Homemade Bread made easy with simple ingredients & detailed instructions with photos. Make our best homemade bread recipe and enjoy the great flavor & texture!
Homemade Bread is one of my favorite foods of all time. Can you tell by the name of this site?! There really is nothing quite like a warm slice of fresh bread served with a thick pat of butter on top. Mmmmm! This recipe is perfect. It’s simple to follow and yields 2 loaves of wonderful bread. It’s quite versatile too, so feel free to use part whole wheat flour if you’d like. Brush butter on top when it’s out of the oven and partially cooled and everyone will thank you.
Yes, you can make this recipe in a bread machine! Scroll down to see full Homemade Bread recipe and ingredients, with printable instructions, for your bread machine.
I love to cook and I am a pretty confident baker, however, one thing I’ve struggled with is finding a really incredible bread recipe. I know- kind of funny being as there are a zillion out there and bread is one of those ‘basics” that almost anyone can make themselves. Nevertheless, I keep trying new recipes and have finally found one I really like and have gotten good results from! Even better- it’s easy and from start to finish it takes just over 2 hours!
If you’ve never baked homemade bread before, here are a few tips:
- Remember to fully knead. The recipe below kneads for 7 minutes and it’s worth it! Kneading dough helps to develop the flavor and texture of the bread, so don’t skimp on kneading time.
- Weather can affect your ingredients. If you live in a moist climate, chances are you’ll need at least the recommended amount of flour, maybe even 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup more. Bread dough should be sticky, but still manageable, especially after the first rise. While you’re kneading, the dough should come together and pull away from the sides of the bowl, leaving the bowl mostly clean. (I try not to add too much flour because your bread will be more dense.) When you pick the dough up, some will stick to your fingers. After the first rise, it will be easier to handle!
- If your house is cool, your bread will take longer to rise. In the wintertime when my house is cooler than normal, I like to turn the oven on for 2-3 minutes, then turn it off and let the bowl of dough rise in there. The oven traps the heat for a longtime and it’s the perfect atmosphere for rising dough.
- After the first rise, don’t overwork the dough. I usually knead and shape my dough in about 1 minute, then it’s back in the pan to rest, for the 2nd rise. I like to have the pan rise in the oven for this second rise so that I don’t have to worry about moving risen dough. When it’s fully risen, I just turn the oven on and set the timer to bake!
- How can you tell if bread is fully baked? I like to use a food thermometer. Mine is digital, so it’s very easy to use. Fully cooked bread will be 190-200 degrees F. Bread recipes that include milk will need to cook until 200 degrees, but since this one doesn’t, I take it out once it reaches 190 degrees. The top will be golden brown.
- Cool baked bread in the pan for 10-15 minutes, then overturn pan and turn loaf out onto a cooling rack or folded towel to finish cooling. If you leave the bread in the pan for much longer than that, you’ll steam it, which may result in soggy parts. No one likes soggy bread!
Easy Homemade Bread
- 2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 5-6 cups flour
- In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam, about 5 minutes.
- Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time.
- Knead dough for 7 minutes. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
- Punch dough down. Knead for 1 minute and divide in half. Shape into loaves and place into two greased 9×5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.
- Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30-40 minutes.
- Cool, brush with butter and enjoy!
EASY HOMEMADE BREAD
Homemade Bread made easy with simple ingredients & detailed instructions with photos. Make our best homemade bread recipe and enjoy the great flavor & texture!
MY LATEST RECIPESIngredients
- 2 cups warm water 110 degrees F/45 degrees C
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 5-6 cups flourÂ
Instructions
-
In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water and then stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam, about 5 minutes.
-
Mix salt and oil into the yeast. Mix in flour one cup at a time.
-
Knead dough for 7 minutes. Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
-
Punch dough down. Knead for 1 minute and divide in half. Shape into loaves and place into two greased 9x5 inch loaf pans. Allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.
-
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30-40 minutes.
-
Cool, brush with butter and enjoy!
I’ve found this recipe works really well in a bread machine! I just had the halve the ingredients so it would fit. You can see and print out the recipe below.
Easy Homemade Bread in a Bread Machine
- 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
- 3/4 teaspoons salt
- 2 TBSP vegetable oil
- 3 cups flour
- Add the ingredients to the bread pan of your machine in the following order: water, oil, flour, sugar and salt. Make a small well in the dry ingredients and add yeast.
- Place bread pan in machine. Close lid and set bread machine to bake a loaf of basic white bread.
- Let bread cool when bread machine has completed the full cycle. (Mine takes 3.5 hours.) Remove from machine & pan. Brush with butter and enjoy!
Easy Homemade Bread in a Bread Machine
Homemade Bread made easy with simple ingredients & detailed instructions with photos. Make our best homemade bread recipe in your bread machine and enjoy the great flavor & texture!
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water 110 degrees F/45 degrees C
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
- 3/4 teaspoons salt
- 2 TBSP vegetable oil
- 3 cups flour
Instructions
-
Add the ingredients to the bread pan of your machine in the following order: water, oil, flour, sugar and salt. Make a small well in the dry ingredients and add yeast.
-
Place bread pan in machine. Close lid and set bread machine to bake a loaf of basic white bread.
-
Let bread cool when bread machine has completed the full cycle. (Mine takes 3.5 hours.) Remove from machine & pan. Brush with butter and enjoy!
**Note: In the pics below, I was only making 1 loaf in the oven. The full recipe yields 2 loaves, so plan accordingly!
Enjoy this Homemade Bread recipe? Here are even more bread recipes to try:
Yum! Can't wait to try this bread recipe!
This looks really tasty!<br />YUM!<br /><br />hugs x<br />Crystelle<br />http://www.crystelleboutique.com
Does this work in a bread machine?
Jody- I've never tried this recipe in a bread machine since I don't own one, but I imagine it'd be just fine!
I made this today and it turned out great!
I don't have any dough enhancer on hand. will this still turn out ok?
Disregard my previous comment. I made this today without the dough enhancer and it was out of this world amazing!! I can't believe how easy this was and how fantastic it turned out! Thank you, I will definitely be making again!!
I'm glad you liked it Brittany! It's such a great, simple recipe! The dough enhancer just makes the texture more "feathery" and soft, like store-bought bread. Here in Utah, it's at all of our grocery stores!
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Arrange a layer of bread, buttered-side up, in the bottom of the dish, then add a layer of sultanas.
Lately, I found the joys in making bread but will not keep it for long as i am getting bigger. Hahaha. Please try this recipe,, the No Knead bread byMatt Preston from Materchef Australia. It is without oil, sugar , etc… I doubted this at first but turned out to be a fantastic bread. 1kg of flour, 950 ml of warm water, 1 packet of yeast, 1T salt. Just Mix together, no need to knead, let it rise then put in the fridge. The dough will be wet and will be difficult to handle. When you start to bake. Just flour your pan and bake it for an hour at 240 deg C . And there you will have bread. Also, pls try the breadexperiment.com – a good try.
I made this bread tonight and it was very easy and very delicious. I did use extra virgin olive oil instead of the butter/margarine. I also sprinkled my loaves with sesame seeds before baking. When I put the breads into the oven, I put a pan on the bottom shelf and poured boiling water into it to keep the bread moist on the inside and crusty on the outside. This recipe is a WINNER!!! Thank you for sharing. 
It’s such a great classic recipe, isn’t it?! Glad you enjoyed it!
I made this today with a few slight changes and it turned out great!
I cut the recipie in half and used extra light EVOO. I skipped the “secret ingredient” because I didn’t have any. Put all the ingredients in my bread machine on the dough cycle. Once it was done I cut the dough ball in half and put one half in a 8×4 pan, let it rise again and baked it at 350 for 25 minutes.
Is this recipe using all-purpose flour or bread flour?
You can use either with good results! I prefer bread flour though.
Is this similar to Walter Sands’ favorite bread recipe?
I’m not sure- I haven’t heard of that recipe…
Have you really out it in the oven? I mean I did as you said and it ride so much it went over the sides into the bottom of my oven and I had to spend the 30 minutes of the second rise to clean it so I could bake the bread… No the bowl want too small, no I did not add too much or not enough of anything, I measured everything before hand to ensure I had the right amount of ingredients. Otherwise the bread came out fine.
Rose so much*
Hi Kitty– I’m guessing your oven/ house / both are just simply warmer than mine! Also, if it rose so high it went over the sides of your bowl, I’d use a larger bowl. I’ve made this recipe many, many times and have not had a problem with it rising too much/ too high- I usually have the opposite problem & have to leave it longer to rise sufficiently. I’d rather have your problem! 😉 I’m glad your bread came out OK- sorry about your oven though!
Homemade bread is THE BEST with lots of butter and honey on top and this recipe is a keeper!!
Homemade bread really is the best, even better because you get that wonderful smell filling your whole kitchen! This bread looks absolutely perfect, I could eat the whole loaf!
I completely agree! Thank you Michelle!
I love homemade bread, and I always prefer my bread maker device to making my homemade bread for every morning for my kid’s breakfast. I love your recipe and definitely, I will try this one. Thanks for sharing this one.
We love homemade bread too- and yes, the bread machine is SO easy! THanks Luisa!
This bread looks so awesome. Dying to try it out myself.
I was just thinking about making some homemade bread this weekend! I’ll have to try this recipe out!
Thank you so much for this recipe. After the 2nd attempt I had my first loaf of lovely smelling tasting bread that I was proud of. Even the first attempt which didn’t rise properly tasted great I put all the dough in one regular loaf size tin.
Can this dough be kneaded with dough hook on stand mixer?
of course!
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This bread turned out really nice, but it’s SO sweet! If you don’t want super-sweet bread I would cut the sugar in half. Otherwise, if you’re looking for a light sweet bread, this is amazing.
Thanks Helen!
This came recipe came out perfect! My husband and I loved it! We will be making again!
I’m so happy it came out well and that you both loved it Veronica!! Thank you so much for coming back and letting me know!
It calls for 1 1/2 tab. Of yeast, does that equal 1 package of yeast or 2 packs
I’ve use 2 packets of yeast. 🙂
Can the amount of sugar be reduced without affecting the rising? I’m just wondering how much of the sugar is for flavour and how much is needed for the yeast.
Hi Brad, I’ve cut the sugar in half with good results!
can we put two tsp of sugar instead
of course!
Your bread machine recipe sucks, my dough is all crumbly and in many pieces. my original recipe although heavier works way better than yours…
Sorry, but I thought your recipe would be quicker….
NOT..
Hi Dave– it sounds like you didn’t do something quite right! I’d double check your measurements and maybe try again?
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