  In the meantime, I still have bread to bake. And no oven.  I’ve previously written on using a crock-pot to bake bread.  And it works ok.  However, increasing numbers of people don’t actually have a stand-alone crock-pot.  Everybody’s got Instapots.  Could an Instapot bake bread?  Good bread?

So I enlisted Google Lady’s help in researching the idea.  Most, but not all, of the Instapot bread bakers utilize the baking function on their instant pots.  Older instant pots don’t have that function.  Some of the newer models do, and I found the 10-function Instapot on sale on Amazon for $119 a bit tempting.  Just a bit. 

I compiled the information from three regular people on the ‘net.  Here’s their collective advice:

1.  Make what’s termed lean bread if using an Instapot to do the baking.  The recipe should call for little to no butter/oil, eggs, or milk.  Sourdough is a great choice.

2.  Over-proof the bread a little because it won’t be getting the normal oven-bounce.

3.  Place your formed bread dough round on parchment paper in a cake pan.  (I used an 8” pan.)

4.  Proof the dough in yogurt mode.  (I was a little rebellious.  Even though my pot has the yogurt function, I proofed in counter mode.)

5.  Preheat the Instapot.

6.  Add 1 cup water to the Instapot pot.

7.  Put 1-3 canning rings on the bottom of the Instapot to function as a trivet/support for the bread baking pan.  (Or if your pot comes with a trivet, use that.)

8.  Cover Instapot pot tightly with foil. (I forgot this part.  Oops.  The second time I remembered this instruction, but I'm not quite sure what the purpose is.  I still made respectable bread without it.)

9.  Replace the Instapot lid and bake at 45 minutes high pressure.  Natural release for 10 minutes.

10.  Broil bread in the oven at 400°F for 12 minutes to develop that golden, crunchy crust.  (Naturally, I couldn’t do that part.  Update:  I decided to try this part in the toaster oven.  If using a toaster oven, make sure there is no parchment hanging out that could catch on fire.  Believe it or not, I recognized that this could be problematic and entirely removed the parchment.  Aaron suggested that I could have just cut off the exposed parchment and left the rest in the pan to keep the bread from sticking.  Anyway, the bread is too close to the heating element in a toaster oven to broil--it will burn.  But you can get a better crust baking it for a while.) 

Family reviews: OK, I was a bit challenged here.  With the oven out of commission, it’s taking up floor space, and all the pans that are normally in the ovens (‘cause it’s a double oven) are on the counter.  And for some reason, the shelves above the oven had to be emptied as well, and so all those things are on the counter.  I improvised the trivet with a wide-mouth canning ring, I forgot the foil, and I couldn’t broil the baked bread in the oven to get a nice crust.

So our bread was steamed as much as it was baked.  Like it was a bit damp, like Asian sticky buns, or like our homemade bagels, especially right after they come out of the water bath.  However, our sourdough bread is still good, especially if toasted.  No, it’s not as good as bread baked normally in the oven, but it’s still worlds better than store-bought.  I love that the Instapot provides a back-up, and a much better back-up than using a crock-pot.  Aaron liked it just fine.  I toasted two slices and had them for lunch.   

Links to related posts:

Sourdough Bread 

Can You Use an Instapot or Pressure Cooker as an Autoclave? 

References:

https://theflavorbells.com/bread-in-instant-pot/

https://bakemesomesugar.com/instant-pot-bread/

https://idonthavetimeforthat.com/instant-pot-bread/