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!
The perfect bread! I divide this into 3 loaf pans as I prefer a smaller loaf. Always turns out.
My grandma and I made this bread and it was so fluffy and delicious. It’s the best bread I’ve ever had and we will definitely be making it again!❤️❤️❤️
Would you please correct the recipe, as one baker commented regarding the measure of warm water? Very confusing as some bakers use the exact measurement as you have them, and say that the bread turned out perfectly. I don’t know who to believe.
RECIPE ERROR – The first liquid measurement shows 3/4C or 820ml of water. 3/4C is 170ml of water. Big difference. I weigh everything for consistency and this stood right out. I’ll enter a finished rating after baking.
Excellent Loaf !! So flavorful, soft and a nice mouth feel/chew. I used 50/50 AP and Bread Flour. This is my new Go-To for a quick white bread loaf. I got 4 loaves out of the full recipe. Thank You!
RECIPE ERROR – The first liquid measurement shows 3/4C or 820ml of water. 3/4C is 170ml of water. Big difference. I weigh everything for consistency and this stood right out. I’ll enter a finished rating after baking.
Wow, this is a lot of yeast for just 2 short loaf pans! Any reason why you do 2 packets of yeast when many other recipes only call for 1? Does it make the rising time shorter, or increase the height of the rise in the cooked bread?
I did only one loaf and halved the ingredients. It came out wonderful. My kids asked if I can make this all the time.. I will try, for sure. Thanks or the recipe!
I made this bread today. The bread came out dense and the crust was hard even after buttering right out of oven. Taste was good however bread was very dense. I will use the rest of the bread for french toast.
Love this recipe it makes a great bread well loved by all who I serve it to! Thanks for the great recipe. I would like to venture to a multigrain bread. Anyone know where to get a multigrain flour? ideas? Thanks in advance!
Did this twice and it came out dense and stodgy. Not sure what part of the recipe doesn’t work. I’m going to use the bread for pb&j and nutella toast, but not making again. Waste of ingredients.
The main reasons why bread comes out dense are not enough water, not enough proving time, or not enough kneeding.
There is nothing wrong with this recipe its a basic 60% hydration recipe.
Try it again with half the amounts, 600 grams flour, 400 grams water, 10 grams salt, 10 grams yeast. Measure out everything on a scale. Kneed on medium speed for 8 mins, let rise till double size, stretch and fold the dough, let rise again till double size, stretch and fold again and then shape. Let rise again, then bake, put in a cold oven and turn on to 200 Deg C. Cold oven will give better spring.
Made this bread twice. Exact with the recipe. Came out SO DENSE. The crust is extra crusty and came out doughy the first time. Thought a second try would fix it but unfortunately not
This is my go to bread recipe! My kids all try to steal it to eat by itself because they love it so much!
I make this bread about every 2 weeks. My husband won’t eat anything else. I make 3 loaves instead of 2. They come out perfect every time. I love making homemade bread! It’s relaxing and stress free. I use Rapid Rise yeast and it cuts my timé in half. My favorite recipe.
This is fantastic! I actually make fresh bread for a living, and this simplified recipe works perfectly. This loaf proofed up so well. I was I could post a picture. It’s just risen far above 🤣hehehe…what I expected. Thank you
I need a recipe of mixing of one bag of flour using 100kg of mixer ie. 50kg of flour
400 degree oven too hot for my oven. Will try again at lower temperature. should have made 3 loaves instead of 2 as the center was doughy.
Really great bread. I made just 1 loaf, next time I will do the two loaves. Tall, soft and tasty.
Hi Michelle, Thanks for the recipe. I can’t wait to try it. I would have given you 5 stars but haven’t tried it yet. Since there are just two of us I thought I’d print out the 1 loaf feature but it doesn’t translate the ingredient measurements properly. Math has never been my strong point yet I can figure out most of the measurements except for the water and sugar. It is showing the same amount of water in the ingredient list and the instructions for two loaves. So my questions are what does 0.38 of a cup of water translate to and how much is 0.13 cup of sugar? I’m sorry if I haven’t explained it clearly enough. In addition, if you go to the print page and change it to 10 servings you will ALSO see where the amount of water does not change from 2 2/3 cups, in the ingredients list and in the instructions. As I said I’d like to start out making one loaf before tackling the whole recipe. Any help you can give me would be most appreciated.
Use the metric measurements. Much easier than the imperial measurements to halve.
Hi, I don’t know what you are using to measure your ingredientes,but if your using measuring cups converting to decimal unecessaraly complicates halfing the recipe. Anyways, here are measurements for half of the water and suger:
Half of 3/4 c of water is 3/8 or
three tablespoons.
Half of 2 2/3 c is 1 1/3c
And for the Sugar
Half of 1/4 c is 1/8 c or 2 table
spoons
I’ve tried so many “fluffy” bread recipes and they never turn out as light a fluffy as I’d like—until this one! Love that it’s easy and uses only a few ingredients that I tend of keep on hand too. I will say that it made HUGE loaves (maybe my bread pans are slightly smaller?) so I will probably split it into 3 next time.
How long am I able to let it rise in the bowl for?
Best sandwich bread recipe, this stays together perfectly and has the best flavor! I ran out of flour while it was still very sticky, so I kneaded some coconut flour in because that’s what I had – it didn’t even matter, worked great. I did half kitchenaid mixing and half hand kneading because I don’t have a dough hook only the paddle. I used ceramic loaf pans and baked for 35. I did have to slide a knife around the edges of the pans and kind of pry the loaves out, so next time I might use more oil to prep pans and maybe dust with flour as well. But the recipe was perfect! I sliced both loaves and put one in the freezer in a ziplock with tiny squares of parchment paper separating the slices to make sure it doesn’t stick.
Every time I’ve made this recipe it’s perfect only issue I have is my crust comes out very crisp I’m wondering if moving the rack to the bottom is supposed to move it away or closer to the hot oven rods. Because mines at the bottom and I’m wondering if that’s why
I usually follow the recipe 100% the first time. The heating element on my oven is on the bottom (I thought that was how they all were) so I burned the bottoms of my loaves. I still had to try the inside to see if it was worth a retry. I will absolutely make this again at 350 or 375. 10/10 for taste and texture. I think I finally found my sandwich bread recipe!
This bread is very simple and extremely delicious
Thank you very much for sharing your recipe.
I followed it and end up with a dark crust my first time. So I reduced my baking time to 30mins and enjoyed the results.
I also have replaced the sugar with honey and so far your recipe stands the test of time.
forever thankful.
I’ve never made bread in my life. I found this recipe. My whole family loved it so much!! I did try a different one the day before I found this one and it was a mess. I will never use another recipe.
do bKE IN A PULLMAN LOAF- DO YOU THINK YOU WOULD PUT THE whole thing in there.. a 14in pan?
Can this be made in a pullman loaf pan?
Yes, I don’t see why not.
I’ve been a bread machine man, until recently. My machine broke down so I looked for an easy recipe online. Lo and behold, this recipe comes up, and WOW!! Better than any bread machine. I made three perfect loaves my first shot and they were gone in three days! I had to slow us down, so I waited two weeks and I’m into bread making again. It’s quick, easy and absolutely delicious. The next batch is in the oven and smells amazing! Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Michelle! Thank you for this amazing recipe. I’ve made it twice now. My family loves it and they enjoy watching how high it rises. The dough is so easy to work with which is always a plus with any kind of dough. Putting the melted butter on top really takes to another level. I slice the breads and freeze them. When we want a sandwich we take it out of the freezer and toast before eating AMAZING!!