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There’s something truly magical about the aroma of freshly baked bread wafting through your home – it’s pure comfort! And guess what? Achieving that dreamy scent and taste is easier than you think with our recipe for homemade white bread, made with JUST 5 basic ingredients!
No fancy bakery skills or endless ingredient lists required here. This recipe is all about bringing that warm, soft, and slightly chewy perfection to your table with minimal fuss. Say goodbye to bland, store-bought loaves and hello to slices so tender, you’ll wonder why you ever bought bread from a bag.
If you find yourself wanting to make bread this white bread recipe is a keeper! It’s perfect for sandwiches, toast, or simply tearing off a warm piece to enjoy with butter. Your kitchen is about to become your favorite bakery!
For more easy bread recipes, try our Sandwich Bread Recipe, Italian Bread, and No Knead Bread.
Why we think you’ll love it:
- Fresh bread: Whether making for your own family or to give to others, nothing beats a loaf of warm, fresh bread.
- Control Over Ingredients: You know exactly what goes into your bread – no unknown preservatives or additives.
- Family favorite. This perfect white bread is incredibly soft, fluffy, and tender. Enjoy a warm slice with butter or use it to make a savory sandwich.
White Bread Ingredients and Substitutions
Bread Loaf
- 2¼ cups warm water (110–115°F)
- 2¼ teaspoons rapid rise yeast (1 packet) aka instant yeast– Since we bloom the rapid rise yeast in water, you can also use dry active yeast without having to change any steps.
- 3 tablespoons +½ teaspoon sugar, divided
- 5-6 cups bread flour, divided– I prefer bread flour because it makes a chewier bread, but all-purpose flour can be used.
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 tablespoons canola oil– or vegetable oil
Topping
- butter (optional)– more toppings include Jalapeno Jelly, Raspberry or Strawberry Jam, Honey Butter, Cinnamon Butter, peanut butter, or Nutella
How to Make White Bread
- YEAST. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and ½ teaspoon sugar in warm water. Let it stand until bubbles form on the surface. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar, salt, and 3 cups of flour.
- DOUGH. Stir oil into the yeast mixture, then pour into the flour mixture and beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, to form a soft dough. (Having the oil in the bread acts as a source of fat and keeps the bread moist for longer, rather than having it dry out quickly.)
- KNEAD. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until it is smooth and elastic about 8-10 minutes. Place the kneaded dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top.
- FIRST RISE. Cover and let the dough rise in a warm place until it has doubled, about 1½ to 2 hours.
- SHAPE. After it has doubled in size, punch the dough down using your fist. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide it in half. Shape each into a loaf. Place, seam side down, in 2 greased 9×5-inch rectangle loaf pans.
- SECOND RISE. Cover and let them rise until doubled, about 1 to 1 ½ hours.
- BAKE. Bake at 375°F until the top of the loaves are golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when tapped, or has reached an internal temperature of 200°F, about 25 to 35 minutes. Remove from pans to a wire rack to cool.
Kristyn’s Recipe Tips
- Homemade bread flour: Add 1 to 1.5 teaspoons of vital wheat gluten to a 1-cup measuring cup, then fill the remainder of the cup with all-purpose flour. Sift the mixture together before using.
- I like to bloom rapid rise yeast in water first to ensure it’s viable. However, you can skip the blooming step and mix it directly with the flour. If you use active dry yeast, it must be bloomed in water.
- You’ll know your bread dough is properly proofed when it has visibly doubled in size and looks puffy. To confirm, gently press with a floured finger; the indent should remain or spring back slowly halfway.
- You can knead using the dough hook attachment on a mixer for 5 to 8 minutes on a low to medium-low speed. Do not overknead!
White Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 2¼ cups warm water (110–115°F)
- 2¼ teaspoons rapid rise yeast (1 packet)
- 3 tablespoons +½ teaspoon sugar, divided
- 5-6 cups bread flour, divided
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
Topping
- butter (optional)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and ½ teaspoon sugar in warm water; let stand until bubbles form on the surface.
- In a large bowl, whisk together 3 cups flour and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar and the salt.
- Stir oil into yeast mixture, then pour into flour mixture and mix until smooth. Stir in remaining flour ½ cup at a time to form a soft dough.
- Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, 8-10 minutes. Place in a large, greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1½-2 hours.
- Punch dough down and place onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half and shape each piece into a loaf.
- Place in two greased 5-x-9-inch loaf pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 1-1½ hours.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Bake loaves for 26-34 minutes, or until golden brown and bread has reached an internal temperature of 200 degrees F (bread should sound hollow when tapped).
- Remove bread from pans and transfer to wire racks to cool. Brush tops with butter while warm.
Video
Notes
- Homemade bread flour: add 1 to 1.5 teaspoons of vital wheat gluten to a 1-cup measuring cup, then fill the remainder of the cup with all-purpose flour. Sift the mixture together before using.
- I like to bloom rapid rise yeast in water first to ensure it’s viable. However, you can skip the blooming step and mix it directly with the flour. If you use active dry yeast, it must be bloomed in water.
- You’ll know your bread dough is properly proofed when it has visibly doubled in size and looks puffy. To confirm, gently press with a floured finger; the indent should remain or spring back slowly halfway.
- You can knead using the dough hook attachment on a mixer for 5 to 8 minutes on a low to medium-low speed. Do not overknead!
- After the first rise, punch down the dough, shape it into a loaf, and place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet in the freezer until solid. Once frozen, remove from the baking sheet, wrap each loaf tightly with plastic wrap, and store in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag for 3-4 months
- When ready to bake, remove the plastic wrap from the frozen loaf and place it in a greased baking pan. Lightly spray one side of a new piece of plastic wrap with cooking spray and place it, sprayed side down, over the pan. Refrigerate overnight to thaw, then move the pan to the counter to finish rising until doubled in size. Once fully risen, remove the plastic wrap and bake as usual.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
The taste of Homemade Bread cannot be matched, and that alone is worth the effort to make it yourself. Not to mention, you get to control exactly what bread ingredients you use and avoid the preservatives found in bagged grocery bread. Using Great Value ingredients, 2 loaves of bread would cost about $1.40 to make, which is less than purchasing 2 loaves of store-bought bread.
You can speed up bread dough rise time by providing a warmer, humid environment.
-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.
-Another idea is to heat up a bowl of water. Cover the bowl of dough and place it on top of the hot water bowl, making sure that the water doesn’t touch the bowl of dough.
Use the windowpane test. The dough has been sufficiently kneaded so that a small piece of dough can be stretched thin enough to see light through it without tearing.
After the first rise, punch down the dough, shape it into a loaf, and place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet in the freezer until solid. Once frozen, remove from the baking sheet, wrap each loaf tightly with plastic wrap, and store in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag for 3-4 months
When ready to bake, remove the plastic wrap from the frozen loaf and place it in a greased baking pan. Lightly spray one side of a new piece of plastic wrap with cooking spray and place it, sprayed side down, over the pan. Refrigerate overnight to thaw, then move the pan to the counter to finish rising until doubled in size. Once fully risen, remove the plastic wrap and bake as usual.
Once the bread has completely cooled, store it in an airtight container, a plastic bread bag, or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or foil for 3-4 days. Store at room temperature. Avoid the fridge as it can cause the bread to go stale faster.
Slice the loaf or freeze it whole. You can either place the bread directly into a freezer-safe Ziploc bag, or wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and then again with aluminum foil before freezing for up to 3 months.
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This recipe was originally published September 2022.
I would like to switch to your recipe from the recipe I have been using. The recipe I was using called for bread flour as well, and I used a mix of that and all-purpose flour. But recently the bread texture was overly chewy. I tried using only all-purpose flour instead, and the bread was not overly chewy, but it was not as soft either. Maybe it was the brand of bread flour I was using – Gold Medal bread flour? What brand of bread flour do you recommend/use in your yeast baking?
Also, would using half water/half milk instead of all water significantly change the bread texture? The same question regarding using butter instead of oil? Thank you for your patience with my questions! I have made your crescent type roll recipe and people really like it!
Great, simple recipe. Never fails or disappoints! Kids love it with butter and jam.
I can’t really rate the recipe. It’s probably pretty good, but the pop up ads were so intrusive that I simply gave up. Too much.
Thanks for the feedback. The ads allow us to provide free content and recipes here on the site for our readers. Thanks for understanding!
I’ve been looking for the perfect white bread recipe and this is it! I can’t believe that I have to use 5 ingredients only. It turned out to be delicious!
I’m not an experienced baker but this bread recipe turned out perfectly! My family couldn’t believe I made it myself! And it was much easier than I imagined it would be. Thank you!
You’re welcome! Way to go!!
Absolutely delicious! So easy to make and is the perfect staple to keep on hand at all times. Thank you!
Your comments say you use active dry yeast but the recipe says rapid rise yeast. Which is it?
You can use either! The rapid rise technically doesn’t have to proof in water first, like the active dry does. But you could use either type for this recipe.
This recipe really is the best I’ve used so far! Fluffy and soft, holds up well, versatile ingredients you can add rolling up stage.
I’m so glad that you enjoy the bread recipe! Thanks for sharing!
If using rapid yeast… do you add the cups of water to the recipe? If you wouldn’t mind adding a note on using rapid yeast that would be great!
Sorry..clarification instant fast acting yeast.
This is the easiest bread recipe I have ever made! I didn’t have bread flour and had to use all-purpose flour and it still turned out great! I will be making this again and again.
I’ve made this bread several times and we enjoy it so much! Thank you for this easy delicious bread recipe.
Can cream cheese be added into this dough?
You know, I have never added cream cheese to this before. So I am not sure how it would turn out. I’m not sure if I would recommend it. If you do try it though, you’ll have to let us know how it turns out!
Question due to physical limitations can I use my stand mixer with bread hook to do initial kneading?
Thank you
This bread is so easy and its so so good made the 2 loaves and my family ate the first loaf as soon as it came out of the oven awesome bread.
Do you happen to have a sourdough receipt? Thanks for the great receipt
I’m so glad you enjoyed the bread!! Yes, I sure do. Here you go: https://lilluna.com/sourdough-bread/
This recipe doesn’t tell you how much yeast to mix in with the ingredients or how much water to mix them with ingredients now you’re supposed to mix in with the sugar and doesn’t give you a specific amount that should be used how am I know how much water to mix the sugar with or how much yeast to put into the recipe without ever doing it or under doing it
Hi Maggie! If you scroll to the bottom of the post (or if you click on “Jump to Recipe”) you will find the recipe card with all the measurements for ingredients and the instructions on how to make the bread. Hope that helps and that you enjoy the bread!
Can’t you just list the ingredients without all the other goggle goop !I just want the ingredients not the whole history7 of bread making.Too many details.Useless babble,I could care less about.
We actually do list them like that too. At the top of the post, there is a button to click that says “jump to recipe”. It’ll skip through the post and take you right to the ingredients. 🙂
I used this to show my daughter in law how to bake bread! Success!
I love how fast and easy this recipe is. My go to when I’m crunched for time!
This bread is sooooo good! And so easy!! 🙌🏽
Great!
My family loves this bread! It’s easy and turns out great every time. Sometimes when I roll it out I’ll add butter and cinnamon and sugar and it makes a great cinnamon swirl bread.
We made this recipe over & over again during Covid when we couldn’t find bread in the stores and it never disappointed! Delicious & this recipe has a permanent home in my recipe folder.
This is the best and easiest recipe I have found for making bread. It has been a lifesaver during the pandemic for sure. Foolproof and turns out amazing every time. This is my new go to recipe. Thanks for making such an intimidating thing so easy to make.
I have question about this recipe. In the directions IT initially states to knead for 8-10 minutes, then in tips it THEN says to not over knead, and recommends to only do so for 1-2 minutes. No sure which one to follow, as they are in the same recipe. That all being said, your recipes are AMAZING and we have had some great success on many of them. Thank you!
Sorry, you will only need to knead for a couple minutes 🙂
Homemade bread is the best! We loved your recipe – it was Perfect, thank you!
Oh my goodness this bread looks amazing! And I love how easy it is to make!!
This bread looks absolutely perfect! Definitely trying this recipe soon. 🙂
I have never been the bread master, but this recipe is very easy, even for beginners. Came out so nice & soft!
Hi, I wish your recipes would show metric measurements as well. A lot of your readers would appreciate that!
A very yummy quick bread that requires hardly no effort. Quick comfort!
Theres nothing like homemade bread! I didn’t have bread flour on hand, but i did have gluten from a different recipe so i just mixed up my own. My kiDs loved it!