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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.
My first time making bread and turned out perfect! Will definitely be making a lot of bread from now. Thank you very much for this simple but BEST recipe. 🙂
You are very welcome! Thank you for trying it & for letting me know!
Perfect! Turns out every time.
Glad to hear that! Thank you!
Delicious! Bread turns out perfect everytime whether I use all purpose flour or whole wheat. Thank you for sharing an excellent recipe ☺️
This is the BEST bread recipe ever. It is soo easy to make. I make it all the time!! My family loves it. Thank you soo much for this recipe. It is Awesome!!
You are so welcome! Thank you for sharing that!
You are so welcome!! I love to hear that! Thank you!
I have made this three times now. Only the second time I was not happy because I over proofed the dough. So it sank. This recipe is definitely a keeper. My daughter loves the bread. Its so soft and yummy. Two questions though- can I replace the flour with 100% whole wheat bread flour? Currently I have made with APF. Also, instead of sugar can I use honey? Would it be the same amount? Any changes because of hone and whole wheat flour?
Thank you so much for this recipe. You are amazing 😊
You are so welcome! Yes, you can totally use whole wheat flour, but for the honey, I have not tried. I am sure you could, though I do not know if it would be equal measures. I suggest getting on google & then you can read the suggestions & decide what amount you want to use.
Should the whole wheat flour be the same amount? Even the liquid should be the same amount?
Yes, I would think so 🙂
Thank you so much. This recipe is so awesome. I have made it a zillion times,the loaves never even last a week. For sugar I replaced it with coconut sugar and used only whole wheat flour turned out amazing. I have also used honey bit activated the yeast using a little sugar. If I were to make buns out of this recipe how many would it be? Thank you and Stay safe
I’m so glad you enjoy the bread recipe! It is a yummy one. You know, I have never turned these into buns, but depending on the size you are making, I’d say somewhere between 1-2 dozen. You’ll have to let us know how it turns out if you do turn them into buns.
I’m so glad you enjoy the bread recipe! It is a yummy one. You know, I have never turned these into buns, but depending on the size you are making, I’d say somewhere between 1-2 dozen. You’ll have to let us know how it turns out if you do turn them into buns.
What a great and simple recipe. I tried it for the first time and we loved and enjoyed the bread so much that I am doing it again today. Thank you so much
Yay! I am glad to hear that! Thank you for letting me know!
How long does bread stay fresh after baking?
How to STORE homemade bread? Let the bread cool completely and place in Ziploc bag or wrap in foil. The homemade bread should last 2 to 3 days stored at room temp. How to FREEZE homemade bread? If you’re wanting to save the bread for later, it freezes beautifully! I like to slice the loaf all the way through, place it in a plastic bread bag, and freeze it as soon as it has cooled completely. To THAW it, just pop the loaf in the fridge for a few hours. I love that I can pull out a few slices as needed for toast, or pull out a full loaf for soup night or when I’m making sandwiches for school lunches.
I used regular flour and my hands, it turned out great! I have baked bread a few times by now, but this one turned out the best! It helps to mix the yeast with sugar water first to see if your bread will rise. Thanks for the recipe!
You are welcome!! Thank you for letting me know!
Hi! I’m super excited to make this recipe, but I don’t have two metal baking pans the same size as your picture. I have two Pyrex baking dishes that are 8.5 X 4.5 X 2.5 that I could use. Or, I have a 13 X 4 Pullman loaf pan. Which would you recommend? I don’t know which will work better with the volume of dough this recipe makes. Any thoughts would be so helpful. Thanks!!
I would stick to the two Pyrex baking dishes. I haven’t tried it in a bigger loaf pan.
I’m finally making homemade bread! My bread came out fantastic!
Great! Glad to hear that! Thank you!
Can I I use regular flour not bread flour
You sure could 😉 Enjoy!!