Easy Homemade White Bread Recipe

A sliced loaf of homemade white bread showing the soft, fluffy crumb.

This easy Homemade White Bread makes two soft, fluffy golden loaves with a tender crumb, all from simple pantry ingredients and one stand mixer.

Course Bread

Cuisine American

Keyword White Bread

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 35

Rise Time 1 45

Total Time 2 40

Servings servings

Calories 136kcal

Author Jason Decker

Equipment

stand mixer

Ingredients

5 & ½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup nonfat dry milk
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
2 & ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups warm water 115°F
2 tablespoons melted butter optional

Instructions

Add 2 cups of the flour, dry milk, sugar, butter, yeast, and salt to the body of a stand mixer. With the dough hook attachment, mix it around just to combine for a few turns.
5 & ½ cups all-purpose flour, ¼ cup nonfat dry milk, 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2 & ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast, 2 teaspoons kosher salt
Add the water and mix to combine.
2 cups warm water
On slow speed, begin to add the flour a little at a time until you come to 5 cups of flour. Place the mixer on medium-high speed, the dough should clean the sides of the bowl after a couple of minutes. If it doesn’t, add a little flour at a time until it does, up to ½ cup more flour.
Continue to mix/knead the dough on medium-high speed for 10 minutes. The dough will be smooth and elastic. Spray the dough with a little cooking spray and roll it around in the bowl, so it is lightly coated. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place in your house for about 1 hour.
Take off the plastic wrap and punch the bread dough down in the bowl to release the air bubbles.
Lightly flour a clean work surface. Knead the dough a few times by hand to get any additional air bubbles out, about 1 minute.
Spray 2 9×5 loaf pans with cooking spray.
Divide the dough into two even pieces. With your hands, roll them out into a log. Place each log into a prepared baking pan.
No need to cover the dough again. Let them rise until doubled in size, about 30-45 minutes.
While they are doing the second rise, preheat the oven to 400°F.
Once doubled, make a slit down the center of the bread if desired. Place the loaves into the oven and immediately lower the temperature of the oven to 350°F. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.
If desired, immediately brush the bread with the optional melted butter. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes.
2 tablespoons melted butter
Take out of the pans and cool on a wire rack completely.

Notes

Make sure your water is warm, not hot, to activate the yeast mixture. Remember, yeast is a living thing!
Don’t rush the rise times; letting that amazing dough rest is key for a perfect loaf.
Knead the dough until it’s smooth and elastic for the best texture. Practice makes perfect when it comes to the texture of the bread.
Use a kitchen towel or plastic wrap to cover the dough while it rises.
If using melted butter on top of the loaf, brush it right after baking for a soft crust.
Slice the bread after it has completely cooled for clean cuts. Then again, letting the bread cool before you dig in is rather difficult, haha!

Nutrition