This White Bread Recipe is an easy and delicious loaf of bread that is soft and fluffy and made with only six ingredients. This simple dough makes the perfect fresh sandwich bread.
I am a big bread lover, but not a fan of all the preservatives and extra stuff that comes with store-bought bread. This simple white bread only has six ingredients and is so delicious that you won't be heading to the store for a loaf of bread any time soon!
If you're looking for more bread recipes check out this Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, Milk Bread Rolls, or Peanut Butter and Jelly Bread Pudding.
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Nothing beats fresh bread! Just the smell alone is enough for me to want to bake this White Bread Recipe all the time.
- This White Bread Recipe is healthier than store-bought bread. Homemade bread lacks preservatives, excess sugars, and sodium making it better for you overall. This resource from Country Life Natural Foods highlights some more of the differences in store-bought and homemade bread.
- When making bread at home you can customize it very easily to your preferences.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- The water needs to be about 110 degrees (F). If it is too warm it will kill the yeast, too cold and the yeast won't wake up.
- The honey will add a bit of sweetness to the bread and help to feed the yeast.
- Instant yeast will make the bread rise and give it the incredible soft and fluffy texture. I also use instant yeast in my Caramel Cinnamon Rolls and Raspberry Cinnamon Rolls.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and Variations
- The honey can be substituted for 3 tablespoons of sugar or your preferred sweetener.
- Flavor enhancers like cinnamon, chocolate chips, or dried fruit could be added to this plain white bread recipe.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
Step-By-Step Instructions
STEP 1: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a hook attachment, add the warm water and the yeast. Let sit for 5-10 minutes to allow the yeast to dissolve and begin to get foamy.
STEP 3: Add the melted and cooled butter and the honey to the yeast mixture. Stir to combine.
STEP 3: Add the flour mixture to the yeast mixture and beat at a low speed until the ingredients are combined. Turn the speed up to medium and beat for 5-7 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
STEP 4: Spray a bowl with non-stick spray and place the dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and place in a warm spot to rise for about 1 ½ hours or until almost doubled in size.
STEP 5: Punch the risen dough down to release all of the built-up gas inside of it. Turn the dough out onto a clean and floured surface and divide it into two equal pieces. Shape each piece of dough into a loaf shape.
STEP 5: Place in 2 9-inch greased loaf pans. If you only have one loaf pan you can refrigerate the other piece of dough until the first is finished baking. You can also make the dough into a round shape and bake it on a baking sheet.
STEP 6: Cover the loaf pans with a clean towel and allow it to rise in a warm place for about 1 ½ hours or until it has doubled in size.
STEP 7: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees (F). Bake the bread for 30-35 minutes. It should be golden brown on top and sound hollow when tapped. If you want to be sure it is bake through you can test the internal temperature. It should be at 190 degrees (F).
STEP 8: Remove the white bread recipe oven and allow to cool before removing from the pan.
Expert Baking Tips
- Use an oven thermometer. Most ovens run either hot or cold. Using an oven thermometer ensures that you are baking your brownies at the perfect temperature.
- Weigh your ingredients. One of the most common baking mistakes that I see is measuring incorrectly, especially with flour. The best way to get accurate measurements every time is to weigh them with a kitchen scale.
Recipe FAQ's
It was probably over proofed, which means it rose for too long and created too much gas.
It would be very very hard to over mix the dough. Mixing dough creates gluten, which is what holds the bread together. In most baked goods you want the bare minimum of gluten, but in bread you want as much as you can get!
I believe this bread recipe can be made in a bread machine, but you may have to make some tweaks depending on your machine. This resource from King Arthur Flour will help you convert any recipe to work for your bread machine.
Sourdough bread is made using a sourdough starter, which makes the dough naturally rise as a result of gas from the fermenting process. This bread uses instant yeast instead.
Room Temperature: The bread can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days.
Refrigerator: If stored correctly in an airtight container this White Bread Recipe will last up to 1 week in the fridge.
Freezer: If stored correctly in an airtight container it will last up to 2 months in the freezer. I recommend slicing the bread before you freeze it.
More Recipes You'll Love
If you tried this White Bread Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I so appreciate hearing from you!
Recipe
White Bread Recipe
Ingredients
For Bread:
- 2 ¼ cup (510 grams) warm water
- 1 package (7 grams) active dry yeast
- 3 tablespoons (63 grams) honey
- 1 tablespoon (8 grams) salt
- 6 ½ cups (780 grams) bread or all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter melted and cooled
Instructions
For Bread:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a hook attachment, add the warm water and the yeast. Let sit for 5-10 minutes to allow the yeast to dissolve and start to get foamy.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the sugar, salt, and flour.
- Add the melted and cooled butter and honey to the yeast mixture and stir.
- Add the flour mixture to the yeast mixture and stir on low until all the ingredients are combined. Turn the speed to medium and beat for 5-7 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Spray a bowl with non-stick spray and place the dough in the bowl. Cover with a clean towel and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 ½ hours or until the dough has almost doubled in size.
- Punch the risen dough down to release the built-up gas. Turn the dough out onto a clean and floured surface and divide it in half. Shape each piece of dough into a loaf.
- Place in 2 greased 9-inch loaf pan. If you only have one loaf pan you can refrigerate the other piece of dough until the first is finished baking.
- Cover the loaf pans with a clean towel and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 ½ hours or until doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees (F). Bake the loaves for 30-35 minutes. If the bread is cooked through it should sound hollow when you tap it.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool before removing from pan.
Notes
- The provided nutrition information is an estimate. The calorie accuracy is not guaranteed.
Raymond Lacharite says
your grams of ingredients stay the same for 1,2,3 loaves ??
Ellie Haley says
the grams are a part that I add, they aren't part of the recipe card so they aren't affected by that feature, unfortunately