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!
I have made this bread twice now. The instructions are easy to follow and the bread turns out divine. So good. Glad I stumbled on to this ! Thanks
I made This bread again today yard the loaves came out huge. Do you have any suggestions as to what might have gone wrong?
Hi Denice! It could have just been the amount of time left to rise; it can vary from day to day based on the temperature in my kitchen. Sometimes after 30 minutes they still have a ways to go, and other times they’re massive after the same amount of time. The recipe does yield fairly large loaves, though.
Just made this. First time ever making bread. It came out amazing!
it looks like the recipe you wrote is very convincing and I need to try to follow it at home. thank you for writing this.
is it possible to replace water with white milk?
I think you could try the milk substitute.
Love this recipe.
I ended up splitting the dough at the end into 3 instead of 2, and still made 3 very nicely sized loaves.
I gotta say, though, mixing all that by hand is a lot of work.
I can I use whole wheat flour instead of white flour? Also if I can use whole wheat flour, will it be the same amount to be used in the recipe?
Thanks, Carolyn
Hi Carolyn, I would start by substituting 1/4 of the all purpose flour with the whole wheat, and not go further than 50/50 to maintain the texture of the bread.
This is some of the best bread I’ve made in a long time! 9 cups of flour seemed like a lot ,but flour is so cheap I figured I’d take my chances (I only needed about 8 and then added it by the spoonful until it was the consistency described in the recipe,in all about 8.5 cups) and it was well worth it . Tall perfect loaves , and a simple to follow recipe with very few ingredients .
I just made these and I love the taste and texture. So much better than the bread machine.
I do have a question, can you use bread flour in of AP?
Since it was my first time making it I followed your recipe
Hi Annette, Bread flour would make this bread considerably heavier and denser vs. light and fluffy. You can try it, but know the texture will be altered.
Love your art
Great bread recipie!
I’m making this for the second time, love the taste and structure.. But I’m just curious.. Are the measurements listed here correct? This time and last I’ve had to add way more flour.. If I had to guess, 1.5 – 2 cups extra… Just to get it to come together..
Hi Rose, I’ve never had to use that much more flour, but if you are in a particularly humid area it’s possible. Most important thing is to go by visual cues and touch!
Yesterday my daugther-in-law and I made a batch of this bread. It is delicious fresh from the oven, we had toasted blt’s for lunch and enjoyed them and just grabbing a slice to munch on was scrumptous as well.
I’ve recently taken up bread baking in an effort to try to buy less store-bought foods for my family. I had found an “okay” recipe a couple weeks ago, but I found it very dense and was only really good straight out of the oven or toasted/warmed up. When my husband asked me to bake some bread to bring to the moose hunt this week, I knew I had to find a better recipe since I knew they wouldn’t be eating the loaf until a day or two after it was baked.
Thank goodness I came across this recipe! It was incredibly easy to put together with my Kitchen Aid mixer, rise times were quick, and best of all…the bread is soooo fluffy and stays soft and fresh for a few days after it’s baked (if you can keep it from getting eaten before then!). Thanks so much for my new go-to bread recipe!! Can’t wait to try it with cinnamon/raisins or maybe even some cheese ;)
I made this bread and it was AWESOME. I’m going to try rolling cheese into one of the loaves this weekend and cinnamon/sugar/butter into the other :).
i love the bread i put in soughdough and 1/4 cup of honey for my suger it was great ty
This is the best recipe I’ve found that I have been successful multiple times with. I have even made rolls with it and and ive also done 50/50 white and whole wheat flour and it comes out great every time.
Hi!
I made the recipe today. Beautiful dough and gorgeous delicious tasting bread.
I did substitute two cups of spelt flour and used honey instead of sugar.
Love your recipes. This will be my go to white bread recipe.
Happy Fall Baking!!!
Rose 🌹
This recipe is amazing! I made a vegan version a few days ago and haven’t stopped snacking on it. Here is the post I wrote about it:
https://panthersandpeonies.com/simple-white-sandwich-bread-vegan/
Thank you so much for the recipe!
Hi Brittany, Thanks so much for stopping back to share a review and your link to the vegan version!
OMG THIS CAME OUT SO GOOD!!! I have had so many troubles trying to bake a good loaf of bread. I’ve been through so many recipes only to have them all fall flat and hard like little bricks!
This is delicious. I used dairy free butter, (son has dairy allergy ) and it still came out great! 🎉 💃🏼 I am thrilled! 😁
What kind of dairy free butter did you use?
Thank you very much your recipe come out just wonderful. I can believe how delicious and easy to prepare. Thank you.
Hi Michelle. This bread looks fantastic, and would love to try and make it. Just a quick question – I’m in the UK, and when you say ‘all purpose flour’, is that plain flour (ie no raising agent) or bread flour? (called strong flour here). Would be grateful if you could advise further. Thanks!
Hi Ruth, All-purpose flour would be the same as plain flour. I hope you enjoy the bread!
I discovered that substituting three cups of unflavored mashed potato flakes gives this bread an even better taste and texture.
Thanks for the tip, Jason!
3 cups of potato flakes???
your recipe – My Favorite White Bread Recipe is wonderfully good!! Made it 3 days ago, froze one loaf and have been eating the other loaf. Very easy to make and just so light and tasty! I am going to make this again and again. Would like to try it with some whole wheat flour.
I’m so thrilled you’re enjoying it Carol, thanks so much for stopping back to leave a review!
This is the absolute best bread I’ve ever made! Fluffy, chewey, great crust, and flavor.
I made the bread.last noght.boy was it yummy.we had with .olive garden soup.zuppa.yum.yum.
OMG!!!! This bread was heavenly. Thank you for sharing the recipe
Can you substitute some wheat flour for some of the white flour?
Hi Phil, I haven’t done it, but I would start with a small percentage (25%) and then go from there based on your results.
Bread came our excellent. Great flavor. Thank you for sharing!!
This recipe is amazingly user friendly! I mixed by hand and everything came together easily. I have the recipe first time round to make 1 loaf and it was so popular I made the full amount of dough second time round and made 1 loaf and some slider buns and everything was gone in a day. Definitely a winner!
*halved!
I’ve been baking bread all my life, but have lately had a lot of failures. This recipe was excellent! I followed it exactly EXCEPT I replace about 3.5 cups of white flour with whole wheat. It turned out lovely, still rose well and is a nice soft consistency – not heavy at all. Thanks for helping me get my bread-baking groove back!
I have been making my own bread for close to 60 years using a similar recipe. I
Have never owned a stand mixer and use the old kneading method. Works just fine.