Fresh homemade white bread is one of my favorite things to make and eat. There is something very comforting about how it makes the house smell and then slicing into a warm loaf of bread and slathering butter and jam on it. Yummy!
This amazing white bread recipe is the perfect bread for sandwiches, french toast, grilled cheese, or any of your bread needs. It is very easy to make with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.
If I can do it, you can do it, let’s get baking!
For more yummy bread recipes click here.
My favorite homemade white bread recipe ingredients
First, in order to make this delicious white bread recipe, you will need the following 6 total ingredients. Chances are you already have them in your house. You will need:
- Water – Whenever baking bread, rolls, etc. I recommend using filtered water unless your tap water tastes really good. Here in Arizona, my tap water is horrible, so I always use filtered water when baking homemade bread and cooking.
- Active dry yeast – I usually use active dry yeast. You can use rapid-rise yeast as well if you like. With that said regardless of the yeast that you use I recommend activating it first in the warm liquid. This will ensure the yeast is good.
- White granulated sugar – Need a bit of sugar to get the taste just right. You can adjust the amount of sugar if you like. But I encourage you to make it this way first then adjust the next time you make it.
- Oil – I use canola or vegetable oil with this homemade white bread recipe, but you can use a variety of other oils. No need to worry about the smoke point of the oil.
- Bread flour – While you can use all-purpose (plain) flour the very best bread use bread flour. Bread flour allows for a better-shaped bread as well as a lighter and chewier bread. With that said I have made it with all-purpose flour as well and it still turns out great.
- Salt – Can’t forget the salt. Make sure to use table salt. It will add balance to the flavor as well as enhance the flavor of the other ingredients.
Tools
For the tools you will need the following:
- Wooden spoon
- Bowls
- 9×5 inch bread pan – You can use two smaller bread loaf pans as well.
- Whisk
- Fork
- Stand mixer – Only if you are not going to hand knead the dough. I always hand knead my dough and don’t use a mixer.
Step 2: How to make amazing soft white bread at home
Once we have all the ingredients gathered let’s get our yeast started. Take your water and heat it up in the microwave for about 40 seconds. We want the temperature to be between 105 degrees F and 115 degrees F. (40-46 C)
You can also heat the water in a pot on a burner if you do not want to use a micrwoave.
Then add about 1 tsp. of sugar to the warm water followed by the active dry yeast. Use a fork and mix it up a little bit. Then let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes until it gets nice and foamy.
If it does not get foamy after 10 minutes, you will need to start over. It means the yeast was bad/old, or the water was too hot or too cold.
Pour the yeast mixture into a large bowl, then add the oil and sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon.
Next, add the salt to the bread flour. You can use all-purpose flour if you like, however, the bread will come out a little denser than if you use bread flour.
With that said, the bread still tastes super yummy with all-purpose flour. Which is another reason why I love this homemade bread recipe so much.
Mix the salt and flour together with a whisk. Then add the flour about a 3rd at a time to the other ingredients, stirring really well with a wooden spoon, or you can use a stand mixer with a dough hook. Make sure to leave about 1/4 cup of flour remaining and put that on the counter/table.
At this point, the dough should be forming and a little bit sticky. Go ahead and pour it onto the tabletop or counter.
Step 3: Knead that homemade white bread dough
Now let’s knead the dough for 7 to 8 minutes until it gets nice and smooth. The way I knead is I fold the dough over on itself towards me and then push it down and out away from me to stretch it with the palm of my hand.
Then turn the dough a quarter turn and then push down again, then turn, etc. After 7 to 8 minutes the dough will be smooth, and when you poke it, it will spring back.
Most likely you will have some flour left over.
NOTE: If you are using a stand mixer with a dough hook to knead your homemade bread dough, only knead it for 4 to 5 minutes, not 7 or 8.
It is important to not add all the flour at once. Add it gradually, even if using a stand mixer. It is important to not add too much flour, just enough so the dough isn’t sticky. Sometimes you will have a bit more left, and other times you will have a bit less flour left.
Now take about 1 tsp. or two of oil and lightly cover the inside of a large bowl. Then add the dough and turn it over so it gets all coated with oil.
Next, add a damp cloth over the top and set the dough in a warm place to rise for 1 to 2 hours until the dough doubles in size or if you have a cool dough proofer you can use that. The damp cloth will help prevent the dough from drying out.
If you want to see my dough proofer review video you can find it here. Dough proofers are awesome I am glad I have mine and use it all the time.
Step 4: Time to bake that homemade white bread
After the dough has risen pour the dough out onto the counter and knead the dough again for about 15 to 20 seconds.
Next, roll, stretch, and shape the bread into a loaf.
Place the dough loaf into a greased 9×5 inch bread pan and cover again with a damp cloth or place it in your dough proofer, and let it rise for another hour to 1.5 hours. The top of the dough should rise above the walls of the bread pan.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (176C) Place the dough in the oven on the middle rack and bake for 30 minutes. After 25 minutes check the bread, if the top is getting too brown, put a piece of foil on top of it.
Remove from the oven and let the homemade bread cool for about 5 minutes in the pan, then take it out of the pan and let it rest on a wire rack to cool completely.
One of the best smells ever is the smell of homemade bread that has just come out of the oven, my stomach growled right now just thinking about it.
Next, it is finally time to slice into that bread!
Best Ways to Serve White Bread
You can use it for sandwiches like grilled cheese, eat it plain, use it for French toast, or however else you want to use it.
It winds up being super soft and fluffy, and super yummy! Enjoy!
For more bread recipes make sure to check them out here.
How do I store homemade white bread?
Homemade white bread is best stored at room temperature in a cool dry place. I usually place mine in a plastic bag or ziplock bag. It will last 2 to 3 days at room temperature. You can also store it in the refrigerator for about a week or put it in the freezer for a few months.
NOTE: Keep in mind, homemade bread does not contain that many preservatives so it will have a shorter shelf-life than store-bought bread.
Can I double this homemade white bread recipe? Do I need to change anything?
Yes! You can easily double the recipe. Double all the ingredients except for the yeast. You only need an additional 1 tsp of yeast. Or if you are able to let the dough proof longer you can get away with the same amount of yeast even.
Here are a few other recipes you may like:
Amazing Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Amazing Homemade White Bread Recipe
Equipment
- Wooden spoon
- Bowls
- 9×5 inch bread pan
- Whisk
- Fork
Ingredients
- 1 cup of water 235ml
- 2 1/4 tsp. of active dry yeast 6.5g
- 1/3 cup of granulated sugar 66g
- 2 Tbsp. of Canola or Vegetable oil 30ml
- 3 cups of Bread Flour you can use all-purpose (380)
- 3/4 tsp. of salt 4g
Instructions
- First let's get our yeast started. Take your water and heat it up in the microwave for about 40 seconds. We want the temperature to be between 105 degrees F and 115 degrees F. (40-46 C) Then we will add about 1 tsp. of our sugar to the warm water. Next add your active dry yeast. Use a fork and mix it up a little bit. Then let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes until it gets nice and foamy.
- Now let's pour the yeast mixture into a large bowl, then add our oil and our sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon.
- Next we take our salt and add it to our bread flour. You can use all-purpose flour if you like, however the bread will come out a little more dense then if you use bread flour. Mix the salt and flour together with a whisk. Then add the flour about a 3rd at a time to the other ingredients, stirring really well with a wooden spoon, or you can use a stand mixer with dough hook. Make sure to leave about 1/4 cup of flour remaining and put that on the counter/table. At this point the dough should be forming and a little bit sticky.
- Knead the dough for 8 minutes until it gets nice and smooth. After 8 minutes the dough will be smooth, and when you poke it, it will spring back.It is important to not add all the flour at once. Add it gradually, even if using a stand mixer. We don't want to add too much flour. Sometimes you will have a bit more left, and other times you will have a bit less flour left.
- Now we take about 1 tsp. or two of oil and grease a large bowl. Then add the dough and and turn it over so it gets all coated with oil. Next add a damp cloth over the top and set the dough in a warm place to rise for 1 to 2 hours until the dough doubles in size.
- After the dough has risen pour the dough out onto the counter and knead the dough again for about 15 to 20 seconds. Next we do a little bit of rolling and stretching and shaping until our dough looks like a loaf. Now place the dough loaf into a greased 9×5 inch bread pan and cover again with our damp cloth, and let it rise for another hour to 1.5 hours. We want the top of the dough to rise above the walls of the bread pan.
- Now we heat the oven to 350 degrees F. (176C) Place the dough in the oven on the middle rack and bake for 30 minutes. After 25 minutes check the bread, if the top is getting too brown, put a piece of foil on top of it.
- Now after coming out of the oven, let the bread cool for about 5 minutes in the pan, then take it out of the pan and let it rest on a wire rack to cool completely. Next it is finally time to slice into that bread! It winds up being super soft and fluffy, and super yummy! Enjoy!
Notes
Do you like the recipe? Please give it a rating and comment down below, I really appreciate it. If you make it tag me on Instagram @inthekitchenwithmatt. Also, sign up for the newsletter so you won’t miss out on any of my new posts and recipes.
Check out my other website 101 Creative Dates for fun date ideas. Food and dating go hand in hand!
Rose beautifully and taste so good! Great recipe!!
So glad you gave this bread recipe a try and liked it!!
How do I make bread that doesn’t take all day.
To make really good bread, it takes time. Use quick rise or rapid rise yeast that will help on the rise times and shave a few hours off. You can also just try letting it rise only once. After kneading the dough, shape the loaves and put it in the pans and let it rise, instead of letting it rise first in the bowl. Then bake.
Hello! First time making your bread recipe! My 3 year old granddaughter helped me knead it and she had fun 😁! Anyways I don’t have a lot of time today for the bread to rise twice. So i saw this response of yours. It is in the pan for the first rise and I am hoping it comes out good. I will come back and let you know how it goes.
Awesome!! Yes please do let me know how it goes 🙂
AMAZING! The perfect sweetness level. Thank you for sharing your recipe with us!
So glad you tried this homemade bread and liked it!! You are so very welcome!
I love how straightforward the instructions are, with detailed steps and tips to get that perfect, soft loaf. The video tutorial is especially helpful for beginners, making it easy to follow along and see what each stage should look like. I can’t wait to try it out—there’s nothing better than the smell of fresh bread baking at home! Thanks for sharing such a classic recipe in such an accessible way.
Thank you! Glad you like this bread recipe!
I have not tried this yet but I was wondering if switching the water for milk in bread recipes makes a difference? I am not a big bread maker so if this is an odd question, my apologies 🙂
Hi Jo! Milk will effect the crumb a little bit. But generally you can use either and be okay. For this recipe it turns out really good with just water. 🙂
Hi, just to be sure. 3 cups of flour is equivalent to 380 g? My cup has a different measurement so I was unsure about it. Anyway, it’s in the oven now and it looks okay. I just wanted to confirm. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi there, yep 3 American Standard cups of bread flour is right around 380g. But when you are making yeast bread you never dump all the flour in at once. Depending on the climate you may need a little more flour or wind up using a little less.
Making this now, currently baking! Smells Amazing made bread before and this is the most simplest ever. Any suggestions on how to store?
Awesome! I usually just store mine in a ziplock bag and keep it at room temperature and gobble it up within a few days haha. It can be frozen as well. For longer storage, you can keep it in the fridge if not at room temp. But room temp is best, unless you are freezing it.
Delicious and easy!
Thanks Paula! Glad you gave this homemade white bread recipe a try and liked it!
Great recipe! I have been making this bread for a few weeks now! Everyone finds it delicious 😋 I have also followed it to make cinnamon bread!
Glad you tried it and like it and keep making it!
Make it often, easy, and I love it as does everyone who eats it, thank you
Glad you tried it and keep making it, Sherry! You are very welcome!
Hi Matt. Amazing recipe and so easy. I’ve made it a few times already. However, can it be converted into a sweet bread, like a babka or cinnamon swirl bread?
Hello, thank you! Glad you like this homemade white bread recipe. Yes it sure can, you would just add more sugar to it. And add an egg to it. And you can switch out the oil with butter. Those changes will all help transform it into a sweeter style bread.
Thank you so much Matt 🙏😊
You are very welcome!