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!
Finally! Finally I made real bread! Real bread that tasted great and looked even better! I am amazed that I really did it and I thank you for the recipe. This might have been my last attempt if it failed. No…I would have still wasted my time and my flour! Thanks again for saving me and returning my faith in recipes! Haha
P.S. I would have taken a picture but I only made one loaf (no faith!) and it was only half a loaf before I could get a photo.
It’s just delicious, my husband and I both agree. It really does rise wonderfully and it has the lightness of bought white loaves but so much better flavour and texture. Thank you brown Eyed Baker!
Too sweet for this Aussie palet. Followed the instructions almost to a T with this one (substituted 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil for the butter). The loaf worked out really well. Nice rise and crust. Excellent texture when cut. However, the taste profile is way too sweet. Most bread in Australia has little added sugar so this tasted strange. I will play with the recipe and see if I can adjust is to taste without compromising on the other features. Will let you know how I go.
This bread is amazing! We just sliced it and it is everything you said. Light, fluffy, tall, and the taste is so good. I have been making a different recipe, but is was dense and not what I wanted. This is as soft as you would get from a bakery with a beautiful crust. It is perfect for any kind of sandwich. Thank you so much for this awesome recipe. I was worried about the amount of flour when I first saw it, but after making it I will never make anything else. I don’t have a stand mixer and it was still easy by hand. I would recommend this to anyone and everyone.
Ive made bread from a lot of recipes, some good and some went to trash but this one is fool proof. Perfect huge loaves every time.
I wonder if it is enough to make 3 normal sized loaves…trying that today.
Hello ia have a 12 by 5 inch loaf pan can i but the half of the dough in it??
Hi Nina, 12×5 is pretty large, so you could do a half batch in there, but the loaf won’t bake up as high as you see in my photos.
YUMMY! My kids and I love this recipe! I bake this bread on Saturday. We have this bread on Sunday with some yummy nutella, jam, or butter. My kids take this to school with them. YUMMMMMMM………
Brown eyed baker….you have never steered me wrong! I have been looking for the best cinnamon ri roll and bread recipes for a lot of years and every time I make yours they turn out beautiful! Thanks for posting your passion!! It works!
This recipe was my first attempt at making home made bread. It turned out amazing. I halved the loave size because in my opinion bread needs to be able to fit in a toaster.
This bread is amazing , I just made two and the first one is almost gone. So glad I found your recipe.
I love this recipe! I always make 2 regular loaves and 2 cinnamon ones! Makes for a happy family!
Hi. I’ve made this bread about a dozen times now! My husband adores it and so does the friends I’ve made it for. Beautiful tall loaves. Thank you for sharing this recipe!!
What about making this bread in high altitudes. I’ve heard that your recipe needs to be altered. Can you give me some advice on this?
Hi Mitchell, I’ve never baked at high altitude, but here are some general tips that might help! https://www.browneyedbaker.com/high-altitude-baking-tips/
I live at a high altitude and didn’t adjust it at all. It turned out just fine.
I have been making bread for well over 50 years (literally, by hand) and this is a great recipe. In fact, I made one large loaf and divided the remaining dough for 1 small loaf and then some, what I call “free form” rolls. Only recipe change I made was to replace some of the water with milk and part of the sugar with some honey. I was surprised at how absolutely wonderful the loaf was and all other items. Am doing it again today. Oh, when I say “by hand”, that just means I have tried the bread machine thing and the mixer thing, but I guess since I have doing bread my self for so long, the whole process of mixing and touching the dough via kneading is cathartic to me and I love the hands on method for me.
I love this recipe.My bread turned out light and fluffy and tastes sooooo good. thanks
You’re welcome, Arlene! So thrilled that you loved it!
FINALLY A PERFECT NO FAIL BREAD RECIPE, MY BREAD CAME OUT PERFECT! Thank you so much for your PERFECT recipe its the only one I will ever use!!!!!
You’re welcome Dianne, I’m so happy you enjoyed the bread!
Had to throw half my ingredients when I realised this is actually for 2 loaves! Please change your title, it is very misleading since it says White Bread, implying 1 loaf. And it is very easy to miss the part where it says makes 2 loaves.
best bread recipe I have ever used
So awesome to hear that Courtney! Thanks for the review!
Looking forward to trying this recipe. Question: Why do you proof the instant yeast?
Hi Robyn, It’s an old recipe from someone’s grandma, so I think probably habit? ;-)
This is called Julia’s white sandwich bread,I have Made it loads of times
A-Mazing!! My husband and I absolutely love this recipe. Not only is it simple but there is relatively little sugar and oil in the bread. It’s light, fluffy, and savory. 100% recommend this bread recipe to everyone!! Do you have any gluten-free bread recipes by chance?
Hi Alyx, So awesome to hear you have both been enjoying this! I don’t currently have any gluten-free bread recipes, though!
Can you share the recipe for just one loaf?I am finding it difficult to half the ingredients .Especially the amount of water,yeast and flour.Thanks
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast (two 0.25-ounce packets)
1/3 cup + 1 1/3 cups warm water, divided
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1.5 teaspoons salt
1.5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature
4.5 cups all-purpose flour
1.5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, for brushing
This was my first time making a hands-on bread (only experience with no-knead) and my first time making sandwich bread – I was surprised by how easy this recipe was! I halved it, because we’re a household of two, and because I don’t have a stand mixer and wasn’t sure if my hands were up to the task of mixing and kneading so much dough. It turned out fluffy and rich, and it was super fun watching each rise. I may have given the dough some pep talks about how tall and beautiful it could be if it only put its mind to it.
The only trouble I had was that it took longer than 35 minutes to bake through to 195. It was probably closer to 50 minutes, and as a result the top was a very dark golden brown while the sides came out a very pale yellow. Maybe it was my pan that was responsible for the light color of the sides? I used a Nordic Ware aluminum 1.5lb loaf pan. I have to clean my oven soon, so I’ll check to see if it’s calibrated properly as well, but usually everything I throw in there bakes in the given time.
Also I forgot to brush the butter on before putting it in the oven, but realized halfway through and brushed it on then. Still worked!
I halved the recipe and make it in my bread machine. Wet to dry, yeast on top. While it tasted fantastic, it looks strange with a sunken top and was very dense and moist inside, crispy on the outside.
I’ve never used a bread machine, so I’m not sure if that could have had an impact on the final outcome. I’m glad you enjoyed the flavor though!
Hi Michelle,
We’ve been snowed in here in Ireland after the worst snow in 36years – and in all the panic in the lead up to the storm, all the stores ran out of bread!! So during our snow days I persuaded my husband to try out your recipe. (He’s the bread maker of the family / I’m the cake baker 😄)
Our girls loved the bread – I think they liked the sweetness – not like our bread in Ireland. The only thing was it didn’t rise up great, and was dense. Still delicious but not as tall and light looking as your pictures. Any ideas how this may happen?
Hi Amy, I’m so thrilled your family enjoyed the bread, and glad you stayed safe during the snow storm! As for not rising and being dense…. there could be a few reasons…
(1) Did you use instant yeast, and not active dry yeast?
(2) Was the yeast fresh? If expired, it can sometimes not rise as it should.
(3) Was the dough placed in a warm, draft-free area? If it was too cold, that may have kept it from rising appropriately.
I hope those suggestions help!
I have tried many bread recipes before and this is by far the best, so much so that I’ve stopped searching. I use a traditional sized stand mixer and I can only get about 7 cups of flour before the dough begins to travel over the dough hook plate, so I end up scraping it out and kneading in the remaining flour by hand. I tried using bread flour and all-purpose flour and with about 8.5 cups of bread flour, I tend to get a fluffier top than with a similar amount of all-purpose flour. Anyway, I am a huge fan of this recipe!
Hi Chester, I’m so happy to hear how much you love the bread! Thanks for the taking the time to come back and write a review!
Absolutely fantastic recipe thank you for sharing…. 2nd time I going to make it, everyone loves this recipe. Just a quick question can I make the dough a night before I bake it?
Ahh good question, I’ve not tried that. If you do, you’ll need to put it in the refrigerator as it will rise too high and collapse otherwise.
I made this last night (Feb. 27, 2018) It came out perfect! I cut the recipe in half. So fluffy and delish. Thank you for this recipe. I will defiantly be making this again.
Hi Kelly, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to stop back and share a review!
Hi. I trying this bread for the first time and i hope it will turn out as good as yours. Just wanted to ask at what temp shoul i bake it on 180c? My bread is in oven right now please reply.
Thanks alot
Are you asking if 180 degrees Celsius is correct? If so, that’s about 350 degrees F, while this bread needs to be baked at 400 degrees F, which is approximately 200 degrees C.
The recipe is just amazing! Easy to follow and really yummy! I will of course, lessen or remove the sugar altogether, or perhaps add a bit more salt, as kids said it was a bit sweet. Thank you for such a wonderful recipe. I will definitely use this again and it fact, will start making loaves on weekends for freezing.
We have been trying to cut out sugar in most of my family’s diet, so if you do cut out the sugar, please let me know how it works. I don’t do more than just home-cooking, so I may be wrong, but I have read that the yeast uses the sugar to release the gas that causes the rising, I fear that this recipe wouldn’t yield as fluffy a bread without the sugar?