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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’ve made this bread so many times. It’s my favorite bread I’ve EVER made! Sooooo good and fluffy! I’ve got two loafs rising right now that I plan on vacuum sealing and freezing ???????? For some reason it won’t let me rate it but for sure 5+++ stars!!!! ????
Awe, thank you so much!! I’m so glad you like it!!
I used to make homemade breads & noodles by hand(no machines) growing up on the ranch. Live in Nebraska. Only got 4cups total into the bread. When I finished my kneading for the 1st rise it was smooth but not so much tacky anymore…ALMOST like I put in too much flour? Smooth & a little dry(not tacky)but not where it’s dry cracking or clump separating.
I saw Laura was the ONLY one so far that I saw who didn’t get past 4cups total but didn’t see how it turned out.
Ever made it w/only 4c flour? Should I just make 1 loaf depending on the 1st rise?
I have a metal, glass & stone pans for loaves…wonder if I should make it in my large stone pan as one loaf. Thoughts?
Can this recipe for home made bread be done in a bread machine?
I personally haven’t, but I’m sure you could 🙂 Let me know how it turns out & I hope you like it!
Do you think instead of baking 2 loaves you could bake 1 loaf of bread and the other half make into cinnamon rolls?
Thanks
I am sure you could!! I haven’t tried, but I don’t see why not 🙂 Good luck!
I came across this recipe and wanting to try it. I had been very hesitant to try because i always have a hard time getting the dough to rise and come out looking like an actual loaf of bread. Decided to try this with a small trick my mother in law told me about. When getting the dough to rise just put it on a heating pad on low. I’ve never heard of rolling the dough out either but WOW…this bread turned out AMAZING! My house smells sooo yummy and the kids won’t leave it alone! Guess I’ve found the new favorite for the house!
Yay!!! Love hearing that!! Thanks so much!
My grandma made potato bread always just boils one potato to make bread do you have a recipe?
I am sorry, I don’t . Sounds interesting, though! Hope you find a recipe!
Hey,
It looks like a really nice recipe and my dough is rising in the pans at the moment.
What I’ve been asking myself, still I’m.not from US: how much is one cup of flour? I found recommendations between 100 and 150 grams?
The dough is really sticky, when you knead it by hand, do you do so in a bowl? Or on a floured surface? Does it stick to your hands or is it dry and floury on the outside?
And when you roll out the dough, do you flour the surface? Or oil it? Or just put it there without any preparation?
How thick is your dough rolled out?
Sorry for the many questions since I’m new to baking. And sorry for my may a little off english, not my first language, but I’m trying.
I’m so looking forward to my first come out in a few hours 🙂
Laura
1 cup of flour is about 140 grams. The dough shouldn’t be too sticky, where you can’t roll it into a ball. It should be tacky, but not sticky. You can knead it in a bowl or on a slightly floured surface. It’s about 1/4 in thick-1/2 in. It doesn’t have to be exact. I hope I answered all your questions. Good luck & let me know if you have any other questions!
Thanks a lot
Most of it I did right instinctively.
One loaf didn’t come out ao well. I had two different sizes of pans and divided the two ao it fit both parts. But in the larger one it started to fall down again before it could reach the edge of teh pan. Baked it anyway, was a bit flat, but definitely delicious!
I’ll try again and work it out perfectly with my german measurement and ingredients 🙂
I do have indeed one question left. Why do you use dry yeast (actually in all the recipes I found?) it works so much better with fresh yeast!
Thanks for letting me know. I guess I use the dry yeast, because that is what my mom always used & I guess you just stick with what you know sometimes, especially if they are the best 🙂
Super excited about this bread which is in the middle of the first rise!! I used coconut oil it didn’t specify and figured what the heck so hoping it turns out well!! Any experience using coconut oil??
I haven’t used it a whole lot. How did it turn out?
It turned out so yummy with the coconut oil!! I am actually making another batch if them right now I plan to do what another commenter did adding cinnamon and sugar to one!! The other will stay plain for sandwiches!! I also made it with avocado oil and had great results as well!! Love this recipe!! It’s so easy yet delicious!
That’s so great!! Thank you so much for sharing!!
What brand of mixer did you use? Looks so easy.
I make it in a bog bowl 🙂 You could use whatever you have around..any would be fine. Thank you!
Looks very good
Thank you!! It is our favorite!! Hope you’ll try it 🙂 Thank you!