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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.
Amazingly easy and turned out Perfectly!! Thank you so much!!!
Lisa, you are very welcome! Thank you for your comment! 🙂
This is Awesome! My 1st attempt making white bread ever, and in my new bread machine. And thanks to your super easy recipe and valuable hints, it turned out Perfectly!! Thank you so much!!!
Lisa, thank you for such an enthusiastic and positive comment - I really appreciate it!
I've used olive oil as my vegetable oil, with this recipe, and added 1 T Rosemary and 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning. It came out great!
Thank you Christy for your comments. I was wondering if I could add olive oil and some seasoning of some kind. Thank you you made my day I'm going to try it. I have to put let's say I think
Yes, Christy's feedback is very helpful!
Christy, thank you for sharing such helpful and useful feedback!!!!
Thank you - very easy recipe!
You're welcome! Glad you enjoyed this bread!
Baking this as I email. So simple to put together.
Glad you liked this simple recipe and thank you for the 5-star review! 🙂
I have followed this but find my loafs always to hard of a crust And next day all hard as rock why could this be ?
Did you sift your flour first? gently measure it? I follow the recipe and my loaves are perfect. I do go crazy adding pre plumped raisins and cinnamon. Did you start it on the correct setting? If it continues to over bake, try setting it on the light setting. Hope some of this helps you.
Cynthia, I just love your helpful tips! You responded to someone else on this recipe with very helpful information, too - I appreciate it! 🙂
I’ve been making this bread for a few years already and never reviewed it. My bread always turns out great and rises beautifully. I usually do half whole wheat flour and add an extra tablespoon of water. Delicious bread that is never dense.
Jenn, I so appreciate that you took the time to share your feedback about this recipe. I am glad you've been making this for a few years - thanks for letting me know - it means a lot!
I made this today for the first time and it came out great! Thanks for the recipe!
Followed directions as written and the bread was delicious. Everyone in the family was a fan! The best part was that it reminded me of my grandma's bread. So yummy!
Erica, your comment made my day - thank you for taking the time to share such wonderful feedback! 🙂
Katie, you are very welcome!
Amazing tasty bread!!
I am so glad to hear it! 🙂
Hi Julia, my bread maker machine was suddenly not working while it was kneading the dough. So I let it rise outside, then punched it down and let it rise again. Then I baked it in the oven at 180°C for 25 mins and I got the most perfect white bread for my son! Thanks
Wow. I cannot believe how perfect this came out. Follow all of the tips, especially how to properly measure the flour. I sifted mine then spooned it into the measuring cups softly, scraped and dumped. I missed this step the first time I made this and it really makes a huge difference in the density of the loaf. Im so impressed with this simple recipe. No more store bought bread for our family. Thank you so much for this perfect recipe.
Nicole, your comment made my day! Thank you for taking the time to share your positive feedback - I really appreciate it!! I know a lot of people might like the recipe but don't have the time to comment, but when I see glowing comments like yours - they really make my day!
Wow! So cool that you were able to rescue the bread even though the bread maker machine suddenly stopped working!
Made this for the first time with my breadmaker and it turned out perfect! Looks like it will be a permanent recipe for the family!
May I ask, what is the ratio for a smaller loaf? Also, will it work if I used milk instead of water, for milk bread?
Yes it will! Try adding cinnamon, or making a herb loaf. Even eggs (room temp) for a richer loaf. Possibilities are endless. Let me know of you would like recipes
Cynthia, thank you so much for such helpful tips and feedback!
Hi Julia,
I am using bread machine Breville BBM600. The loaf settings goes by 750g, 1kg and 1.25kg.
For this recipe, which loaf setting should I be using?
If I am using instant yeast instead of active yeast, should I stick to 2 teaspoon as well?
Thanks,
Fizzy, Malaysia
The best bread recipe I’ve tried. I used ordinary plain all purpose flour and added a teaspoon of bread improver. I sifted the flour and it made all the difference. I did have to add flour a spoon at a time while it was kneading but it was perfect. Still really soft the next day and light as a feather.
This is great and helpful feedback - thank you!!
I think one thing left out was the need to use warm not hot water. Cold water won’t allow the yeast to rise causing a small hard loaf
I followed the directions twice with no luck. I'm using a 15 year old Oester machine. The bread is short and dense. I did use general purpose flour. Maybe the yeast is too old.
Yes, the yeast could be old. Even though several people commented on this recipe and said they used general all-purpose flour and it worked, I've made this recipe with bread flour (not all-purpose flour) - and that could make a difference, too!
nice, thanks for taking the time to share your recipe
Enjoy!
Using "strong flour", good yeast and a little bit of bread improver makes all the difference. Also, don't skimp on the sugar! Use the full two tablespoons because the yeast needs it as food!!
Thank you Julia, this is the BEST bread recipe I have tried ever, by far.
Jon, thank you for your kind words! 🙂 And thank you for such helpful tips and useful feedback!
I took a video on how moist this bread turned out. It is perfect. I found this recipe because my bread was dense. Merci!
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe. It was the best loaf of bread I have ever made. It was moist, perfect texture and delicious.
Margaret, thank you so much for such wonderful feedback! Glad you've enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
First time bread machine owner. I used cold water and dry active yeast. After reading the comments I think I should have used warm water and activated my yeast. I just measured it out and placed it on top of the flour.
Perhaps I messed up.
Marie-Andrée, You are very welcome! I am glad you found this recipe helpful and that the bread turned out well! 🙂
This is and excellent recipe and has turned out great every single time. Thank you!!!
Eric, thank you for such a wonderful and positive comment! 🙂