Easy 5 Star Homemade Bread recipe made with simple ingredients & detailed instructions showing how to make basic bread! Thousands of comments & reviewers agree this is the BEST homemade loaf for both beginners and expert bakers.
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, takes about 2 hours to make 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.
A decade ago when I was just beginning to bake confidently, I still struggled with making bread. I tried countless recipes and none of them were quite right. I found this one and never looked back. It uses basic ingredients, comes together fast and I love the bread it makes. It’s soft, chewy with fantastic flavor. Feel free to reduce the sugar if you prefer. Enjoy the process and enjoy that bread!
Where to start on your bread making journey
This is a very comprehensive post with tons of information I’ve gleaned over the years making bread. Where would you like to start first?
JUMP TO–> LEARN THE BASIC STEPS TO MAKING BREAD
JUMP TO–> HELPFUL TIPS FOR MAKING YOUR FIRST LOAF OF BREAD
JUMP TO–> GET THE OVEN BAKED BREAD RECIPE
JUMP TO–> GET THE BREAD MACHINE BREAD RECIPE
Basic Steps for Making Basic Yeast Bread Recipes
If you’ve never made bread before, here is the basic formula for making your own at home. My recipe below follows this perfectly. It’s so much easier and trust me, the scent of fresh bread baking will make everyone really, really excited for dinner!
Step 1: Assemble Bread Ingredients
You’ll need warm water, granulated sugar, instant OR active dry yeast, salt, vegetable or canola oil and flour. That’s it!
Step 2: Dissolve the yeast and activate it by Proofing
This is a simple process that takes about 5 minutes. You can see a picture below what yeast looks like when it’s proofed. It’s possible to kill yeast if you use too hot of water, so aim for slightly warmer than luke-warm, or about 105°F. Combine warm water, yeast and 1 TBSP of the granulated sugar in your mixing bowl. Give it a quick stir and then let it sit for 5 minutes. You’ll begin to see the yeast puff up until it covers the entire surface of the water.
Step 3: Add remaining ingredients and mix
Add the rest of the sugar, the oil, salt and flour (You can use all-purpose flour OR bread flour!), then mix using an electric mixer until it’s well combined, about 2 minutes. You can mix by hand but it will take longer.
Step 4: Knead the Bread
You might be thinking, “Wait! It’s already mixed!” Ha! Not so fast! Going through the process of kneading bread dough is crucial for bread with great texture. Kneading dough allows gluten to form which enables dough to rise better, be lighter and fluffier. you can knead by hand or with a mixer. I use the dough hook on my mixer and knead for 7 minutes. If you knead by hand, you’ll want to knead for 10-11 minutes, depending on how consistent you are.
Step 5: First Rise
Place your lovely smooth, elastic bread dough in an oiled bowl and cover it with plastic wrap or a clean towel. I think plastic wrap works better because it traps hot air inside and thus, my dough requires a shorter first rise. Be sure to spray the side of the plastic wrap that will touch the dough with oil!
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.
Step 6: Punch Dough and Shape it
Punching the dough down quickly releases any air pockets that have developed and helps your bread have a more consistent rise and texture. Shape your dough by rolling it gently into a ball and rolling it 2 or 3 times on the countertop so that the ball is more oblong. I usually punch down and shape the dough quickly, then place in a greased bread pan.
Step 7: Second Rise
I like to do my second rise in a warm oven that’s not turned on. I turn the oven on just before I punch my dough down, then turn it off once I place the dough in the oven for the 2nd rise. It’s really only on for a minute or two, which is fine! The second rise will help shape your loaf of bread and takes about 30 minutes.
Step 8: Bake the Bread
You’re nearly there! Bread bakes for about 30-40 minutes. You know what I do to make sure my bread is perfectly cooked? I use a digital cooking thermometer! 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.
My all-time favorite cooking thermometer is the Thermapen. It’s super fast and incredibly durable. Another great thermometer is the ThermoPop which is a more basic version that works just as well!
Step 9: Cool the Bread
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 cause some parts of your loaf to go soggy. No one likes soggy bread!
BEST BREAD PAN?
I bake a lot of bread and the pans I prefer are either ceramic, glass or cast iron. These pans will bake bread more evenly and release the bread more easily after baking. I don’t like using dark or nonstick pans because the bread cooks unevenly. It darkens on the outside before the bread is cooked on the inside, so the coloring is uneven. Read more about which bread pan is the best here!
Helpful Tips when Making Your First Loaf of Homemade Bread:
If you’ve never baked homemade bread before, here are a few tips:
1. 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.
2. 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 usually aim to have the very bottom of the dough still attached to the bowl. 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!
3. Temperature affects how long your bread takes to rise
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.
4. Don’t overwork the dough
Try not to go crazy kneading your bread after the first rise. 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!
Easy Homemade Bread Recipe
Here are the ingredients for the oven baked recipe, which yields 2 loaves of bread:
— WATER: You need 2 cups warm water. (110° F/45° C) I recommend you take the temperature using a cooking thermometer until you get the hang of how warm the water should be. If your water is too hot, it will kill the yeast and your bread will be dense and flat!
— SUGAR: We add 1/2 cup white sugar. You are welcome to reduce this even further and use just 1/4 cup.
— YEAST: We add 1 TBSP + 2 tsp active dry yeast to the dough to help it rise.
— SALT: You need 1 1/2 teaspoons salt to enhance the flavors in the bread. If you’ve never had bread with not enough salt, it does not taste good! I forgot to add it once. Don’t do that.
— OIL: We used 1/4 cup vegetable oil but you can also use coconut oil or canola oil. I’ve tried it with light olive oil and it just has a strange aftertaste that I don’t love.
— FLOUR: You’ll need 5-6 cups flour. You can use all-purpose flour OR bread flour!
How to Make 5 Star Homemade Bread
In a large bowl, or a stand mixer, dissolve the sugar in the warm water. I just combine the two and whisk it slightly to dissolve the sugar. Stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam, about 5 minutes.
Add in the salt and oil. Begin to mix, using a rubber scraper or the dough hook on your stand mixer. Add the flour one cup at a time, reserving the last cup of flour to see if you need it. You might not use all of the flour. The dough should pull away and clean the bowl, sticking on the bottom in a small circle about the size of a quarter. If your dough does this with just 5 cups of flour, do not add more. However, if your dough still sticks to the bowl, add more a couple tablespoons at a time until it cleans the bowl, sticking in just a small circle on the bottom.
Now knead dough for 7 minutes. Set a timer as a full knead is important! Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise in a warm area until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
Punch dough down. Knead for 1 minute and divide dough 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° F (175° C) for 30-40 minutes. Cool, brush with butter and enjoy!
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.
AVOID SUNKEN BREAD
The easiest and best way to avoid sunken bread is to use a cooking thermometer to check the inside of the loaf. Fully cooked bread will register 200°F on a thermometer. My all-time favorite thermometer is the Thermapen. It’s super fast and incredibly durable. Another great cooking thermometer is the ThermoPop which is a more basic version that works just as well!
EASY HOMEMADE BREAD RECIPE
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm water 110° F/45° C
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 ½ TBSP active dry yeast
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 5-6 cups flour all-purpose flour OR bread flour
Instructions
- In a large bowl, or a stand mixer, dissolve 2 TBSP of the sugar in the warm water. I just combine the two and whisk slightly to dissolve the sugar. Stir in yeast. Allow to proof until yeast resembles a creamy foam, about 5 minutes.
- Add in remaining sugar, salt and oil. Begin to mix, using a rubber scraper or the dough hook on your stand mixer. Add the flour one cup at a time, reserving the last cup of flour to see if you need it. You might not use all of the flour. The dough should pull away and clean the bowl, sticking on the bottom in a small circle about the size of a quarter. If your dough does this with just 5 cups of flour, do not add more. However, if your dough still sticks to the bowl, add more a couple tablespoons at a time until it cleans the bowl, sticking in just a small circle on the bottom.
- Now knead dough for 7 minutes. Set a timer as a full knead is important! Place in a well oiled bowl, and turn dough to coat. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise in a warm area until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
- Punch dough down. Knead for 1 minute and divide dough 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° F (175° C) for 30-40 minutes. Cool, brush with butter and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Instant or Active Dry Yeast for Making Bread
If you use instant yeast, you can add it directly to your other dry ingredients when making bread. If you use active dry yeast, you’ll need to first dissolve it in warm water before using it in a recipe. For the sake of ease, I just always buy instant yeast. BUT, this recipe works for both!
Can you Make this bread in a Bread Machine? YES! Here’s how:
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.
Bread Machine Ingredients
You’ll use the same ingredients, only HALF of them, so you can fit them in a 1-lb bread machine.
— WATER: You need 1 cup warm water. (110° F/45° C)
— SUGAR: We add 1/4 cup white sugar. You are welcome to reduce this even further and use just 1-2 tablespoons.
— YEAST: We add 2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast to the dough to help it rise.
— SALT: You need 3/4 teaspoons salt to enhance the flavors in the bread. If you’ve never had bread with not enough salt, it’s… not good. I forgot to add it once. Don’t do that.
— OIL: We used 2 TBSP vegetable oil but you can also use coconut oil or canola oil. I’ve tried it with light olive oil and it just has a strange aftertaste that I don’t love.
— FLOUR: You’ll need 3 cups flour. You can use all-purpose flour OR bread flour!
Making your Loaf of Bread in a Bread Machine
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 Bread Recipe for a Bread Machine
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 all purpose OR bread 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!
Nutrition
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How to Store Basic Bread
You’ll want to store leftover bread in an airtight container. I bought bread bags off Amazon and LOVE them!
Enjoy this bread recipe? Here are even more recipes for homemade bread to try:
Yeast Bread Recipes:
- Homemade Buttermilk Bread recipe
- Homemade Hawaiian Bread
- Honey Oat Bread recipe
- Cinnamon Raisin Bread
- Parmesan Garlic Dinner Rolls
- Fabulous French Bread
- Sweet Orange Dinner Rolls
- Homemade Hawaiian Bread
- Easy Homemade Cheesy Breadsticks
- Tomato Parmesan Flatbread
- Potato Bread Recipe
- Soft Cornmeal Dinner Rolls
- Honey Wheat Bread
- Soft White Sandwich Bread
Quick Bread Recipes:
- Best Zucchini Bread
- Pineapple Bread
- Sweet Coconut Bread
- Easy Banana Bread
- Caramel Banana Nut Bread
- Best Pumpkin Bread
Easy 5 Star Homemade Bread recipe made with simple ingredients & detailed instructions showing how to make bread! Thousands of comments & reviewers agree this is the BEST homemade bread for both beginners and expert bakers.
Karens says
Hi! I love this recipe so much, its super easy to make and love the taste of the bread. But I was wondering if I wanted to make bigger batches, could I possibly double to recipe, or would that change the bread altogether? Please let me know!
Thank you!
Jessica says
You can double the recipe, just make sure your mixer can accommodate that much flour!
Rachel says
Great taste! Love the crust and texture… but, my loaves look more like biscotti vs nice and round… what do I need to change? I weigh the flour and use a liquid measuring cup… but it’s still a flat, wide loaf…
Jessica says
Shape the dough more when you put it in the pan. Spray your hands with non-stick spray and pat any rough edges. It helps!
Alex says
This recipe has worked very well for me. I had never made bread before and was amazed by how easy this recipe was to follow. Authors explanation of using a warm turned off oven for rises Is genius. Can cut time in half and produce something that looks identical to the photo. All the tips and recipe are greatly appreciated. After baking this bread several times now I can honestly say that this is an extremely solid recipe. Amazing bread. Thanks for sharing =)
Karen Polito says
Made this for Thanksgiving yesterday and it was delicious. Very simple recipe, and everyone loved it. This was my first time making bread from scratch, and now I’m hooked.
When I split the dough into 2 loaves, I kneaded in chopped rosemary and sea salt to one of the loaves. Brushed each with an egg wash- it was amazing!
Jessica says
That sounds incredible Karen!! I’ll have to try adding herbs!
Jessica says
Came out absolutely delicious!!
Jessica says
So glad to hear!!
Ashley says
Amazing recipe!!
Alison says
Thank you Ashley!
Marie says
Thank you for the recipe, the bread’s really delicious! I cut the sugar in half and they turned out perfect for our taste.
Tony says
I’ve made this a few times for my wife and I. It is the best bread recipe out there! We have used all purpose flour and whole wheat flour. You can’t go wrong with either. I like the bread to be a little on the dense side so I stay closer to the 5 cups of flour than 6 cups. Thank you for posting this recipe.
Nancy says
First time at making homemade bread. It didn’t rise like I hoped it would. What could I have done wrong? I thought I followed the recipe correctly. I’m stumped…
Jessica says
There are several reasons why your bread could have not risen.
1) Yeast is too old
2) Yeast was killed by using water that was too hot (I aim for 95-105 degrees F)
3) It initially rose for too long, then collapsed in the oven. Bread should first rise for 30 mins- an hour, then 2nd rise for about 15-30 minutes- longer isn’t necessarily better.
4) Ratio/ measurements of yeast to flour was off. Too much flour turns bread dense and crumbly. Make sure you dough is tacky- stop adding flour right when you achieve this consistency.
5) You house was too cool. Bread dough will rise in cool temps but it will take a LONG time. I like to do the 2nd rise in my oven. I simply turn it on 350° F for 1 minute, then turn it off. Place bread pan inside and let it rise. When it’s time to bake it, just preheat the oven with the pan inside and decrease bake time by 3-5 minutes.
Dave says
I’m a gluten free baker with 9 years experience. I’ve mixed my own blends, bought so many others I can’t enumerate but have found one that is a great performer as recommended below.
Recently, my wife found this lower gluten flour (Heritage Flour from Sunrise Mills). To give you an idea of how forgiving this recipe is – here’s what this EXCITED dumb-dumb did:
I made a 1/2 recipe to evaluate. Now, I’m ready to make ten loaves. So far, this new flour seems to not affect us. Yay! If any of you have ever put up with gluten free breads, you know that if not frozen within three days, it begins to turn to sand and then must be toasted to be eaten. It’s just a characteristic of all starch without the required stretchy, gluten protein for structure.
I was so excited to make this “real bread” for the first time ever and was so busy mixing the dough that I forgot to add the sugar, salt and oil to the proofed yeast. So after the dough and yeast had been mixed, I went ahead and made a syrup with the sugar, salt and a quarter cup of warm water. I then threw that in with a little more flour and worked it thru. It worked. After punching down the first rise, I realized that I forgot the oil. So, I oiled my hands well three times (about 1/8 cup) and kneaded it in. The dough raised perfectly the second time.
The bread came out perfect and so flavorful with great rise, chew and a nice, open crumb. All made without milk or eggs so it should be relatively mold resistant. I can hardly wait to make it correctly the next time.
I recommend that everyone at least try gluten free baking for a couple of weeks and recommend that you buy your flour mix from Gluten-free Jules for perfect results (no affiliation other than she’s a baking friend) in order to truly appreciate the ease of gluten-flour baking. To me, it’s a cake-walk.
Anyway, this is a TEN-STAR recipe for beginners and experienced alike and honestly, you can’t mess it up unless you forget to bake it..
Dustin says
Hey tasteofhome fans, I finally found a splinter free quality banneton proofing basket. I used it already twice, it works great and is extremely easy to clean .Enjoy your homemade bread!
flora says
Great recipe , its so easy to make at home for real, i tried today and it came out nice . I used ghee instead of vegetatable oil but still works so well . I ll reduce sugar and salt quantity next time i make , its alittle sweet but the best recipe among the few i tried . ll always make my bread from now.
Rachel says
Quick and delicious homemade bread! I will reduce the sugar next time, just personal preference. Thanks for an easy recipe that my family loves! Nothing like the smell of freshly baked bread in the house 🙂
Jessica says
I agree- freshly baked bread is the BEST!
Stefanie says
I made this in my bread oven last night, and the flavor is delicious. Unfortunately, it falls apart when I cut it. It’s not dry, but it seems like something went wrong during the kneading. (I can’t knead with my hands, due to carpal tunnel syndrome.) Any ideas as to what I did wrong? I put ingredients in order, set at basic white, used modified recipe…flour was cold because it is stored in the garage.
Jessica says
So odd! I’m really not sure what went wrong. Did you maybe miss an ingredient?
Long says
My whole family was impressed with this recipe! My wife even helped make them and said she is happy she can duplicate it now and we can have it regularly! We really enjoyed making this recipe.
Joy says
This bread was a pleasure to make and is really yummy. The top and sides are soft; the way we like them and it cuts beautifully! Thank you for this recipe!
Cal says
Recipe makes quick, delicious and easy bread. If you need bread for dinner use this recipe. Highly recommend. Also if you want garlic bread take 5 tbsps of butter, 4 cloves of minced garlic, and a shake of garlic salt put it in a bowl and microwave uncovered for 30 seconds and then 15 sec intervals. Refrigerate for 1 and a half hours. Spread on bread and enjoy
Nellie says
Thanks for the suggestion Cal! So glad you enjoyed the bread!
Juli says
First time bread maker, followed your recipe to the tee and boy did I impress my family :). Making another batch today to share with my friends. Thank you so much!
Emily R. says
This is a DELICIOUS and excellent recipe! It is slightly sweet, fragrant, and has an excellent crumb. My husband and I used it twice recently, with excellent results both times.
The only issue I had (and the only reason I didn’t give it a full 5 stars) is because we got dramatically DIFFERENT results the 2 times we made it. We think had to do with the fact that the flour is measured in cups instead of weight. If you’re not very experienced with baking (like us), it is very easy to over-pack or under-pack a cup of flour — especially bread flour.
Is there any chance you could update this recipe with a weight measurement for the flour (in either ounces or grams) to help avoid this problem? Thank you!!!
Jessica says
Bread making is influenced by house temp, humidity, etc. The trick is to add flour until you get the right consistency- tacky, but not sticky. The more flour you add, the more dense/ yough your loaf will be. So even if I gave super precise measurements, you’d need to adjust it each time anyways. : )
Intan says
Hi Jessica, what would be expected if my dough still slightly sticky?
And is there different order or instruction if i only have instant yeast?
Jessica says
No I think slightly sticky dough is PERFECT. Keep going. Dough that’s not sticky at all will yield more dense, crumbly bread.
Lori says
This was very easy to make. Turned out so good. Reminded me of my grandmas homemade bread. You’ll truly love this recipe.
Amanda says
This was my first time making bread. This recipe was very easy to follow and made 2 huge loaves. My family(2 hound picky daughters and my husband, and in laws) loved it. Will be a go to in my kitchen:) Thank you for sharing this!