Homemade White Bread
Easy to make Homemade White Bread recipe that’s ready in about an hour. A classic sandwich bread that bakes up soft, tender and fluffy that’s perfect for Peanut Butter and Jelly or your favorite deli meats.
Homemade White Bread
There’s something special about a freshly baked loaf of bread. And white bread brings back floods of memories for me, I ate so many peanut butter and jelly sandwiches when I was young.
They were always made on Strohman white bread, it was a true staple in our household. I crave carbs on the regular and homemade white bread is the surest way to satisfy those cravings. Slather on a thick coating of butter and chow down. it helps that this Homemade White Bread recipe is super simple to make.
This recipe has been in my recipe box since before the internet was even invented. It’s been my go-to recipe for decades but I just updated it to make it even faster by using a quick rise instant yeast. So, there’s no need to wait days for your dough to be ready to bake.
Why we love this homemade bread recipe
Everyone I know loves a good white bread, even if they won’t admit it. I think white bread gets a bad rap, really, because if you enjoy it in moderation like everything else in life…it’s really not that bad for you.
The fluffy texture and buttery flavor make it perfect for any type of sandwich. It’s also fantastic for breakfast whether you’re topping it with your homemade cinnamon sugar or turning it into an epic French Toast.
How To Make White Bread From Scratch
This easy recipe will result in a super soft white bread perfect for sandwich making. It comes together easily with just a few simple steps and the rise time is cut dramatically with the use of instant yeast. So, there’s no proofing your yeast unless you need to use a standard dry yeast.
- In a bowl, mix together the dry ingredients and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients to form a dough. The dough will be sticky at this point but continue to stir until it comes together and starts to firm up a bit.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic, approximately 5-10 minutes.
- Form the dough into a ball and allow to rest in a bowl coated with cooking spray. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and store in a warm, draft free place for 10-15 minutes or until double in size.
- Punch the dough down and form into a rectangle slightly smaller than a 9 inch loaf pan. Place the dough into a loaf pan coated with cooking spray and cover with the towel. Allow to rise for 10 minutes or until the top of the dough is level with the top of the pan.
- Using a sharp knife, cut a slit lengthwise along the top of the bread. (This step is optional, I just like how it looks.)
- Brush the top of the dough with lightly beaten egg (also, optional.)
- Bake the bread for 30-40 minutes or until the internal temperature on an instant read thermometer reaches 195˚F.
- Allow the bread to cool until easily handled and turn out onto a cooling rack to cool to room temperature.
The Best Flour for Homemade Bread
I highly recommend using bread flour for baking up a batch of homemade bread but if you can’t find it, you can use All Purpose Flour with great results.
The difference between bread flour and all-purpose flour is the protein. Bread flour has a higher protein content than all purpose flour. The more protein you have in your flour the higher gluten content which produces a chewier result.
Can I make Bread Without Sugar?
You can definitely leave out the sugar in this recipe but it will make the rise time a bit longer since yeast needs sugar to feed off of.
Also, sugar is a stabilizer which helps extend the shelf life of your bread. Leaving out the sugar will cause your bread to go stale much more quickly which isn’t usually an issue because we eat the whole loaf in about a day.
How To Make Gluten Free White Bread
If you have a gluten free bread flour, or gluten free all purpose flour blend, you can easily make your own gluten free white bread at home by replacing the flour called for in the recipe. A 1:1 gluten free flour works best here.
How To Freeze Homemade Bread
Once your white bread has baked and cooled to room temperature, you can easily freeze it for later. Simply wrap the loaf tightly in plastic wrap and then, again, wrap it in foil.
Your baked bread will last up to 3 months in the freezer. To thaw your frozen bread, simply allow to thaw on the counter, unwrapped, at room temperature.
How To Store Homemade Bread
We like to store our easy homemade bread in an airtight container, such as a zip top bag, at room temperature. Your bread will last about 5 days if wrapped securely.
If you want to make it last even longer, store in the refrigerator in an airtight container and it will last up to two weeks.
Pro Tips
This easy Sandwich Bread is very simple to make and fool proof using these simple baking tips:
- You can make the dough using the dough hook on your Stand Mixer making the process clean and simple.
- To ensure a tender crumb, make sure you use a high quality bread flour. The flour bakes to a soft, fluffy texture and created the perfect crust.
- Be careful not to heat your milk too much because the heat will kill the yeast. Lukewarm milk is best.
- To create a glossy top, brush with a lightly beaten egg. This doesn’t add flavor but makes the end result showstopping.
I use the Very Best White Sandwich Bread for everything, from my “famous” stuffing recipe to THIS popular grilled cheese sandwich. It’s also amazing for these easy Homemade Peanut Butter and Jelly Uncrustable sandwiches!
More Easy Homemade Bread Recipes
If you love this easy sandwich bread, you’ll also like this HOMEMADE Brioche Bread! It’s so buttery and soft, I even made it into this Everything Spiced Brioche Bread and these easy Dinner rolls.
You can also whip up these easy Brioche Buns or try your hand at the easiest Pizza Dough ever.
Want something without yeast? These homemade Popovers are definitely what you’re looking for.
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Get the Recipe: Homemade White Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 1/4 teaspoons Instant Yeast
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 3 cups bread flour
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 egg, slightly beaten
Equipment
- loaf pan
Instructions
- In a bowl, whisk together the yeast, sugar, flour and salt. Set aside.
- Heat the milk in a small saucepan until warm and stir in the melted butter.
- Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients to form a dough. The dough will be very sticky at this point but continue to stir until it comes together and starts to firm up a bit.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic, approximately 5-10 minutes.
- Form the dough into a ball and allow to rest in a bowl coated with cooking spray. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and store in a warm, draft free place for 10-15 minutes or until double in size.
- Punch the dough down and form into a rectangle slightly smaller than a 9 inch loaf pan. Place the dough into a loaf pan coated with cooking spray and cover with the towel. Allow to rise for 10 minutes or until the top of the dough is level with the top of the pan.
- Using a sharp knife, cut a slit lengthwise along the top of the bread. (This step is optional, I just like how it looks.)
- Brush the top of the dough with lightly beaten egg (also, optional.)
- Bake the bread for 30-40 minutes in a preheated 350˚F oven or until the internal temperature on an instant read thermometer reaches 195˚F.
- Allow the bread to cool until easily handled and turn out onto a cooling rack to cool to room temperature.
9 Comments on “Homemade White Bread”
This looks delicious!
Super excited to try this recipe! Looks so good!
Thank you so much!
So delicious and easy to follow directions. Turned out perfectly. Thanks for this yummy classic bread recipe. It’s great on it’s own but I loved making a THICK grilled cheese sandwich from it. Heaven!
I’m so glad you loved it! It is PERFECT for grilled cheese!
Was looking forward to trying this recipe but like so many other examples there is no oven temperature described.
Jim
Hi Jim, Thank you for notifying me. The recipe has been updated to reflect the necessary baking temperature of 350˚F. Hope you give it a try!
Where do I add the discarded sourdough to the recipe? I’ve used your previous account for the starter but not clear how to add it to the loaf bread.
The discarded sourdough is not used in this recipe, I used it in the No Knead Sourdough bread recipe here: https://thesuburbansoapbox.com/easy-no-knead-sourdough-bread-recipe/