Want to learn to make your own Homemade Bread? There’s no time like right now! With this easy to follow recipe, you’ll be filling your home with the aroma of freshly baked white bread in no time.
Use day old white bread in my famous Stuffing Recipe. Or whip up this Instant Pot Bread Pudding for a delicious dessert!
Homemade White Bread
When it comes to bread, it’s tough to beat the taste and smell of a really good homemade loaf. Making bread feels like such an essential human activity.
Every time I mix together the dough I feel more connected to the past, thinking of all the women who made bread for their families every single day.
The recipe I’m sharing today is my essential loaf of white bread. A simple bread that tastes amazing on its own spread with warm butter and also works for sandwiches, Overnight French Toast, as a crumb topping on Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole, and anywhere you’d use store bought slices.
If you are new to bread baking or intimidated by the idea of bread baking, this is the perfect recipe to start with! There’s nothing fancy or complicated about this white bread recipe–and you’ll love the results.
This is a fluffy white bread that’s just a bit crusty. Serve it with a bowl of homemade Instant Pot chicken noodle soup for a dinner that’ll warm heart, soul and body.
Craving bread but no flour? These EASY Puff Pastry Breadsticks are always the answer in our house!
What You’ll Need
You don’t need any special equipment to make homemade bread, either. The only necessary item is a mixing bowl and a loaf pan!
If you happen to have a stand mixer, you can use this to knead the dough more quickly than you would by hand, but it’s not strictly necessary. Kneading by hand is super fun (and not a bad upper body workout either!).
In a pinch, you could also keep the bread on a baking sheet and not in a loaf pan. It will be a little “crustier” but still taste amazing.
You only need FIVE ingredients to make this bread:
{Scroll down for full recipe with ingredient amounts}
- Bread Flour
- Salt
- Sugar
- Oil
- Yeast
Okay, six if you count warm water!
STEP 1. Proof the yeast
In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water with a pinch of the sugar. The yeast will get bubbly when it’s ready (this takes about 5 minutes). {see photos 1 & 2)
STEP 2. Mix and knead the dough
When the yeast is bubbly and foamy, add the sugar, salt, oil and gradually add all the flour and mix until smooth. You’ll know you’ve reached this point when the dough should stick just slightly to your finger when touched, but not be overly sticky.
Knead 5-7 minutes using the dough hook on your mixer, or for about 10 minutes by hand. (see photo 3)
STEP 3. Rise time!
Place the dough in an oiled bowl, turn over once to coat the top with oil and cover with plastic wrap. Allow dough to rise one hour, or until doubled. (see photo 4)
After one hour, when the dough has risen, punch it down gently and divide in half.
STEP 3. Roll and form the loaves
Roll each half of the dough into a long rectangle about 8 inches wide. Roll the dough up, starting at the short edge, to form a cylinder that is approximately 8 inches wide. Repeat with remaining dough.
Place the dough, seam side down, into lightly greased bread pans, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise one hour, or until the dough is ½-1 inch higher than the top of the pan. (photos 1-3)
STEP 4. Bake
Preheat the oven to 375. Bake 30-35 minutes or until the loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Brush with melted butter if desired. Remove to a cooling rack and cool before slicing. (photo 4)
Tips and Tricks for Making Bread
- Check your yeast! If your yeast is old and dead, it will not work properly. The first step of this recipe involves “proofing ” the yeast to make sure it’s alive and doing its job. If the water mixture doesn’t get bubbly after a few minutes, toss it and replace it with a fresh packet of yeast.
- Use active dry yeast. There are lots of varieties of yeast in the baking aisle these days but you want to grab the active dry variety for this recipe. Find it in packets or in bulk jars. Don’t use rapid rise or bread machine yeast here.
- Don’t have bread flour? Substitute all purpose flour in a pinch! The lower protein content of all-purpose flour means that the bread might not be as fluffy, but it still tastes wonderful!
- Knead well. The dough should be smooth and very stretchy at the end of kneading. If it breaks apart easily when you pull on a section of dough, keep kneading!
And the hardest part. . .
Let the homemade bread cool thoroughly before slicing! I know, I know. It smells so good. I, too, want to dig right into my white bread when I pull it out of the oven. But if you try to slice it too soon, the slices will fall apart–and it’s much harder to make a clean cut with a knife.
How long does homemade bread last?
Homemade bread doesn’t have preservatives like the sandwich bread you buy at the grocery store. As such, it’ll really only keep for a couple of days and is at its best the first day!
I find this homemade bread borderline addictive, so this is never a problem in my family! The other good news is that white bread freezes super well, too.
This recipe makes two loaves so we typically eat one right away, then pop the other loaf in the freezer for later.
How to freeze homemade bread
Once the loaves have cooled completely, wrap each one tightly in plastic wrap or foil. Then place the wrapped loaves in a freezer bag. If you don’t have freezer bags, you can also double wrap the loaves with plastic wrap or foil.
Thaw at room temperature and enjoy! I love having homemade bread stocked away in the freezer for those weeks when I’m too busy to run out to the store.
What to Serve with Homemade White Bread
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Homemade Bread
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast 1 package
- 2 ¼ cups warm water
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 6 ½ cups bread flour
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water with a pinch of the sugar. When the yeast is bubbly and foamy, add the sugar, salt, oil and 4 cups of flour, and mix until smooth.
- Add remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, to form a soft, smooth dough. You’ll know you’ve reached this point when the dough should stick just slightly to your finger when touched, but not be overly sticky. Knead 5-7 minutes using the dough hook on your mixer, or do this by hand.
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl, turn over once to coat the top with oil and cover with plastic wrap. Allow dough to rise one hour, or until doubled.
- After one hour, when the dough has risen, punch it down gently and divide in half. Roll each half of the dough into a long rectangle about 8 inches wide. Roll the dough up, starting at the short edge, to form a cylinder that is approximately 8 inches wide. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Place the dough, seam side down, into lightly greased bread pans, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise one hour, or until the dough is ½-1 inch higher than the top of the pan.
- Preheat the oven to 375. Bake 30-35 minutes or until the loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Brush with melted butter if desired. Remove to a cooling rack and cool before slicing. MAKES 2 LOAVES.
Notes
- When rolling, use your loaf pan as a guide to how long you need to roll your dough.
- You can substitute all-purpose flour for the bread flour if desired.
Nutrition
Whether this is your first time making bread or you’re a seasoned veteran, I know you’re going to love this white bread recipe!
You’re amazing!
Hi Aimee, I love your recipe’s! I am 92 years old, by the way , and have been cooking/baking for a long time! (Been married 74 1/2 years) but still love to make good food! Now that we’re having to “stay home” it even means MORE meals to prepare. We especially love home-made bread! Thanks for this great bread recipe!
Can you substitute Almond flour for regular flour? Can you substitute
Stevia Blend for white sugar?
When you’re on a restricted diet it makes every recipe a challenge.
Hi,
I really do appreciate your recipes.
Can you send me the recipe for whole wheat bread?
Please and thanks.
Dinna
I have never made bread before and have two questions. When first mixing the ingredients until smooth, is the flat paddle used or the dough hook? Also, when kneading with the dough hook in my mixer, what speed is used: slow, medium, fast? Thanks
Use the flat paddle in the beginning, and I use medium speed when switching to the dough hook.
If you have a Kitchenaid mixer you should never ever go beyond speed 2 for bread dough.