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.
Marilyn Roe says
Good
Jessica says
Thanks!!
Grace says
First time bread maker and ingredient quantities were perfect. It tastes sooo good. Do you have a wholewheat or brown bread recipe?
Peggy McFarland says
Does 1/2 cup sugar seem a lot. I loved the texture of this bread just a tad too sweet
Javelin Rivera says
This came out great for my first time. I was panicking half way through because I used alkaline water, and I was afraid if the yeast would not react correctly. This is when I decided to let it proof for an extra hour.
Jessica says
I’m so glad to hear it went well! : )
Marlena says
This is very good! I love the hint of sweetness
Carina says
This was my first time making bread and it came out amazing! We did an eggwash on top and it was perfect! It was fluffy, bouncy, and the outside was golden! My boyfriend came out looking better than mine for sure because I tried to hard to make it smooth and pretty 😆
I was a little confused toward the end of step 2 though. I think it might need a little proofreading! 🙂
Jessica says
So glad you enjoyed it!
Naas says
I’ve made bread with this recipe multiple time.. I love how simple the recipes is and the bread came out great.. thank you!!
Diana says
This was a great recipe, easy to follow and the bread was delicious. I did find it was a very sweet bread (1/2 cup sugar to activate yeast!) – not great for a savory sandwich, but great for peanutbutter and jam!
Brenda says
I made a single loaf I. The breadmaker. The loaf is very good! I’ll be making this a lot in the future.
Denise Tabor says
Recipes was easy and I have used in bread machine and in oven. Great taste and light and airy.
Alison says
Thank you so much Denise!
Alice jarvie says
Bread was a bit doughy on the inside…what did I do wrong? Looked done on the outside. Also a bit sweet for my liking but still very delicious! Will try it again!
Jessica says
I really struggle with my breads being fully cooked on the inside, so I started using a cooking thermometer to test- it should register 200°F. Works like a charm! I try and test from a corner, aimed to the center of the bread. 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. http://www.thermoworks.com/ThermoPop?tw=BUTTERBREAD
Jody Barkhouse says
East to make. Great texture and tastes awesome.
Alison says
Thank you Jody!
Kate says
Amazing! My first time making Bread and using yeast and this was a very easy recipe. I only had one bread loaf pan so I made it in a circular one and it turned out amazing, just watch the time as it cooks faster then the loaf pan. I also cut the sugar in half as I didn’t want sweet bread but I do want to add the sugar or even more and try some sweet bread. Overall amazing recipe will definitely use this again and share with my family and friends! 😊
Ann Parker says
Hi Alison, I’d like to make my first-ever homemade bread using your easy recipe (traditional or oven baked version).
I don’t have white sugar. Would a light Turbinado sugar work? I plan to make only 1 loaf so I wouldn’t be using a lot of sugar, but would Turbinado sugar change the taste by a lot. I might be able to find 2 small packets of white sugar if that would help. Would be happy to review the results – and very excited to try it.
Thanks much,
Ann
Jessica says
You can use honey instead! Just add 2 TBSP. : )
Vickie says
If I can make this bread any beginner can plus it was a hit with my family
Alison says
I’m so glad you think so Vickie!
Andries says
I have made this recipe a few times now, halving (also keeping ratios in mind) and it is always a success. However, every time I tried to replace some of the bread flour with whole wheat flower, the loaf flattens during baking. Adjustments I tried was 1 cap whole wheat flour, 1/2 a cup, adding 1 tbs of vital wheat gluten, and a higher hydration (up to 10%). Nothing helped so far…any ideas?
Jessica says
I’d try a different bread pan. I find my wheat loaves will be less tall… so yours might be getting too tall, then collapse from lack of support. Do you have a wider/ longer pan?
Cathy says
I love making this bread. I’ve made 4 batches so far.
I didn’t realize I was out of sugar yesterday so used about half honey. It turned out about the same as with sugar. It’s so good.
Thanks for sharing this.
Michele says
Hello, I made your homemade bread and it was delicious. Family loved it!!
If I want to make cinnamon bread, how would you suggest me doing this. I would think just adding cinnamon to recipe
but wanted to ask you since you are the expert 🙂
Thanks a lot.
Jessica says
I’ve never tried adding cinnamon- you could always do a cinnamon roll type of bread. Roll it out, brush it with 2 TBSP melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Roll it up, tuck the ends under and bake. : ) That’s what I’d try!
Frederick Featham says
Hi …Many thanks for this recipe. However, before I try it I have a query ….. Are you sure the quantity of yeast is 1 1/2 TABLESPOONS and not 1 1/2 TEASPOONS ? … or maybe I am simply showing a beginner’s ignorance! It’s just that other recipes I have seen require a much smaller quantity.
Nellie says
Yep, the quantity is correct!
Becky Bender says
Can I use gluten free flour?
Nellie says
I’ve never tried gluten free flour, so I’m not an expert in that area. Please let us know if you try it!
Rene says
If we use instant yeast and add right to dry ingredients do we add the water in dry ingredients? Or no water? Never made bread before.
Jessica says
I just follow the same process with instant yeast.
Lynnda says
We have a glass bread tube for making Italian or French bread. Would this work in it?
Jessica says
You’ll likely have to divide it into 2 or 3 sections, depending how much dough each tube holds, but yes! I’d slash the bread before rising & brush with a beaten egg. YUM.
Barbara Larpenter says
This is a perfect tasting bread! Turns out just lovely! Delicious, pretty. Perfect! I added a bowl of water to the often the thirty minutes the loaves baked Made the crust crisp. Follow directions exactly ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️😊