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    How to make basic white bread less dense in a bread machine

    Published: Nov 16, 2012 / 1,380 Comments

    39.2K shares
    • Facebook3.9K
    Recipe Print

    There are many bread machine recipes out there, but if you're looking for just basic and simple homemade white bread - this is the perfect recipe for you!
    bread machine recipes, homemade bread recipe, bread maker machine
    This is my reliable, "boring", proven recipe for a basic white bread. And, I also provide tips on how to make a homemade white bread less dense in a bread maker. In this recipe, all you do is spend 5 minutes to add ingredients to the bread pan and the bread machine does all the work, on an automatic cycle that is already programmed. That's the whole purpose of the bread maker, right? The end result is a tasty loaf of white bread just of the right density.

    I do believe that the day will come when I will use a bread machine for something more sophisticated, but for once this week I am sharing the recipe that doesn't require too much thinking or meddling. Sometimes it's just nice to make certain foods almost on auto-pilot, especially for basic stuff, like white bread.

    white bread recipe, simple bread recipe, bread maker recipes

    In the last 3 months I hardly bought any store-made bread, baking about a loaf every week at home, using bread machine recipes. And, I've noticed a couple of trends/issues when making bread: sometimes the bread comes out way too dense, or the loaf does not rise enough and, as a result, comes out even denser. So, here I will describe the homemade bread recipe that works for me to produce a less dense bread in a bread maker, using a basic cycle.

    While making bread in a bread machine, make sure to consider these points:

    - When you measure flour using cups, make sure not to pack flour too dense in a measuring cup, otherwise you will end up with much more flour than you need, and, therefore, the bread will come out denser. Measuring flour correctly will solve a lot of "dense" issues. The trick that works for me is that I use â…“ measuring cup to carefully scoop all flour I need into the bread machine (usually about 3 cups), without over-packing it. Another way would be to weigh flour, which I don't do, but it's a solution.

    - Use bread flour, not regular all-purpose flour for all bread machine recipes. Bread flour contains a higher percentage of gluten than regular all-purpose flour. Using bread flour will produce taller, less dense loaves. If you use all-purpose flour (which has smaller percentage of gluten than bread flour), your loaves will be flatter and denser.

    - When adding yeast, make sure you add it last, and add it on top of dry ingredients (flour). Make sure the yeast does not reach wet ingredients. Basically, make a small indentation on top of flour and add the yeast to the indentation, just like this:

    Adding dry yeast to dry ingredient in bread pan

    And here is the simple white bread recipe. I started with the recipe that came in a little booklet together with my Williams-Sonoma bread machine, and I tweaked the ingredient measurements based on my preferences. It takes 10 minutes to prepare all ingredients together, and then it takes 3 hours and 15 minutes to bake the bread in a bread machine.

    how to make basic white bread in a bread machine
    4.88 from 956 votes

    Bread Machine Recipe: How to make homemade white bread less dense

    I've tried many bread machine recipes, and this one works perfectly for me to make simple white bread.  The bread is tall, not dense, of perfect composition.  Basic recipe for a bread maker machine.  
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 3 hrs 15 mins
    Total Time 3 hrs 25 mins
    Course Side Dish
    Cuisine American
    Servings 6 people
    Calories per serving 313 kcal
    Author: Julia

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup and 3 tablespoons water
    • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
    • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
    • 2 tablespoons sugar
    • 3 ¼ cups white bread flour
    • 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions 

    Important note about properly measuring flour using measuring cups:

    • The proper way to measure flour using measuring cups is to aerate it first. This is done either by sifting flour, or aerating it by fluffing it up and whisking it well, then spooning it into the measuring cup, then carefully removing any excess flour with a knife. If you just stick that measuring cup in the bag of flour and scoop some out, you will get a lot more flour than what the recipe calls for. Do aerate the flour, or you will end up with dry dough!

    How to make bread in a bread machine:

    • Add water and oil into the bread pan. Add salt, sugar. Add flour.
    • Make a small indentation on top of flour and make sure it does not reach wet ingredients. Add the yeast to the indentation.
    • Keep yeast away from the salt.
    • Insert the bread pan into the bread machine, press it down to snap. Close the lid.
    • Use Basic bread, 1.5 lb loaf, medium crust cycle (3 hrs 15 minutes)
    • When bread is done, remove the bread pan using oven mitts. Turn over the bread pan and shake it to release the loaf. Let the loaf cool on a wire rack for about 30 minutes.

    Notes

    The recipe is adapted from Williams-Sonoma bread machine booklet.

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Information
    Bread Machine Recipe: How to make homemade white bread less dense
    Amount per Serving
    Calories
    313
    % Daily Value*
    Fat
     
    6
    g
    9
    %
    Saturated Fat
     
    4
    g
    25
    %
    Sodium
     
    587
    mg
    26
    %
    Potassium
     
    105
    mg
    3
    %
    Carbohydrates
     
    54
    g
    18
    %
    Fiber
     
    2
    g
    8
    %
    Sugar
     
    4
    g
    4
    %
    Protein
     
    9
    g
    18
    %
    Calcium
     
    10
    mg
    1
    %
    Iron
     
    0.7
    mg
    4
    %
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

    Tried this recipe?Be sure to leave a comment and provide a Star Rating below - I love your feedback and try to respond to every comment!
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    Please share your comment and Star Rating in the comments section below.

    I appreciate your feedback!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. John Gillespie

      February 04, 2023 at 8:20 am

      Hi julia
      First time I’ve made a successful loaf in my morphy richards fastbake I thought there was a fault with the machine thanks a million for this last ditch attempt for success.

      Reply
    2. Diane Schindler

      February 03, 2023 at 6:08 pm

      I pulled out my bread maker for the first time in years to make white bread for my grandson. I tried your recipe and it was easy, tasty, light, and just perfect. Now if I could learn to slice it like a professional loaf, i would really be in bussiness.

      Reply
    3. Mr Kym Lloyd

      January 31, 2023 at 3:42 pm

      Excellent recipe. I am using an older breadmaker and not wa not having the success I wanted! However, using this recipe (and abiding by the tips) I have had success .

      Highly recommended -p

      Reply
    4. Jim

      January 31, 2023 at 7:39 am

      Wonderful

      Reply
    5. Abi

      January 22, 2023 at 6:15 pm

      Can you make with regular flour? Or does it need to be bread flour.

      Reply
      • Julia

        January 30, 2023 at 4:09 pm

        Abi, ideally, of course, using bread flour is your best choice. Here is the reasoning behind it:

        - Use bread flour, not regular all-purpose flour for all bread machine recipes. Bread flour contains a higher percentage of gluten than regular all-purpose flour. Using bread flour will produce taller, less dense loaves. If you use all-purpose flour (which has a smaller percentage of gluten than bread flour), your loaves will be flatter and denser.

        - However, I did have comments on this recipe when people used all-purpose flour, and the bread turned out well and tall, albeit a bit denser. If using all-purpose flour, use only 3 cups of flour, don't put the last 1/4 cup of flour. And, of course, aerate the flour before measuring it.

        Reply
    6. Marcia

      January 22, 2023 at 1:45 pm

      This bread was great! Do you by any chance have the amounts for a 2 lb loaf??

      Reply
      • Julia

        January 22, 2023 at 2:41 pm

        Marcia, glad you loved it! 🙂 For a 2 lb loaf, just increase the amount of all ingredients by a third (1/3). Or, multiply each ingredient by 1.33 - Enjoy!

        Reply
      • Kim

        January 27, 2023 at 8:19 pm

        Does the water need to be warm or room temp or can you use cold water?

        Reply
        • Julia

          January 30, 2023 at 3:20 pm

          Kim, I used room-temperature water (not refrigerator-cold).

          Reply
      • Estelle43

        January 31, 2023 at 10:57 pm

        Double everything

        Reply
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