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.
Lerin says
Hello,
I have made this bread a few times but it seems to fall apart and I am wondering why that is happening?? Some help with this would be greatly appreciated!!
I look forward to seeing what has to be said. Thank you for your help with this.
From
Lerin
Grubula says
Use less flour. I am afraid I used too much cause it said 5 to 6 so I put more than 5.
Nicole says
The amount of flour will vary every time you use this recipe but if at any point you feel like you used too much flour, you can add in a tablespoon or two of water. Just knead the water into the dough, a little at a time until it comes together well and is no longer sticky or crumbling
Lerin says
Hello,
I have made this bread a few times and it seems really crumbly and I am not sure what I am doing wrong so some help with this would be greatly appreciated, thank you.
Alice says
I’ve made this bread many of times always DELICIOUS 😋
Can I make it with whole wheat flour ?
Nicole says
You may be able to swap out up to half of the flour with whole wheat and not see any differences but the biggest issue is that whole wheat flour absorbs more liquid then all purpose so the ratios may be a tad off. It’s definitely something that you’d have to play around with to get it to your liking
Lisa says
I love this recipe. I have been baking 1 loaf a week since I found it. Wondering what kind of bread machine you use? Do you recommend it? Thanks!
Nicole says
Any 2lb bread machine works well for any of my recipes. I love my Oster bread machine but other brands can work just as fine to get the job done 🙂
Aria says
The bread Crumbley and it had flaten like a souffle if there is a lot of noise.
Nicole says
Im sorry to hear that your experience didn’t work out well. Not sure what could have happened but usually crumbly bread is caused by too much flour. The sunken bread could have been anything from overproofing to undertaking so it’s hard to guess at what went wrong, but we do hope you give this recipe another try.
Nicolle A. says
I made this recipe this past weekend and it makes good bread but it tastes more like the Sweet Hawaiian Bread Rolls but in loaf form. I made a second batch and took out the sugar and had just plain sandwich loafs. Thanks to this recipe i now have a base for all the different breads i want to try and bake. Thank you
Nicole says
It’s such a versatile bread recipe. I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Judy says
This is our go to bread! We do it by hand and it Always turns out perfect. One loaf is usually gone in a day.
Nicole says
A single loaf of homemade bread never lasts long around here either 😉
Chelsea says
Made this with my kitchen aid bread hook and oven. Great recipe 5 cups of flour used*. Yummy!
Nicole says
Glad you liked it!
stephen says
Just made my first batch and was awesome. Used 5 cups flour and it came out light and fluffy. Made rolls out of them stuffed with jalapeno bacon and chedder.
Nicole says
Ohhh that sounds delicious!
Selah says
Just made 2 breads one with raisans and one without and it turned out excellent my house smells like a bakery shop thank you so much for this recipe
Nicole says
Nothing beats that yummy smell of homemade bread
Terry says
I was extremely surprised I’ve made bread lots of times and they usually don’t turn out right I was expecting this to be the same but I was actually shocked at how good the flavor is and how light and fluffy the it came out.
Nicole says
We’re happy that you had a positive experience with this recipe!
Peter says
Can’t get the yeast to proof….bubbles and creamy. I tried three times. 🤔 I even used a thermometer to to test the water….it checked in at 111 degrees.
Your instructions say to to combine the yeast, sugar, and warm water all at once…..the recipe states to dissolve the sugar in warm water THEN add the yeest.
Tried it both ways twice…..both times my yeast never really proofed.
At last, (the fourth time) I finally just went ahead and completed the recipe…..not much of a rise on the second rise.
I just bought the normal yeast and the expiration date is Nov. 22, 2022, and keep it in the freezer to extend shelf life. The brand is “Great Value.
I wonder what I did wrong? This is the first ever attempt to make bread from scatch.
Baker Pete!
Nicole says
Sounds like you’ve troubleshot everything you could on your end. If your water was a good heat and the yeast wasn’t expired, maybe you just got your hands on a bad batch of yeast (it happens). My favorite yeast to use is stored in a jar and called “bread machine yeast” it is an active yeast meant to be kept in the fridge once opened, and it can last up to 6 months (doesn’t have to be used in bread machine). It’s never let me down. Also, when proofing the yeast, make sure to add a little sugar to help feed it. You want the yeast to bloom within 5-10 minutes. Stir it into the water gently and let it rest. You should see it look foamy. If it doesn’t work, perhaps consider recalibrating your thermometer.
Peter says
Oh! And one more thing…..I made half the batch
…for ONE loaf…so naturally I used half of everything….including yeast. Just read on another recipe site that you would use the same amount of yeast as if I were making two loaves…..is this true?
Thanks in advance! 😎
Baker Pete
Nicole says
You can do it either way. The less yeast, the longer the rise times
Crystal says
I also made a half batch, one loaf. I’ve never done this before and was worried I’d end in disaster. I did leave maybe 10 min longer to rise but it’s delicious. I thought I had to much flour added maybe a tbsp of warm water. It turned out very fluffy and soft. I think it’s almost too soft. Lol.
Nicole says
Fluffy and soft is the goal and it sounds like you achieved it 🙂
Samara says
This was my first time ever baking bread and it turned out fantastic! The only thing is it’s too sweet. Will it still turn out if I only use 2tbsp of sugar as opposed to the 1/2 cup?
Nicole says
Yep you can use 2tbsps of sugar if you want it less sweet
MnM says
Good stuff!
Nicole says
Thanks!
Val says
Delicious!! The word “easy” inspired me to make this. I’ve never made yeast bread before. It turned out perfectly!! I wish I could upload a picture-two beautiful loaves. Thank you. This will be my main recipe now. Yum!!!
Nicole says
We wish we could see them too! Don’t forget you can always ta us on social media with @Jessicalovesbutter so we can see your delicious creations too!
HEATHER says
AMAZING!! This was my first time to make homemade bread and I will be saving this recipe! Love it!
Nicole says
Thats awesome!
Tamisha says
This was my first time to ever make bread. Super easy and super delicious!
Nicole says
So glad to hear it!
Debbie says
I would rather not use a vegetable oil, can I use Olive oil or black seed oil?
Nicole says
You can use a different cooking oil but the flavor profile will change based on the oil used, so keep that in mind.
Jennifer Vancas says
Best tasting bread ever. I make it alot. And it is so easy.
Nicole says
We’re glad to hear it! It’s one of our favorites too!
Tammy says
Can you add an egg to this recipe without changing the other ingredients? Also, if you want a less sweet bread, how much would you suggest to decrease the sugar to?
Thank you..
Nicole says
For this recipe I wouldn’t recommend adding in an egg, but I do have an egg containing white bread recipe available on this site ..this White Bread Recipe It’s super easy just like this homemade white bread and has an egg in it too. I’m sure you’ll love it! 🙂