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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This recipe was first published December 2016.
Turned out wonderful. Could use a bit more salt. But otherwise wonderful recipe. A keeper.
Thank you so much!!
Hi
Love your blog.
Let me say this you are so sweet that you answer each and every question so so sweetly.
Best of luck.
Awe, thank you so much!! I love being able to answer everyone’s questions 🙂
Hi there from south Africa… That recipe looks amazing but we only have dry instant yeast which is probably very different from the active dry yeast. Could I then just mix it straight with the Flour and ignore the oil and sugar? So I would just add the warm water to the flour/yeast?
Hello! Honestly, I would google how to convert the two. Yes, they are different & I don’t want to tell you the wrong thing. Usually, with instant yeast, you can mix it with the dry ingredients. Hope you find what you need 🙂
When making I didn’t even use the whole 4 cups it started with? Dough felt perfect without it… We’ll see how it turns out I guess!
How did it turn out? I hope you liked it!!
Ive made this several times! All 5 of my kids and husband love it! Its really hard to find some thing they all even like. It makes the perfect French toast.
Love to hear that!! This is by far our favorite bread recipe & yes, perfect for so many things! Thank you!
thank you for this easy recipe! i used 3 1/2c white flour and 2c whole wheat flour and it came out perfect! put the second loaf in the freezer after the first rise (punched it down, rolled it, covered in saran wrap, then put in freezer bag). will post to update on how that one comes out.
You are so welcome! Yes, I’d love to know! Thanks!
Just made my first batch of bread using this recipe and it was so simple and my whole family loved it. Thank you for sharing. I used my kitchen aid for the knead step….so easy!!! Goodbye store bought bread!!!
Yay!! Yes, you’ll never go back now 🙂 Thank you for letting me know!
Hi there! Is there any input that you could put in on my question? I hate to be that person, but literally every post here except mine, received an answer 🙁 I posted back in February and others received a response on the same day, so I thought I’d check back today and still no response 🙁 I love the texture of the bread in the image and how the recipe is simple. But I’d like a little input on the amount of flour. The conversion charts vary from brand to brand and just from basic usage.
I’d love to hear from you on this!
Thanks 🙂
Original post below:
45
Nicole :
February 28, 2017 at 2:35 am
This is a really good recipe! I do love the simplicity of it and so does my family! Thanks for sharing, but I do have a question! For the flour measurement do you know how much you’re using per cup of flour? I use KA flour and 1 cup is 120grams, but the dough still seems a bit wet at time. I feel as though in may not be using enough flour at times. Any input would be greatly appreciate!
Thanks again!
I’m sorry I didn’t respond. I try to answer all comments, so I might have missed this, but I am sorry. I’m not sure how to answer your question. I’m not familiar with KA flour and I don’t measure by grams, so I guess I would need to figure out how many grams are in a cup. I looked on google and it’s 120 grams per cup of all-purpose flour, which is the same as the KA flour. Did you use all 6 1/2 cups? Depending on where you live, the humidity, etc, effects cooking/baking. It took me a couple of times to get it right, so keep trying & add a little more flour next time, adding 1/2 cup at a time. I hope that helps you! I’m sorry again, for missing your comment. Good luck & let me know if you have any more questions!
Hi there and thanks for the reply! I hope my post wasn’t taken the wrong way.
Ohh yes, humidity. I didn’t realize that. My area is very humid 🙁 When making the bread, I did use all 6 1/2 cups per the 120g from King Arthur, but the dough was really sticky. Not similar to your images at all. So I ended up adding a whole other cup, so I used a total of 7 1/2 cups. The dough was still sticky, but the bread came out great! The two loaves were gone in two days.
I’ll continue to play around with it, but thanks for a great recipe and thanks so much for responding and looking into my question! It is greatly appreciated!
Not taken wrong at all!! You’ll find what works best 🙂 Thank you for not quitting on it 🙂
So good!
I didn’t realize that it could take up to 10 minutes for the yeast to activate. I threw away the first two batches because I thought I messed up. Luckily, I texted my mom, figured it out, and baked 2 fabulous loaves of bread that didn’t last 24 hours!! It was such a hit, I just baked 4 more!! Thanks for the recipe!!
Oh, sorry you threw those batches! You didn’t mess up 🙂 I am so glad you liked the bread!! We love it! Thank you!
Can’t wait to try this! Are the pans 8×4 or 9×5?
Mine are 9×5. Hope that helps!! Thank you for stopping by!
Thank you yes! (Even though I just saw someone asks already and you answered ???? Sorry!) Made them this morning–sooooo good!!!!
Do you need to add the sugar, or can it be optional or possible even substituted? Other than that, this sound like a great recipie and I can wait to try it!
I have never left it out, so I personally can’t say how it might come out. I’m sorry. It really is the best bread 🙂 If you try, let me know what happens! Thank you!
Must use the sugar. It is the catalyst for the yeast to release CO2 (raises the bread).
Okay, good thing I haven’t made this bread yet. Eventually, someday, I will. Thank you for the heads up!