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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!
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.
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 ⅓ 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:
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.
Bread Machine Recipe: How to make homemade white bread less dense
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
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.
- I have recently tweaked this recipe and made a delicious rustic Bread Machine Garlic & Herb Bread (with fresh rosemary and thyme) - worth checking out!
My Other Bread Recipes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
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.
Julia, (my daughter's name, too) my bread machine asked me to thank you for rescuing it from becoming a donation tax credit. Until I tried your recipe, I was convinced bread machines were simply a dastardly hoax perpetrated on unsuspecting, aspiring bread bakers. You are a hero and I am a fan.
So happy to hear that! You made my day!
Made this yesterday. Love the taste and density. Thank you so much If only I could figure out how to get a lof that doesn't collapse in the center. Any suggestions!
I am glad you liked this recipe. The loaf can collapse due to too much moisture (reduce the liquid ingredients by a small amount). Also, make sure to use bread flour.
Omg my first loaf ever. Better than ice cream. Used my $6 breadman machine. Apparently I counted all those 1/3 cups of flour correctly. How do I incorporate eggs into the recipe we have 3 chickens? Thanks for the recipe, Tom
So glad you found this recipe useful. I haven't tried this recipe with eggs.
Your recipe is perfect. I can make much better bread now. Really tastes yummy. Can you please share this recipe for 100% whole wheat bread. I made that many times but something always gets wrong.
So happy to hear that! I haven't made this recipe with the whole wheat flour yet.
I actually sold my first bread maker because out of the 6 times I used it, not a single loaf was edible. Then I saw one a few years later for 70% off and with great hesitation I purchased another one. I tossed the recipe book and started researching online and found your recipe. I have made 4 loaves this week (giving to friends to show off what a talented baker I am ) and each loaf was absolutely perfect! Thank you. The bread machine purchase is guilt free.
Thank you for such a sweet comment! You made my day! So glad you found this recipe useful and have started making your own bread!
It is definitely a 4 but not quite a 5. I was disappointed in the amount of rise I got. However it has pretty good texture. I added some rosemary when my machine called for additions. I made it today to serve with Mexican Eggs in Purgatory. My other half said his garlic bread was good.
Thank you, Sue! I am so happy you liked this recipe! The addition of rosemary sounds delicious! What a great flavor!
The best recipe. Light and fluffy and a chew to crust.
So pleased to hear that! Thank you for your comment!
I replaced 1/4 c flour with 1/4 c vital wheat gluten, added a large egg, and 1/4 tspn xanthan gum. It made it very fluffy. Thanks for the recipe! It worked great!
The BEST! It's so soft and chewy like bakery bread!
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you for such a kind comment!
I have the small Welbilt machine. How would I modify the receipe so the finished product wouldn't overflow in machine?
So.... No need to start the active dry yeast in warm water first???
First, add water and oil into the bread pan. Then add salt, sugar. Add flour. Next, just add the active dry yeast to the indentation on top of the flour. Make sure it does not reach the wet ingredients.
What size cups ??? Also what would that measure if weighed on weighing scales
I use regular American cups. 1 US cup equals 8 fluid ounces (US) or 236 mL. 1 US cup of flour equals 4 1/4 ounces or 120 grams.
One question about this recipe: Can it be used in any bread machine other than the one from Williams-Sonoma brand?
Hi- my bread maker has a medium crust for white bread but only goes to 2:50 minutes. The dark crust option is 3:10 minutes. Which one should I use?
Your tidbit about aerating flower has made a world of difference in all my breads. Thank you! Love this simple recipe btw!
So happy to hear that! 🙂