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!
Soooo goood! My mom and dad loved it, and when it came right out of the oven, i brushed it with butter and I couldn’t wait and I was sitting in my kitchen eating 3 slices by myself ahahahah. Highly recommend! Thank you so much.
This is absolutely fantastic!1 thank you for such a delicious and easy recipe!!!
I have tried to make white bread many times and with many different recipes all ways they turned out heave and not at all white bread like. This is the first time and first recipe that I was successful in baking true white bread. Really simple and very tasty recipe.
I have never had luck making bread, my grandma said my hands were too cold, but I halved this recipe and the result was a fantastic, delicious loaf of bread. I didn’t get a picture as it disappeared too fast so next I have to make the full recipe for 2 loaves. Thank you so much
Thanks for sharing that you halved it! Came here to ask if it was possible!
This made way more dough than I was expecting- in addition to filling 2 standard loaf pans, i made 6 hamburgers and 8 cinnamon rolls. Good flavor, nice and crusty on the outside of the loaves, and only used 9 cups of flour.
Oh my goodness…my first adventure in baking with yeast was your wonderful soft pretzel recipe, which was brilliant and which I’ve made several times including SuperBowl Sunday. Huge hit!
So I decided to try your favorite bread recipe. I think that my Kitchenaid must be smaller than yours because while the dough was kneading, it came up and over the dough hook. Crazy! After I finally got everybody back in the bowl and kneaded, risen, divided, panned, re-risen and baked, I can say unequivocally, that it is amazing! It is such a great texture, dense but light, easy to cut into thin slices, and wonderful toasted as well as used for sandwiches, or just buttered and enjoyed. And now I’m so happy I have another frozen loaf !
So Michelle, thank you and I agree…Best. Bread. Ever.
Hi Michelle,Tried your bread recipe today…Turned out to be super soft and tastey.Glad i tried :)
This is the easiest and best bread recipe I found in a long time. Easy to make variations as well. I added finely diced peppers and spice to the recipe and made a delicious bread for soups.
Im going to stay making bread for the first tobe. My question is do I need to use bleached or unbleached flour? Witch works best?
Hi Robin, Either one will work just fine here. I personally use King Arthur Flour Unbleached All-Purpose Flour for this bread.
This is hands down better than my other white bread recipe! Previous recipes resulted in a flaky crumb that would fall apart with a hearty sandwich. This holds up like any store bought brand without all the nasty additives. I wouldn’t call this light and fluffy though. We used 9 cups of flour and my husband and I both agreed it feels dense. But that said, a slice is substantial, will leave you satisfied, and feeling way better with the simple ingredients used. This one is a keeper!
My favourite bread recipe! My wife can’t believe her husband knows how to make bread. Lol we’ve followed this recipe a half dozen time or more. Super easy, light, great crust. It’s perfect. If you f. It up, you didn’t follow the directions. Definitely you’re fault.
I was always afraid of making bread or anything with a dough. This recipe was the first time I made bread. It was very easy, delicious and I love the fact that I can make a bread for my kids without many harmful ingredients. Everyone loved it. I make two and freeze one for the following week.
I love this recipe. It is so simple and so very good. Thank you for this recipe. It’s a keeper
I have made this bread many times. It is delicious and so easy. My question is- how do I know when I have kneaded dough long enough? I would like to become more knowledgeable in the art of bread making but I struggle with the texture being different each time I bake bread or rolls.
Hi Dee, The texture might need to be different each time – different bread recipes will require different hydration. For example, French bread will be a stiffer, drier dough than say a brioche, which is enriched with butter and eggs. Meanwhile, a ciabatta will be quite wet.
Best white recipe. I gave a piece of it to my mother and she said I out did myself.
Can you use wheat flour instead of white flour with the same results?
I made this recipe and I have to admit it was the best bread homemade that I have ever made. people has to realize you have to measure exact. I actually had to use the entire 10 cups of flour.I did not think I would use that much,but I did. The bread came out looking exactly like your photos. So soft. I bought a bread machine and was going to use it just to mix the dough,but I use to make bread by hand and no recipe was as nice as this one. I tasted it warm and WOW! Was I ever amazed at the softness even after it cooled and how light the slice and the entire loaf was. I mixed it all by hand and mixer with the bread beaters. Measured exact and substituted nothing and I am won over with this recipe and I cannot thank the person who posted it on line enough.All other recipes were too heavy, dry and would break up when I made a sandwich. The bread was hard around the edges and this recipe is soft all around. Simple to make.
Beat bread recipe ever!
Is rapid rise yeast (says ‘ideal for bread machines’ on the jar) the same as instant yeast? I bought it in error thinking I was buying Active Dry Yeast several weeks ago, only to be sorely disappointed when my pizza dough didn’t turn out right.
Yes, that is the same as instant yeast!
This recipe calls for too much flour in my opinion. It overwhelmed my KitchenAid Artisan mixer. The bread was ginormous after it was baked. The bread tastes great, but is denser than I would like. I’ll give it another try with less flour.
Hi, I have active dry yeast instead. Would it be the same amount if I substitute it? Also how much longer would the rise times be? Sorry, new bread baker here!
Same amount. The rising time may be longer…just have to watch. I used active dry. Good luck and happy baking!
Will try this again…I used active dry…it is the same amount. The rising time may be longer, you just have to watch it. Good luck and happy baking!!!!
Yes, same amount of yeast. It will likely need longer than the times listed above to rise, but everything else should remain the same. Enjoy!
Thank you! Even at a higher elevation (4,000 ft) this worked really well. I did start with good, fresh yeast. And great flour! Turned out great.
Best bread I’ve ever made. Not even kidding. I halved the recipe and added 3/4 cup of my sourdough starter and had enough dough to make a 13 inch Pain De Mie loaf. It’s quite delicious and I can’t wait til morning to make French toast with it.
I honestly don’t understand why more people haven’t given this recipe 5 stars this is the best bread recipe I’ve ever tried.
I have been making this recipe for a year now and I LOVE it! We use bread flour instead of all-purpose and it’s a lot lighter. I also added 4 tablespoons of honey to the mixture and it has become my husband’s favorite bread.!
I tried making this read repeatedly. It’s too dense for me. I prefer a lighter, fluffier white bread and all my tricks to keep it from becoming touch failed.
If the author says it’s light, where did you go wrong.
made this bread several times and always came out oerfect , this time i turned it into cheese and herb buns and they are …. u guessed it , perfect thanks for this recipie.👍
I’ve made this twice. The first time it didn’t bake and was soft and sought for the part of the bread in the pan. I had to bake it for 45 the next time. Most recipes call for a longer bake for thick loaves than 30 minutes. Do you use a convection oven? My oven usually pairs with the lower end ofsuggested bake times so this is a puzzle to me.
Hi Mark, I use a conventional oven for all of my baking.
LOVE this bread!! I found that even when I cut the recipe in half, I can still get 2 smaller loaves. This was the first bread I’ve ever attempted, and it will be the last!! My question is this.. if I wanted to make a loaf and then use the remainder of the dough for dinner rolls or cinnamon rolls.. something?.. is that possible? My husband loves the idea of fresh bread for his lunches, but I’m worried I’ll accumulate too much bread in the freezer!!
I’m wondering this too! When I make the bread, the crust can be pretty crunchy, so i feel it wouldn’t be the best for cinnamon rolls… maybe dinner rolls though?
Yes, yes you can definitely do that! I know there are a lot of comments on this recipe, but tons of people have adapted it for dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, cinnamon raisin bread, etc.
I have baked this bread two times. It is delicious. The best tasting bread ever. I have one problem. Both times of made it, the dough fell over the side of the 9 inch pan and the result was a somewhat flat top loaf with side saddles. How can I avoid this in the future?
Don’t let your dough rise so high…
Flopping over often happens when your dough has too much moisture. You need a tight knead so it holds together as it rises vs. sloughing over the pan. Meaning it will be drier and take more muscles to knead and perhaps more flour. But you should be able to achieve a beautiful rise!
Ditto the above commenters (thank you!) – you definitely want a good rise, but you don’t want it to go too far. This has happened to me a few times when babies have kept me from getting to the dough in the right amount of time ;-)
Wow–yep, best bread recipe out there. My fiance went nuts over this. Followed your recipe exactly, and I have never had a loaf of bread turn out this great. Thank you so much for your clear, detailed instructions!
Michelle, I can’t tell you how many times I have made this bread since I found your recipe at the beginning of the year. Our family just loves it. I just tried it in our convection oven for the first time, and it is just as good! I don’t know if this will be useful for anyone else, but it baked great in my Instant Omni Plus at 375F for 27 minutes with the rack in the lowest position. Thanks again!
The first time I made it I don’t think I kneaded the dough long enough but it still came out great and made 2 huge loafs. I’m making it again and this time I kneaded the dough for 10 minutes, let it rise a full hour for the second rising and split it into 3 loafs. AMAZING!!!!!
I wasn’t very happy with the loafs I did! I did 2c of one flour then the rest of the flour was bread flour from costco so I think next time I will use just one flour other than that I followed the recipe exactly and it came out not real airy and kinda heavy. like my bread machine used to do! I’m looking for a sandwich bread that’s got little airy spots like good bread has! Anyway I think I’m going to let it rise the first time for 2 hours instead one 1 hour and when I separate the one. I’m going to let it rise for an hour instead of 30 min. I also live at 5,000 ft elevation I know ur supposed to do something but not sure I will refresh my review after I do all that. Thanx