NOTHING beats delicious homemade bread! And as you can imagine, we are biased – our homemade bread recipe is the BEST!!
We’ve tested classic bread recipes time and time again, and this is the recipe we keep coming back to. We use it for everything – French Toast, Grilled Cheese, Homemade Croutons – you name it!
The flavor is PERFECTION! But also – most of the ingredients can be found in your pantry, so you can make it any time. It also requires only about 20 minutes of hands-on work! The rest is rising and baking time.
And like most bread recipes, this is great to make ahead and store so you always have fresh bread on hand.
If you love a good bread recipe, you’ll also love our French Bread, White Bread, and Whole Wheat Bread!
Why we think you’ll love it:
- Made with pantry staples. The ingredients are simple and ones most everyone has on hand.
- Used for so many recipes. It’s perfect for sandwiches like Grilled Cheese or a batch of French Toast.
- Cost-effective and healthier. Making homemade bread will use about $1.25 worth of ingredients per loaf, and you get to control the ingredients!
Homemade Bread Ingredients
- Active dry yeast (2¼ teaspoons, 1 packet): Leavens the dough so the loaves rise tall with a fine, even crumb.
- Warm water (2¼ cups): Hydrates the flour and activates the yeast for a steady, strong rise. Water temp matters, aim for warm to the touch, about 105 to 110°F, to wake up the yeast without harming it.
- Sugar, plus 1 pinch (¼ cup, plus pinch): Feeds the yeast and adds a touch of sweetness that helps browning.
- Salt (1 tablespoon): Balances flavor and strengthens gluten for better structure.
- Vegetable oil (2 tablespoons): Keeps the crumb tender and the loaves soft for days.
- Bread flour (5½ – 6½ cups): Higher protein builds strong gluten for lift, chew, and sliceable structure. Or an equal amount of all-purpose flour, or make your own bread flour: add 1 teaspoon of vital wheat gluten to a 1-cup measuring cup. Spoon all-purpose flour to fill the cup the rest of the way and sift.
- Butter for topping, optional: Brushed on the hot crust for a soft, glossy finish and buttery aroma. Other toppings include Homemade Strawberry Jam, Honey Butter, and Cinnamon Butter.
How to Make Homemade Bread
DOUGH. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve active dry yeast in warm water with a pinch of sugar. When the yeast mixture is bubbly and foamy, the remaining sugar, salt, oil, and 4 cups bread flour, and mix with a dough hook until smooth.
Add the remaining 1-2 cups of flour, ½ cup at a time, to form a soft, smooth dough. The dough should stick just slightly to your finger when touched, but not be overly sticky.
Knead with the dough hook on medium speed for 5-7 minutes, until smooth, then roll into a ball.
RISE. Use olive oil or cooking spray to coat the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to the oiled bowl, turn over once to coat the top with oil, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for one hour (in a warm spot), or until doubled for the first rise.
SHAPE. When the dough has risen, punch it down gently and divide it in half. On a non-stick baking mat or lightly floured surface, 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 the remaining dough.
2ND RISE. Place the dough, seam side down, into lightly greased loaf pans, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for a second time for one hour, or until the dough is ½-1 inch higher than the top of the pan.
BAKE. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.
SERVE. Brush loaves with a little melted butter after baking. Remove to a cooling rack and cool before slicing. Makes 2 loaves of bread.
Use your bread in some of our favorite recipes: French Toast, Grilled Cheese, French Toast Bake, Garlic Bread, Homemade Croutons.
Kristyn’s Recipe Tips
- Yeast. Be sure to activate the yeast correctly otherwise, the dough will not rise. Make sure it foams when mixed with warm water and sugar.
- Flour. My #1 tip for any bread recipe is to measure the flour accurately! Too much flour can result in dense bread, and we all know bread should be soft. The dough should be slightly tacky, not dry.
- Add flour gradually until the dough is soft and slightly tacky, it should just pull away from the bowl.
- Knead. Knead 5 to 7 minutes until smooth and elastic, a windowpane test should stretch thin without tearing.
- Watch the rise time. If you don’t allow it to rise long enough it will be dense. If you proof it for too long, it will fall and become unusable.
- Shape. Let shaped loaves rise until ½ to 1 inch over the pan, baking too early can cause dense slices.
Easy Homemade Bread Recipe
Equipment
- loaf pans
Video
Ingredients
- 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast, (1 packet)
- 2¼ cups warm water
- ¼ cup sugar, plus 1 pinch
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 5½ – 6½ cups bread flour
- butter for topping, (optional)
Instructions
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in warm water with a pinch of sugar. When the yeast is bubbly and foamy, add the sugar, salt, oil, and 4 cups flour, and mix until smooth.
- Add remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, to form a soft, smooth dough. The dough should stick just slightly to your finger when touched, but not be overly sticky. Knead for 5-7 minutes, until smooth, then roll into a ball.
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl, turn over once to coat the top with oil, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for one hour, or until doubled.
- When the dough has risen, punch it down gently and divide it 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 the remaining dough.
- Place the dough, seam side down, into lightly greased bread pans, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for one hour, or until the dough is ½ – 1 inch higher than the top of the pan.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake for 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
- Measure the flour accurately! Too much flour can result in dense bread.
- Watch the rise time. If you don’t allow it to rise long enough it will be dense. If you proof it for too long, it will fall and become unusable.
- Be sure to activate the yeast correctly; otherwise, the dough will not rise.
- I like to use bread flour since it creates a perfect rise and chewy texture, but all-purpose flour can be used.
- Use your bread in some of our favorite recipes: French Toast, Grilled Cheese, French Toast Bake, Garlic Bread, Homemade Croutons
- To bake – unwrap and place in a greased bread pan. Cover with an oiled piece of plastic wrap. Allow it to thaw for several hours and then rise until it is about doubled in size. Bake according to recipe directions.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
Yes! You can swap instant yeast/rapid rise yeast for active dry yeast in your recipe. Just use the same amount, and your bread will turn out just as soft and delicious!
Place the bowl of dough near a warmer area in your home, such as a warm slow cooker, sunny window, on top of a warm oven, or suspended above a bowl of steaming water.
Add an extra teaspoon of yeast and make the dough as directed. Allow the dough to rise the first time, then shape it into loaves and place them directly on a greased baking sheet. Place them in the freezer and freeze until solid. Wrap each loaf with plastic and again with aluminum foil. Label and freeze for up 3-4 months.
To bake – unwrap and place in a greased bread pan. Cover with an oiled piece of plastic wrap. Allow it to thaw for several hours and then rise until it is about doubled in size. Bake according to recipe directions.
Cool completely and place in a Ziploc bag or wrap in foil. Store at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. Place in a freezer-safe bag and freeze for 3-4 months.
Of course! It’s super easy, and the machine does all the hard work for you!
– Layer the ingredients the right way! Add them in this order:
Warm water, Sugar, Salt, Oil, Bread flour. Then, make a little well in the flour and place the yeast inside so it doesn’t touch the liquid right away.
-Pick your settings: Use the basic bread setting and choose light or medium crust, depending on what you like best.
-Check the dough: After a few minutes of mixing, peek inside! If it looks too sticky, add a little more flour (one tablespoon at a time). If it’s too dry, add a tiny bit of water. You want the dough to be soft and slightly tacky.
-Let the bread machine do its thing! Once it’s done baking, carefully take out the loaf, let it cool on a wire rack.
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Whole Wheat Bread
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Easy Sandwich Bread Recipe
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No Knead Bread
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This recipe was first published December 2016.
What size loaf pan?
I use 9in pans 🙂
tHIS RECIPE is so easy and the bread is delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
You are so welcome! Thank you for trying it!
Have cooked from scratch my entire life, but not real successful with bread today. Mine was too dense so I put it back in the oven. Tastes good, but reckon I need more practice and probably need to let is rise longer. Not throwing it out though as it will be great with soups and casseroles which are in my freezer. Anxious to give this recipe another shot maybe in a few days.
I had to practice tons & still mess up..I hope you will give it another try. Maybe it was too much flour??
The rec looks perfect. I Had a question- can use this same recipe and make buns or subway bread?
I haven’t tried, but I am sure you could!
CaN you freeze this dough?
I personally have not. Not sure it would work, but it can be put in the freezer, after it’s been baked.
Seriously the best bread REcipe eVer! I added jaLapenos, havarti cheese, and bacon. Yum
Great idea!! Thanks for sharing that!
Good recipe. Nicely present
Can you give quantity in gram. It’s more clear and can scale easily by gram / ml / kg
Thanks
Thank you! I’m sorry, but I don’t have those measurements, but I am sure you can find an online conversion.
Recipe explained in details, excellent job
It is a great RECIPE quantities to be an able to read IN GRAMES/ML/kg. It’s more clear to scale
Made this for the first time a few days ago for my husband and two teenage sons and, needless to say, it’s gone. The bread was delicious. Just a perfect, fluffy but still substantial, DELICIOUS AS-IS OR TOASTED WHITE BREAD. Although I’ve been baking for many years, this is only the third or fourth time I’ve made “proper” bread and I’m so glad I chose your recipe. the men are already asking when i’m going to make more. I HAVE ASSURED THEM THAT IT WILL BE WITHIN THE NEXT FEW DAYS. THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE RECIPE. WE THOROUGHLY ENJOYED IT!
I love this!! I am so happy they like it that much! Thank you!
Hi,
We’ve been using your recipe to make our fresh and delicious bread during the Covid19 pandemic and we love it! This is our 3rd batch. They turn out just perfect every time and they last about 5 or 6 days and they’re still as delicious as day 1. We’ve tried it with cheese too…yummy!
Thank you
Annette
Awe, I love hearing that! Thank you so much for sharing that. Adding cheese is a great idea!