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.
More Like This
Artisan Bread Recipes
Sourdough Bread
8 hrs 40 mins
Focaccia Bread
8 hrs 55 mins
Baguette Recipe
15 hrs 14 mins
Easy Italian Bread Recipe
2 hrs 40 mins
Bread Recipes
White Bread
3 hrs 15 mins
Whole Wheat Bread
3 hrs 15 mins
Easy Sandwich Bread Recipe
3 hrs 50 mins
No Knead Bread
3 hrs 14 mins
Collections
This recipe was first published December 2016.
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!