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!
A very soft, tender bread. Everybody loves it ! I use bread flour instead of AP.
instead of sugar can you use honey?
I haven’t tried it personally, but I think that would work okay!
What kind of salt?
1 tbsp is very different between kosher vs table salt, and beginners who don’t understand percentages won’t know this
I wound up doing 2% by flour weight (24g) which came out to more than a tablespoon of my kosher salt
To add:
the way it is written, it appears that 3/4 cup = 820mL. This is not true.
I highly, highly suggest rewriting this recipe properly, in grams, to prevent confusion like this. Experienced people can adapt, but beginners cannot.
Super delicious! Found I had to add 1-2 Tbl. flour to get the right consistency but that is normal with bread & flour brands IMO. The second time around I added a mixture of ¾ cup light brown sugar packed,1 tablespoon ground cinnamon,4 TBS salted butter melted, and raisins to roll in one loaf, and butter with garlic slices in the second loaf. Both were yum! Baked up perfect in my 1.25 lb USA loaf pans. This recipe is a keeper! Thank you for sharing!
I have made so many white bread recipes and this is by far the best! I proof my yeast for 10 min w/ a small bit of sugar and 106 deg water and I recommend always doing so! This recipe has come out perfect every time I bake it and it’s my family’s and my absolute favorite!! Thank you!
Can you use bread flour instead of all purpose flour?
Yes; the bread will be a little bit denser, but it will still work!
Are you suppose to put the butter in to making the bread?
I have made this bread in the past turned out great this time i am struggling it is awful. Has the recipe been changed in any wayin the last few years?
Hi Robin, The recipe has not changed at all. Yes, you should include the cubed room temperature butter. Note that the melted butter at the end of the recipe is JUST for brushing on the loaves.
Sorry, but the loaves rose about half what I expected, and really dense. It was an 80-degree day and I used newly purchased Pateliere yeast.
I’m going to try rescipe
Can you explain where the 820 ml of water goes to
This is my go to white bread recipe. Perfect every time❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Terrible description.. where’s the 820 mL going to?
I have bad arthritis n my hands. Can this be made in a bread machine? If so, how? Thanks
what makes a tough crust on bread sometimes
I made this recipe today but I cut it in half as I only wanted one loaf, just for myself and a guest staying with me from time to time. The bread came out perfect. I have been making bread for almost 70 years and I have to say this is one of the best recipes I have come across. I had a favourite recipe but have mislaid my old time recipe book and couldn’t remember the recipe off by heart so am very glad to have found this one. Will def be baking it again and although I am not fond of bread from the freezer I am going to try freezing one loaf and see if I like it.
It was delicious! I was very proud of myself for my first try. My husband prefers things cooked at home so this was perfect for us. We loved it!
I love this recipe. I use it for basic bread or as a base to add and make different flavored loaves. Our fav is adding jalapeños and chedder. It’s also great for rolls. Thank you for sharing
I love this recipe. I use it for basic bread or as a base to add and make different flavored loaves. Our fav is adding jalapeños and cheaper. It’s also great for rolls. Thank you for sharing
Paul,
I’m in the U.S., but I convert all of my baking measurements to metric because it is much more precise and produces a more consistent loaf of bread. The water doesn’t need to be halved, just divided – 180 ml for proving the yeast, 630 more added later, although instant yeast shouldn’t not need to be proved (that’s why it’s called instant) so you can comfortably add the yeast to all the water and not bother dividing. If you are using dry activated yeast, then you will want to divide the water.
Here is the entire recipe converted for you (the conversions in the original recipe were a little bit off, so I corrected them to be more precise.
12 g instant yeast
180 ml + 630 ml water (180 ml for yeast, add the rest later, although instant yeast doesn’t need proofing so I don’t know why dividing the water is necessary. Just add the yeast to all the water.
50 g granulated sugar
17 g salt
1080 g to 1200 g all purpose flour
42 g unsalted butter, plus more for brushing
I have attempted to make this and it was just water. i am in australia and not good with measuments but according to what i am reading there is nearly as much water than there is flour. I usually work in grams can someone please help with halving the water amount?
This is not a well written recipe, so i understand the struggle.
Anyway, that amount of water in the recipe is 810g, so 405g if you are cutting in half.
Loved this recipe. Are there any modifications if using bread flour? Or do you recommend sticking with AP flour?
My absolute favorite bread recipe. Like a lot of others I have tweaked it to match my families preferences but as the recipe is published it is wonderful.
My changes are 6 cups of white AP flour, 2 cups of whole wheat, t TBS of vital wheat gluten. Comes out perfect every time.
I forgot to add the butter but I all worked out good
I enjoyed making and eating this bread!
what if you don’t have a stand mixer?
You can mix it with a simple wooden spoon and knead by hand. I have done it many times! Enjoy!
Hello from Australia. I am really not good with measurements, I only know grams and mls. Is there a way to totally dumb it down? I’m not getting the 2 2/3 bit either. Thank you.
Very easy and loaves are delicious
I’m trying this right now. There didn’t seem to be a link to your video but I found it on YouTube! Can’t wait….dough is rising now.
This bread makes delious cinnamon rolls.
Can you use wholemeal for this?
can I halve the recipe to make one loaf?
I just did today, worked perfectly!