Homemade White Bread made with flour, yeast, butter & a bit of sugar and salt. Classic bread recipe that yields 2 loaves of homemade white bread perfect for toast & sandwiches.
This easy white bread recipe makes the perfect sandwich bread to enjoy with your favorite fillings. While I often enjoy my bread slices warm with some butter, there’s still nothing better than the taste of a good sandwich made with homemade white bread. The tastes and smells just make it better, but, it could also just taste better because you put in the effort and are now enjoying the fruits of your labor. Either way, you can expect great things from such a simple recipe.
Homemade White Bread
White bread is named for its color and known for being softer in texture once baked. It’s made white due to the grain process where several things are removed, while it’s not as healthy as it’s fuller-wheat cousins, white bread is a great bread to use for sandwiches, toasts, snacking, or simply snacking on. And Homemade white bread gives you all of that deliciousness while helping your house to smell like freshly baked bread, which is always the best part of making homemade breads!
White Bread Ingredients
-White granulated sugar: Bread yeast uses sugar to produce carbon dioxide which helps the bread rise. You need 3 Tablespoons of white sugar, but you can use honey in place of the sugar if you prefer, just reduce the amount by half. Honey is much sweeter than sugar.
-Active Dry Yeast: I used the regular dry yeast but you can use instant dry yeast. It rose very quickly with the regular yeast, so be watchful the instant makes it rise faster. You’ll need 2 1/2 teaspoons worth.
-Warm water: This will proof our dough and give our bread moisture. We need 2 1/2 cups of warm (not hot) water.
-Butter: We need 3 tablespoons of butter. I prefer butter in all of my recipes, but you can sub it out with margarine.
-Salt: Bread definitely needs a bit of salt for enhancing its flavor. 2 1/2 teaspoons of salt is plenty and great.
-Flour: You need 5-6 cups of all-purpose flour. You can use bread flour if you prefer. It has a higher gluten content that helps bread rise even better. I found this recipe to rise wonderfully with all purpose flour.
How to Make Homemade White Bread
Proof your yeast in a bowl of warm water that is not hotter than 120 degrees F. Add in the sugar.
Add the yeast mixture to a stand mixer bowl with a dough hook attachment and then add in the melted butter and salt. Mix it in well.
Add in 3 cups of flour and turn the mixer to low to slowly mix it in. Gradually add in more flour until you’ve reached 5 cups. Turn the mixer on high and let it mix for 8-10minutes. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl and form an elastic ball. You may need to add in more flour if it is too sticky.
If kneading the dough by hand, you will place the dough onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, feeding it more flour as needed until you’ve used 6 cups. The dough should be elastic and smooth.
Grease a bowl and place the dough into the bowl, turning it so that the entire loaf ends up covered in grease. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size (about 35-40 minutes).
Punch down the dough and then place it onto a floured surface. Divide the dough into 2 equal sized balls and then stretch and fold the dough to form a rectangle shaped ball.
Grease 2 bread loaf pans and then place each dough into a pan. Cover with a towel and let rise again, until doubled (about 30 minutes).
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and bake for 20-30 minutes until the loaves sound hollow when lightly tapped.
Remove from the oven and brush with butter. Cool on a wire rack.
Let the bread cool slightly before cutting and then spread the slices with butter before eating. Enjoy!
Homemade White Bread
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons white granulated sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 ½ cups warm water
- 3 Tablespoons butter or margarine melted or very soft
- 2 ½ teaspoons salt
- 5-6 cups all purpose flour or bread flour
Instructions
- Proof your yeast. Make sure your water is very warm (120° - 130°), then add the sugar and yeast.
- Add the yeast mixture to your mixing bowl with a dough hook, and add the butter (melted) and salt. Mix it well.
- Add 3 cups of flour and turn the mixer on low till flour is mixed in, then gradually add more flour until you’ve added 5 - 6 cups. Turn mixer on high and let it mix for 8 to 10 minutes. Dough should pull away from sides of bowl and form a very elastic ball. (You may need to add flour if it is too sticky until you have used the entire 6 cups.)
- If kneading by hand, you will place the dough on a floured surface and kneed for 10 minutes, adding flour a little at a time as needed until you have used up to the 6 cups. (You don’t have to use it all if your dough doesn’t need it.) Dough should be smooth and elastic.
- Grease a bowl and place dough into bowl, turning so entire dough gets greased. Place a clean kitchen towel over dough and let rise in a warm place until doubled about 30 to 45 minutes.
- Punch dough down and place on a floured surface. Divide into 2 pieces and stretch and fold dough under to form a rectangular shaped ball.
- Grease two bread pans and place each piece of dough in a pan. Cover with towel and let rise till doubled, about 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400°. Bake bread for 20 to 30 minutes until loaves sound hollow when lightly tapped.
- Remove bread from oven and brush with butter. Cool on wire rack.
- Let it cool slightly before cutting. Cut a large piece, spread with butter and enjoy!!
Nutrition
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Do I need to proof my yeast first?
Yes, I highly recommend this every time. I have ruined batches of bread before because I failed to do this, thinking my yeast was still in date and fine, only to find that the yeast was dead and so was my bread.
To proof, just use a cup of warm water, add a teaspoon of sugar and a ½ teaspoon of yeast. Let it sit on the counter till it is bubbly and beginning to foam. If this does not happen within 10 minutes, chances are your yeast has begun to die and your bread rise.
How can I store my bread?
You should store all baked bread in a large ziplock bag or other airtight container. Bread will normally last up to 7 days at room temperature.
Can I freeze one loaf for later?
If you don’t think you’ll be eating both loaves very quickly, you can freeze one loaf before you bake it. Right after you shape it into a loaf before it rises a second time, wrap it securely in saran wrap, then place in a freezer ziplock bag, removing all the air, and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to use, remove from the freezer, let it thaw in a greased bread pan. Allow it to double in size before baking.
Other Tasty Bread Recipes to Try Soon!
- Moist Banana Bread Bread
- Cream Cheese Stuffed Monkey Bread
- Challah Bread
- Cherry Nut Bread
- Pumpkin Bread
- Monster Cookie Bread
- Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
- Soft and Buttery Dinner Rolls
- Cinnamon Rolls Without Yeast
- Soft Wheat Dinner Rolls
- Homemade French Bread
- Honey Oat Bread Recipe
- No Yeast Dinner Rolls
- No Yeast Wheat Bread
- Easy 30 Minute Dinner Rolls
This fluffy white bread is so soft on the inside with a crispy, slight chewy crust. Nice warm bread with butter is a heavenly delight! You’re going to love this simple and easy homemade white bread recipe.
Ruth says
Thank, your guide was educative. In your ingredients you didn’t add egg, I added two eggs to the same measurements it was great
Willow says
This bread is so fluffy an delicious! Thank you for the recipe, it’s the only bread recipe I use now. I substitute one and a half of the cups of flour for a cup of pumpkin seeds and chia seeds. Sometimes I throw a couple tablespoons of dried herbs in for a delicious herb bread that gets gobbled up quick with soup!
Alison says
Thanks Willow! I love the idea of making this into an herb bread with soup!
Dana says
Have not made the bread yet, what dimensions are your bread pans, please?
Nicole says
You can make this recipe in 8×4 bread pans or 9×5 bread pans. The biggest difference is how tall the loaves will be after they have baked.
Cee says
Quick question, did I read your recipe correctly?? Is the yeast amount correct? 7-1/2 teaspoons, or should it be 1-1\2 teaspoons? Thanks in advance.
Jessica says
I fixed it! 2.5 teaspoons! Thank you!
Supriya Kutty says
I am so surprised to know that bread could be made so easily at home. The day I have tried making the bread at home I now onwards always prefer the homemade bread as they are really soft compared to the market bread. Thank you so much for putting up this post.
Nicole says
Thanks! I’m so glad you loved this recipe. Homemade bread really is the best, isn’t it?
Jennifer McNally says
Are the steps 3 and 4 meant to be alternatives? Meaning you either knead in your mixer for 8-10 minutes OR by hand for 10 minutes but not both?
Nicole says
Yes, those steps are a one or the other situation so you can either use the mixer and save your hands the workout or go old school and do it by hand.
Elaine Slate says
This is my go to bread recipe. I make it a couple times a week because my family will not eat any other bread. I do an egg wash and a sprinkling of course sea salt on top just before baking
Nicole says
Ooh that sounds so yummy!
Vanessa Bynes says
Love, love, love this site! Thank you for making me look like a pro. My husband requested your bread recipe. Im about to turn out a Dozen soft and buttery rolls to go with the 2 loves I just baked.
What I love most is that im finding it hard to mess these recipes up. Always a hit!
Thank You Jessica & Nellie.
Nicole says
Thats awesome, they sound delicious. So glad you like this site 🙂
Irene says
I don’t have a mixer. Could I do this without a mixer? If so, what would you do? I need step by step directions because sometimes I forget something due to my ADHD.
Jessica says
You’ll follow the same directions, except stir & knead by hand. That part will take twice as long, but you can most definitely make bread by hand!
Park Lily says
I did try the recipe out and it was great!!thanks alot for sharing…
Jessica says
So glad you liked it Park!