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This BEST bread recipe makes the most deliciously fluffy loaf of white bread. It tastes so much better than store-bought!
Nothing beats delicious homemade bread! If you love a good bread recipe, you’ll also love our French Bread, White Bread Recipe, and Banana Bread recipes.
a Family Favorite!
I have to confess, I’m kind of a bread addict. I love any kind of bread, from tender and flaky Buttermilk Biscuits to pillowy soft Homemade Dinner Rolls.
My very favorite kind of bread, though, is a fluffy white loaf of this bread recipe. We love it because the flavor is PERFECTION, but also because:
- Made with pantry staples. Ingredients are simple and ones most everyone has on hand.
- Used for SO many recipes. It’s perfect for sandwiches, Grilled Cheese, or a batch of French toast.
- Cost effective and healthier. Making this homemade bread recipe will cost about $1.25 worth of ingredients per loaf and I get to control exactly what ingredients I use!
- Great to freeze. Like most bread recipes, this is great to make ahead and store.
Bread Ingredients
As mentioned above, most of these items can be found in your pantry, which means you should be able to make this any time!
- Active Dry Yeast (1 packet) – If your yeast is old or dead, your easy bread recipe is going nowhere fast. I store my yeast in the fridge at all times.
- Warm Water
- Sugar
- Salt
- Vegetable Oil
- Bread Flour – Comes in both whole wheat and white versions and has a higher percentage of protein than all-purpose flour. If you don’t have bread flour, you can replace it with an equal amount of all-purpose flour. It does change the texture a bit, but still works well.
- Butter
How to Make Bread
- YEAST. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in warm water with a pinch of sugar.
- COMBINE + KNEAD. When the yeast mixture is bubbly and foamy, add the sugar, salt, oil, and 4 cups flour, and mix with a dough hook until smooth. Add the 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.
- RISE. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, turn over once to coat the top with oil, and cover with plastic wrap. (Use olive oil or cooking spray to coat the bowl.) Let rise for one hour, or until doubled.
- 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. 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 one hour, or until the dough is ½-1 inch higher than the top of the pan.
Proofing tips
- Oil the bowl before adding the dough to rise. This will keep it from sticking when it is dumped out and shaped.
- Air temperature can affect the proof time. A warmer environment will allow the dough to rise faster. A cooler area will slow down the process.
- A quicker proof time.
- Preheat your oven to 200°F then turn it OFF. Place the dough in an oven-safe bowl and cover it with a warm damp tea towel. Stick it in the oven until the dough has doubled in size.
- Place the bowl of dough near a warmer area in your home such as a fireplace or warm slow cooker.
- Doneness. Visually observe when the dough has doubled in size and use that as an indicator of doneness. To tell if it has been proofed just right, poke your finger in the top of the dough…
- Bounces back immediately – continue proofing.
- Doesn’t bounce back at all – it is over-proofed.
- Bounces back halfway – it’s perfect!
How to BAKE Homemade Bread
- PREP. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- BAKE. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.
- BRUSH + COOL. I like to brush my loaves with a little melted butter after baking. Remove to a cooling rack and cool before slicing. Makes 2 loaves of bread.
Why is my bread heavy and dense?
- Adding too much flour. Scoop the flour into the measuring cup with a spoon and level it off. The amount of flour can be too much if measured incorrectly, which can make it dense.
- Under or over proofing. It is really important that the dough rises well. 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 also become dense.
- Over kneading. This is really hard to do when you knead by hand, as your hands will tire before it can happen. However, it can happen if you let a stand mixer knead for too long or at too high of a setting.
Repurpose Your Homemade Bread
Use this bread in some of our favorite recipes:
Make croutons. Check out our Homemade Croutons recipe!
Storing info
- STORE. Cool completely and place in a Ziploc bag or wrap in foil. This best bread recipe should last 2 to 3 days stored at room temperature.
- FREEZE. Slice the loaf all the way through, place it in a plastic bread bag, and freeze it as soon as it has cooled completely.
- Freeze the bread dough. Add twice as much yeast to compensate for any yeast that will die in the freezer.
- 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 to 6 months.
- Freeze the bread dough. Add twice as much yeast to compensate for any yeast that will die in the freezer.
- 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.
For more bread recipes:
Bread Recipe
This BEST bread recipe makes the most deliciously fluffy loaf of white bread. It tastes so much better than store-bought!
Ingredients
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.
Video
Notes
STORE. Cool completely and place in a Ziploc bag or wrap in foil. This best bread recipe should last 2 to 3 days stored at room temperature.
FREEZE. Slice the loaf all the way through, place it in a plastic bread bag, and freeze it as soon as it has cooled completely.
Nutrition
Calories: 159kcal, Carbohydrates: 30g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 2g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 351mg, Potassium: 42mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 3g, Calcium: 6mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
For more delicious recipes by Alicia, head on over to The Baker Upstairs.
I just made this … It was great …. My first successful home baked bread. U she have seen my earlier 2 attempts. ?. I made these as dinner rolls and used 1/2 part MILK and just a little more sugar. They are so soft AMD yummy. Thank you.
You are so welcome! You should have seen mine, too!! Thanks for letting me know!
I made this BREAD ONCE AND IT WAS GREAT, MAKING AGAIN NOW BUT EVEN AFTER RISING OVER AN HOUR, THE DOUGH IS AT LEAST 1.5″ FROM THE TOP OF THE PAN. DOES YOURS REALLY RISE ABOVE THE TOP OF YOUR PANS??
The total rise time is 2 hours. Not sure if this is after the 2nd rise. Did it at least double in size the first time, before punching down? As it bakes, it will get higher.
I’m having a awful time getting my yeast to bloom I’m on my 4th try. Water is right temp waited 10 and nothing. My yeast isnt old. Dont know what to do.
I’m sorry, I wish I knew?? If the water is the right temp & the yeast is not old, I’m not sure what it could be. The yeast could just be bad. Has it been the same yeast each time?
The Other Bread recipes i made have taken all day so i was a bit nervous that i had started this recipe in the middle of the afternoon—i Had nothing to be worried about! My dough Was a little On the sticky side but it turned out perfect!! So quick, easy and DELICIOUS! I love how soft the bread turned out. I will be making another very soon 🙂
Thanks so much for the great review! Glad you tried it & liked it!
Great recipe! Makes beautiful loaves, plus its vegan, which is a huge bonas! Thanks!
Hi, I’m making your bread for the first time. It’s currently in the pan for the second rise, but I’m wondering, what size loaf pan should I use? I have both 8.5 and 9 inch pans. i assume it’s the 8.5 inch pan since at the rolling stage, you say the rectangle should be approximately 8 inches long. Can you advise? I will let you know how it turns out once it’s baked. I’m going to try 8.5 inch for now and see what happens, but if you could let me know, I will make a note of it for next time! thank you so much! (i DON’T MEAN TO BE SHOUTY, BUT THE COMMENTS WILL ONLY ALLOW ALL CAPS). 🙂
Sorry to not have responded sooner. I try not to work over the weekend. Yes, either work just fine. I hope they turned out!
(Sorry for the capital letters – The WEBpage doesn’t seem to let me turn it off).
I love this recipe, it’s so easy to follow and turns out great. My kids no longer want store bought bread! Just one question – sometimes I get big air bubbles, and sometimes I don’t – what am i doing differently? Do I need to make sure all the air bubbles are gone when i roll it out after the first rise? Thanks!
That makes me so happy!! I would try to get them out, but when it rises, it will create some. I get different results each time, so it’s ok 🙂
Thanks so much for the reply. I’m glad that it’s not strange to get different results each time 🙂 One thing that is consistent though is how amazing this bread tastes! My family won’t let me buy bread now – this is the only one they will eat. Thank so much again 🙂
You are so welcome!! It’s hard to buy store bought after this..I agree!
This is the one!
I’ve tried two other recipes, multiple times. They each used yeast, milk, egg, oil…in some combination. The crumb was large and crumbly, and could only be used for grilled sandwiches – but still fell apart.
Thank you for this! Now i can move on to brown breads!
Yay!! Glad you found it! Thank you for letting me know!
This is the first time i’ve made bread without a bread machine. Totally worth the extra effort! This recipe is super easy to folloW. The bread has a great flavour and the texture is perfect. This Is a perfect recipe for novice and experienced bakers.
Yay!! I am so happy you think so 🙂 Thank you for saying that!
Can I use instant dry yeast and if so how much? I cannot find active dry yeast in any store and all that was available was instant dry yeast
You could, though I do not. I would look up conversions between the two, so you know exactly how to substitute it.