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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:
Homemade Bread Recipe
This BEST homemade bread recipe makes the most deliciously fluffy loaf of white bread. It tastes so much better than store-bought!
Equipment
- loaf pans
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.
Video
Notes
Make 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.
Freeze bread dough. 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 to 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.
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 simply couldn’t figure out how to consistently make bread till I stubbled across this recipe! I used my bread maker without subbing anything and it was perfect for 4 loaves of bread and hoagie buns! Fantastic!
Delish! Perfect size for two loaf pans and it was very soft. I enjoyed it very much
Oh I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for giving the bread recipe a try!
Best bread recipe my family can’t get enough thanks for sharing recipe my family loves!
You’re welcome!! I’m so glad your family loves the bread!
I have tried dozens of different bread recipe’s online, but this one for sure tops them all! It’s got a great crust and beautiful texture to it. So light and fluffy. Most others the breads tasted good, but were very chewy and heavy textured. I sliced up my loaf after helping myself too three slices, lol, couldn’t help myself, it was so good. This may be the first homemade bread that would actually work for a pb&j sandwich too!
Oh this makes me so happy to hear!! I’m so glad you love the bread recipe. Thanks for sharing the awesome review!
Do you have a bagel recipe?
No homemade bagel recipe on our site. We do have a homemade donut recipe… not exactly the same, I know.
This..!! This recipe has topped all my other regular bread recipes! The taste is so delicious I ate a half loaf by myself!!! It’s seriously so so easy, and watching it rise after 35-45 minutes is exciting! Lol I know it’s such a simple thing, yet knowing I made that and it’s doing what it’s supposed to do, that makes me smile ❤️❤️❤️ My kids love the bread, the hubs too. What more could I ask for?? Thank you for sharing your recipe!!
Oh you’re welcome! I’m so glad you all enjoy the bread recipe. And it’s true, there’s something so satisfying about making homemade bread! 🙂
I just tried this with coconut sugar instead of white sugar and it turned out great. I mixed this by hand instead of using a mixer so the dough may not be smooth but still tastes good and is soft.
Oh that’s good to know coconut sugar works great too with this recipe. I haven’t tried it with that before! Thanks for sharing and so glad to hear you enjoy the bread recipe!
I want to make this but I’m a little confused about how much sugar to use. You say a pinch but it says 1/4C in the recipe. I tried to find if anyone else asked this question but after 10 minutes of reading comments I gave up😂😂😂
You throw a pinch of sugar in right after you put the yeast into the warm water. After the water turns foamy, then you add the 1/4 cup along with the other ingredients. 😊
Yes!! What Caitlyn said is exactly right. 😉
Great question! So to get your yeast to bubble and foam, you will add it with warm water and a pinch of sugar then let rest. Once it has bubbled and foamed up, then you add the 1/4 cup of sugar and follow the rest of the recipe. Hopefully that makes sense! 🙂
Just made your bread today and it turned out perfectly. I let it cool just enough to slice off the crust and lather it with peanut butter and molasses. OMG it was all I could do to not cut myself another slab.
So happy to hear that you loved the bread recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Okay
Can you use quick rise yeast with this recipe?
Yes – you sure can! But with quick rise yeast it is usually recommended to use about 25% less yeast than what the recipe calls for. So you may want to use a little less than 2 teaspoons of yeast for this recipe instead of the 2 1/4 teaspoons that it calls for. Hope this helps!
After testing multiple bread recipes since December, this is hands down my favorite. I make this recipe every week. I know you have a sandwich bread recipe but I use this for sandwich bread. Excellent grilled cheeses, breakfast sandwiches and more. Als
I’m so glad you love it so much and that you use it for so many other dishes, etc.