With dozens of shops closed, it has become hard for people to buy basic provisions such as bread in affected areas of KwaZulu-Natal and some parts of Gauteng.

On Wednesday. Albany, one of the biggest bread producers in the country, confirmed they are having ‘distribution issues’.

“Since Sunday afternoon, our KZN Bakeries have been temporarily closed due to the civil unrest in the province. In Gauteng, the delivery of bread is constrained due to challenges in accessing certain areas.

“We are continuing to distribute bread where it is safe to do so. Unfortunately, we cannot confirm the exact locations at the moment.”

Here are three easy alternatives if you can’t get bread:

EASY ROTIS:

You will need:

• 2 cups cake flour
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup boiling water

• With a spoon, mix all together and when cool enough to touch, knead into a dough.
• Roll out on a lightly floured surface and lightly sprinkle with flour.
• Roll into a swiss roll and cut into eight even pieces.
• Form into a ball and roll out, and dry fry in a pan till lightly speckled on both sides.

FOUR INGREDIENTS EMERGENCY BREAD

You will need:

• 500 g plain flour (regular cake or all-purpose flour NOT bread or wholewheat / wholegrain)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 310 ml milk (or water with a spoon of oil or melted butter)

• Heat the oven to 190°C Fan (210°C regular) / 375°F / GM 6.
• Place a baking stone or heavy baking sheet in the oven to heat.
  Mix the dry ingredients.
• Stir in the milk, and stir the ingredients until the milk is mixed with flour and forms a dough. It’s easiest to do this with your hands rather than a wooden spoon.
  Turn the dough out onto your work surface and knead briefly until the dough has a uniform consistency.
  Shape the dough into a round disc, about an inch to an inch and a half (about 3 cm) thick.
• Score the top deeply with an X. This is important!
• Don’t make a round ball of dough as it won’t cook in the middle.
  Bake on the baking sheet for about 35 minutes until pale brown. (This loaf won’t turn a deep gold so don’t wait too long to check it.)
• When ready, it should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

EASY SCONES:

You will need:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup white sugar
• 5 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup butter
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup milk

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.
  In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
• Cut in butter.
• Mix the egg and milk in a small bowl, and stir into flour mixture until moistened.
  Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead briefly.
• Roll dough out into a 1/2 inch thick round.
• Cut into eight wedges, and place on the prepared baking sheet.
  Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven or until golden brown.