My Favorite White Bread Recipe
This is a classic white bread recipe, and so easy! The loaves bake up incredibly tall, soft and fluffy… the perfect white bread!
Are you a bread fanatic? Isn’t there something fantastic about a great piece of bread? Whether you’re making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, grilled cheese, a big sandwich piled high with fixings, or simply slathering a piece with butter… I’ve always found it to be great comfort food.
While I’ve made quite a bit of homemade bread in the past, we’ve really cut back on carbs significantly, and have pretty much nixed sandwiches from our diet, so I haven’t been buying or making any for the last six months or so. However, Joseph would eat grilled cheese and some other things with bread (depending on the day – we’ve hit the picky toddler stage!), but once we found out about his allergies, anything store-bought was pretty much out of the question (why does bread need soybean oil?!). Luckily, he was cleared of his wheat allergy, but we’re avoiding soy, so homemade it was! I had a previous favorite white bread recipe, but had this recipe bookmarked for AGES, so I decided to finally try it. I’m so glad that I did because…
Best. Bread. Ever.
There are so many reasons you need to hurry up and make this bread immediately:
- It comes together incredibly quickly for a yeast recipe requiring two rises. In about 2 hours you’ll be smelling fresh bread wafting from your oven.
- These are the largest loaves of a simple white bread I’ve ever seen! I’ve made too many disappointing loaves of bread that have turned out short and squat, especially those made in a 9-inch pan (p.s. these are my very favorite loaf pans!). However, these are incredibly tall, full loaves – beauties!
- I was surprised at how incredibly light, fluffy and soft this bread was given that there isn’t any milk in the recipe, just water (thanks butter!). It’s honestly the perfect texture.
I was honestly blown away when I made it, my husband was as equally thrilled, and much to my delight, Joseph was a huge fan too! This makes phenomenal peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, awesome grilled cheese, and I have eaten way more than I should just slathered with butter.
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I should have known how good this would be since it came from someone’s grandma… those are always the BEST recipes!
I’ve made this three times now, and I love that it makes two loaves… I immediately slice and freeze one and leave the other one out for us to eat throughout the week.
The frozen slices reheat exceptionally well – just 20 seconds in the microwave is all they need.
You only need one great white bread recipe and this is it!
Grab that yeast and get baking!
Three years ago: Kentucky Derby Pie Cupcakes
Four years ago: Chile con Queso
Watch How to Make My Favorite White Bread Recipe!
My Favorite White Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 4½ teaspoons instant yeast, two 0.25-ounce packets
- ¾ cup + 2⅔ cups warm water, divided
- ¼ cup (52 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 3 tablespoons (43 g) unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature
- 9 to 10 cups (1200 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons (43 g) unsalted butter, melted, for brushing
Instructions
- In the bowl of a mixer, stir to dissolve the yeast in ¾ cup (180ml) of the warm water, and let sit for 5 minutes. Add the remaining 2⅔ cups (640ml) water, sugar, salt, room temperature butter, and 5 cups of the flour and stir to combine.
- Using a dough hook, mix on low speed and gradually add the remaining flour until the dough is soft and tacky, but not sticky (you may not need to use all of the flour). Continue to knead until a soft ball of dough forms and clears the sides of the bowl, about 7 to 10 minutes.
- Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and turn it over so it is completely coated. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a draft-free place to rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Turn the dough out onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Gently press it all over to remove any air pockets. Divide the dough in two and, working with one piece at a time, gently pat it into a 9x12-inch rectangle. Roll up the rectangle, starting on the short end, into a very tight cylinder. Pinch to seal the seams and the ends, tuck the ends of the roll until the bread, and place into greased 9-inch loaf pans. Cover the loaves loosely and place in a draft-free area until doubled in size, 30 to 45 minutes.
- Position an oven rack on the lowest setting and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Brush the loaves with some of the melted butter. Bake the loaves for 30 to 35 minutes, rotating halfway through, until golden brown (an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 195 degrees F).
- Remove from the oven and immediately brush with more of the melted butter. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the pans and cool completely before slicing. The bread can be stored in an airtight bread bag or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 4 days. It can also be frozen for up to 1 month.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
This is the BEST White Bread ever- I’ve been baking bread forever, usually using whole milk, and eggs. I have to say, this bread beats ALL, the texture is awesome, just shared tuna and tomato sandwich with my spouse-:) -and will become my new favored- thank you !! ( yes loaves – huge!)
I’ve been baking bread since the late 1960s and used many recipes. This is the best recipe for white bread that I have ever used. The recipe was easy to follow (I kneaded the dough by hand with great results – took about 10 to 15 minutes to incorporate the flour – not very difficult) and the bread was the best white bread I have ever made. My wife loved it.
This was very easy to make and really delicious! I will be making this again!
This is the best bread recipe I have found by far. After many failed attempts with other recipes, FINALLY SUCCESS! It also was very helpful to give the internal temp it should be when done. I’m sure I under baked many loaves because they looked done. Thank You!
Worked out great, can you freeze this dough?
It happens EVERY time I come here! I am attracted by the recipes you feature that day, but there is always one lurking close by that catches my eye and just makes me so happy I got to “find” it Your nut rolls are what my grandma called ‘poteetza” (how she pronounced i). I think it’s spelled potica, but doesn’t really matter. We would roll two long sides together toward the middle when we made it. But I’m sure it tastes just as wonderful the way you showed rolling yours. We actually rolled it out on a floured dish towel and pulled up the sides to roll it. I hope many will try it. It’s kinda like ice cream, you’re never the same after you’ve had even one bite. Thank you for all the great stuff you so generously bring to us, Michelle.
Perfect recipe. Super easy and uncomplicated. I did half and made one loaf. The crust actually reminds me somewhat of pastry crust. Delicious. Thank you!
i need a recipe for 50kg flour to make white bread in commercial quantity.
i will appreciate assistance.
i want to kick start a small bread baking business
If you’re starting your own bread baking business you should know how to do the math for 50kg of flour. Just saying.
change to metric, you want to end up with 50kg flour used. So, 50 divided by 1.13kg in the recipe = 44. and some small change. Multiply all the ingredient quantities by 44. Just remember, there was 2 loaves from the original quantities, so 2×44=88 loaves. Are you ready for that number of loaves in your commercial oven?
Very easy and fail proof. I forgot to split recipe for only one loaf, since I have only one pan. So I turned the other half into bread rolls. Came out really delicious… Very crunchy crust with baguette-soft interior. Waiting for the main loaf to cool so I can slice it.
This is the best white bread ever. I have been experimenting with yeast breads with not a lot of luck. Followed this recipe exactly and used instant yeast. 9 cups of flour was perfect for me. I ended up with 2 perfect loaves of bread. They sliced perfectly after they were cooled for a couple of hours, nice thin slices to make delicious sandwiches. This will be my go to recipe for sandwich bread, yummy!
This recipe is a keeper.
Looks Amazing! Definitely I will try it :)
This is the best white bread recipeI have ever tried. Tastes just like my mom used to make when I was little. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Looks so good!! Could I use half spelt flour?
You mean “flc” – half spelt “flour” lol. (Just kidding.) Spelt flour from what I see seems to be more water absorbent so you might like to use a little less liquid in the mix (or more flour), looks like it may work, make half the amount then you’re not wasting more ingredients than you need. Might be worth using less salt too as salt slows down a rise, and I think (not sure) spelt flour has less gluten in which case it needs less salt; try half the salt in the recipe you’d normally use and see what happens.
super easy and delicious!
Fantastic, best recipe for bread i’ve come across. Made as per recipe listed; came out as per the stock picutre. Tasty bread, nice even holes in the bread, light, slices well, toasts well. Can’t fault it. It’s the only recipe i’ll use now for bread loaves. The butter makes all the difference of course to the softer loaf.
Could I use almond flour for this recipe? It was delicious!
Could I use bread flour instead of all purpose? I accidentally bought 2, 5 pound bags of bread flour for my holiday baking
and am looking for a way to use it up.
You should use bread flour for bread making, ideally “very strong” rather than “strong” – the stronger the more gluten so the better the loaf as it traps the air made from the yeast fermenting. Different flours are designed for different tasks, eg biscuits for all-purpose and very strong bread flour for bread loaves and buns. The only difference really is how fine the granules are. It’s like sugar – the difference between icing (confectioners) sugar and granulated is the size of the grains, sugar is the same – but you wouldn’t use icing sugar in your tea, yes?
This recipe makes a great bread for any meal
I’ve been making this recipe every week for the last month. It is so easy and turns out better each time. I split the recipe in half and use active dry yeast with no troubles. Thank you for another great recipe!
First time to make bread in like years. Made this recipe last week and loved the texture and flavor. I just made another loaf. It is my go to bread recipe now. Thank you.
Question please… When you say “rotating halfway through” in the baking process, exactly what do you mean? Inverting the dough or ?? Thanks.
Spin the loaf pans 180 degrees horizontally.
Rotate the loaf pans 180 degrees horizontally.
Excellent and easy bread recipe! I used 9.5c flour and followed the recipe exactly. We are looking forward to toast in the morning with it :) Just a reminder to the people tantruming in the comments, yeast breads can be finicky and there’s often a bit of trial and error involved to learn what the yeast should look like after it’s proofed, where/how to get your dough to rise, when to pull it out of the oven, etc. Just try again!
I made 1 loaf of this yesterday and thought it had great taste and a nice soft texture. It was also quite easy to make. I brought in the leftover loaf to work and my coworker Wanda tried a sample toasted with butter and absolutely loved it. She said it reminded her of bread her mother made, which is a big compliment because her mother is an awesome cook. At 94 she still makes homemade perogi, the best I’ve ever tasted.
I stopped buying store bought bread for my family 8 months ago, and I regularly make this for our family of 7. I’ve tried several white sandwich bread recipes, and this is my favorite.
I make this bread regularly for my family of 7, and we love it! I’ve tried other recipes, but this has been my favorite.
I made this bread this evening and totally forgot the butter in the dough! I started to toss it but decided to go ahead and bake it. Delicious. I went ahead and made the dough again with the butter. It’s cooking now but my daughter said we should never buy bread again. So easy. So good! Thanks!
So nice to hear! I can’t do any dairy and was scrolling through all these comments seeing if it could be done without the butter. Thanks for leaving your comment.
Baked bread to exact specifications (I thought). Bread came out a dense hard rock. Then realized the recipe called for a certain type of yeast, the directions then say
“You can substitute active dry yeast for the instant yeast. Ensure that it is indeed activated in step #1 before continuing, and note that the rise times will be slightly longer.” Yeah, a small fact I didn’t realize until it was too late. Bread was the complete opposite of fluffy. I literally could have used these loaves as door stops. I will not be making again.
Since it was your error of not reading the directions in its entirety, it’s unfair to give it 1 star without trying it again as specified. I’ve made this bread several times now and it’s amazing.
Yeah do it the right way…..before you judge
“Cooked my steak in the microwave instead of the oven as specified, 1 star will not cook again!”
Brushing butter on before putting it in the oven resulted in a very dark crust. Very disappointing.
I love this bread recipe and have made 4 batches in the last week. I made 4 mini loaves from each batch and even tried s cinnamon swirl. Followed it precisely and they turned out perfect every time. I baked the smaller loaves for 25 minutes at 350. Thank you!
Has anyone tried this with gluten free flour?
I liked the recipe for making bread.