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!
would the high sugar make the white sandwiches bread a bit sweet? Can I put less sugar to make it more salty and have the same result?
Hi Davina, This is not a sweet bread recipe, as you might think of something like brioche. You can reduce the sugar if you’d like, but I wouldn’t eliminate it entirely. It’s actually not a lot of sugar spread over two very large loaves.
Can you DOUBLE this recipe ingredient for ingredient? Thanks
Hi Kathy, Yes, you can. Enjoy! :)
Wonderful bread! How do you not eat the whole loaf yourself? I followed the recipe and it turned out perfect. Thank you for adding notes about storing/freezing. I use Red Star yeast and love it.
This is my go to white bread recipe…..always. It also is great as cinnamon bread.
My daughter would like to make this in wheat bread. Suggestions?
Hi Walter, I’ve not tried to convert this to a wheat bread recipe. You could start with substituting just a little of the all-purpose flour, but I also have a very good whole wheat sandwich bread you might like: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/whole-wheat-sandwich-bread-recipe/
Can i use canola oil instead od butter?
I wouldn’t recommend it; I would stick with butter.
This bread was SO good. My husband and I were just in Amsterdam and brought some delicious Dutch cheese home with us. I knew one of the cheeses would make the perfect grilled cheese sandwich, but store-bought bread just wasn’t going to cut it. I’m so glad a quick Google search led me to this recipe! The bread was fantastic, and I’ll definitely be making it again for everyday use.
FYI for those like me who only have an 8.5 inch bread pan – I looked this up and an 8.5 inch pan has 15% less capacity than a 9 inch pan. So, I weighed my dough before rolling it out and removed 15% of the dough, rolling the leftover portion into a couple of rolls to bake along with the bread. The loaf itself turned out perfectly, and the rolls were a great treat straight out of the oven with butter slathered all over them :)
Thanks again!
Could I make 1 loaf by cutting the ingredients in half?
Hi Amanda, Yes, definitely, that will work just fine.
Hi ,Michelle can I have the recipe in half? Because I don’t know how to divide the ingredients. Thanks
I actually signed up on here to leave a review. I NEVER leave reviews for recipes I’ve tried. But I made this bread and this was the first time I got bread RIGHT! The dough was stiff yet workable, it raised well and I actually got 4 loaves instead of just the 2! It tasted delicious and this is the recipe I’d pass down to my generation of family! It’s THAT amazing!
Aw, this is so awesome to hear, thank you for sharing! I just made another batch this week… I always keep at least one loaf sliced in the freezer!
I am on my second Bosch mixer, so I have been baking for a long time. My favorite is to make bread. I grew up with my mother filling an oblong porcelain dish pan (used only for bread making) with several cups of white flour, making a well in the center and adding all the ingredients to be stirred and eventually incorporated into the flour, through vigorous kneading, turning, flipping and forming. Out of the coal stove oven came beautiful loafs of bread, ready for butter. If mom had sweet cream available, a slice of warm bread with cream and sugar was a treat to die for… or so we thought.
I saw this recipe and I loved the fact it calls for butter instead of oil. I made it yesterday and it was wonderful. The texture is very nice, and brushing the loaf with butter before baking seemed to give it a more uniformed beautifully browned crust. And of coarse, brushing with more butter after removing from the oven allows the crust to soften as it cools.
The 400′ oven seems a bit warm, so be aware not to over bake as the crust might get too done. All in all, I have to give it a 5 star rating. The texture, flavor, color and taste deserves it. And by the way, it made wonderful toast this morning.
Hi Joanne, I’m so happy you enjoyed this bread; thank you for the review and sharing the lovely memories if your mom’s bread.
How long dose the bread last once u have done some bread
Hi Jackie, As mentioned at the end of the recipe above, you can keep it at room temperature for up to 4 days, or freeze it for up to 1 month.
I am in the process of making this and my hopes for a successful outcome are slim. I followed the recipe exactly and what I have is a big sticky mess. I added more flour against my better judgement and cannot seem to get to a dough that forms a ball and is ready for rising. I’ve given up and put it into an oiled bowl..guess I’ll just have to wait and see.
OMG…. this is the best white bread recipe I have ever made!!!! Kudos to finding it!!! It was so awesome I have tried your wheat bread and one of your brownie recipes… Home run again!!!!! Thank you so much!!!!!!! You are the bomb!!!
Made this today. Halved the recipe as I didn’t have that much flour. Just finished baking and now it’s cooling down. It looks and smells amazing! Looking forward to tasting the finished product. Only the second time making bread. Will come back and review once tasted.
Is there a video on how to roll your white bread dough? Roll from small end?I’m confused, please help me. Thank you.
Hi Lisa, Unfortunately I don’t have a video on how to make this bread. When you roll it out it will be a rectangle… you want to roll from the end that is shorter so you don’t end up with a ridiculously long roll of dough. I hope that makes sense!
Can you make this bread without a stand mixer?
Hi Lisa, Yes, you can, I’ve done so many times!
Thank you, thank you! This is just the ticket for my bread loving toddler. Simple and delicious. A new go to for sure!
I made this recipe for the first time today! Came out delicious! My husband loves it! ???? I saw that everyone says that nine cups of flour is too much but I actually used them all! The breads came out fluffy and yummy! Thank you for sharing this recipe! ????
This is definitely the best white bread recipe. I have personally only been baking for a couple years now and came across this recipe a couple months ago. I haven’t used a different recipe since. So tall, fluffy, and buttery. Every time it comes out great.
I have baked many loaves of bread in search for the perfect white bread. This recipe by far is the best I’ve ever made. It’s easy, pretty quick as baking bread goes and the texture and density of each loaf is light, fluffy and moist. This recipe WILL be going to the front of my recipe book. Thank you SO much! P.S. If I could give it more than 5 stars, I certainly wouldn’t hesitate.
Hi Ms. Michelle,Looking for White bread reciepe…
I saw this yesterday and i bake it today the Ingredients,timing are just good…its So Good my Employer and Kids are Love it????Thank you so much and Keep it Up God Bless..Jy Nette?
I just made this bread and it is very good however the crust is very hard…came out golden brown though. Did I do something wrong?
Hi Jen, Hmmm it shouldn’t be very hard. Mine is firm when it first comes out of the oven, but once I brush it with butter and it cools, it softens up considerably.
Hi! I know this is an older post, but I just wanted to comment that I did sub about 25% of the AP flour for whole wheat (nothing like realizing you are short an ingredient halfway through!). I was expecting the texture to not be as good, but let me tell you, it was amazing! I can’t wait to try it with all AP flour. Thank you for sharing such a great recipe.
Hi! I bought my friends Kitchenaid mixer a few months ago and I’m finally getting a chance to make some bread with it and I thought I would start here. I am totally not afraid of yeast! First of all the amount of dough was way too much for my mixer, maybe your mixer size should be noted in the recipe? My dough hook kept getting wrapped to the top. I ended up kneading it by hand for the last bit. Second, the bottom rack at 400 burned the bottom of the loaves a bit before they were completely done. Not sure if that’s just my oven or what. The bread taste really great though and it made SO MUCH; with a few tweaks I think it’ll be a go to! Oh and also I totally forgot we only have 1 loaf pan now so I ended up using a square cake pan with some rolls of foil in half haha, not super pretty but it helped!
That looks really amazing. Can’t wait to try it ?
Hi Michelle, I have two questions.
#1. Will you post the ingredient measurements to make one loaf?
(for one loaf, will I use one packet of yeast)
#2. I have bread flour, can I use that in the place of AP flour?
Hi Audrey, To answer your questions:
#1 – Simply divide the rest of the ingredients in half to make one loaf of bread using one packet of yeast.
#2 – While you could use bread flour, the resulting loaf will be heavier and dense. I think all-purpose is better for this type of sandwich bread.
I have been making this bread for about a month or so, about 2 ddozen loaves (and counting ). It is without a doubt the best white bread I have EVER tasted. Really simple, fun to make. Thanks soooo much for this!
I have been trying different recipes for months (about 6/7) ever since I stopped buying bread and only making it. This is absolutely BY FAR the best recipe for a light fluffy perfect sandwich white bread. Thank you so much!!!! About to make another batch and I never leave comments, but I had to let you know and give you big props!!!!
I love this bread recipe! I have made it several times now and it always turns out great! My hubby and I love to add roughly chopped up roasted garlic to the rectangle right before we roll it up! Awesome to go along with soup for dinner!
I just made this and it is incredible! As soon as I sliced into the still warm loaf, I was in heaven. Light, fluffy, just the right chewiness and not cakey at all (because of the omission of eggs, I suppose). It’s perfect! I’m thinking it would make a great sweet dough for cinnamon rolls or cinnamon swirl bread with the addition of a little more sugar. Have you experimented with either? I’ve been searching for the perfect cinnamon roll recipe for years- I prefer mine without eggs- and am hoping this could be the one!
Hi Melissa, Go awesome to hear you love the bread! I just made another batch yesterday :) I haven’t tried cinnamon rolls or cinnamon swirl bread, though both sound amazing! If you give it a try, let me know!