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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.
Thank you so much for the awesome recipe! It is so simple and basic but the bread is perfect! I just made a loaf, following the exact measurements and instructions and the result was great. All my family loved the bread, and I can say we do like to eat bread Again, thank you very much for sharing!
Veli, thank you so much for such a positive and enthusiastic comment - I really appreciate it!!! 🙂
I love this recipe it's great for beginners especially quick easy and always good
Yes, this is a good, basic recipe. You can add your own very small changes to make it even more flavorful!
I wonder… How would you turn this into sourdough bread?
I have never tried that!
Perfect bread. Exactly what I was looking for!
Glad you found this recipe helpful!
Made this a couple weeks ago to accompany some potato broccoli cheddar soup and it was amazing! Making both again tonight!
Amy, I am glad you liked it! Thank you for the 5-star review - I really appreciate it! 🙂
I have a bread machine I made bread yesterday it came out beautiful but vary bland
My daughter gave me here and today it burned the pan and
it wasn't baked good enough to eat
HELPPP
Please review that you used the correct bread making cycle - this recipe works for Basic bread, 1.5 lb loaf, medium crust cycle (3 hrs 15 minutes total bread making time).
The bread baked beautifully as directed.
The step on aerating the flour was quite helpful in delivering a delicious light tasty loaf.
My family enjoyed the warm bread immensely!
Thank you for this recipe on easy to make tasty bread!
Cindy, I love your comment! I am very glad you've made this recipe and that it was a success! Thank you for such a positive and enthusiastic comment and the 5-star review! 🙂
I used this recipe for my family. It came out perfect. We all loved it....it was so simple and delicious. Thanks for sharing!
First I want to say THANK YOU because I tried numerous times with my bread Maker just to have ok bread...this recipe changed ALL that!! It is incredible and I will SO be making this again and again.
Reagan, your comment made my day! THANK YOU! I am so flattered by your feedback. 🙂
Rachel, you are very welcome! Thank you for the comment and the 5-star review! 🙂
Where have you been?! I have tried sooooo many recipes until now. They were all dense (great for toast only for us). This turned out absolutely amazing!!! Your recipe is now my go to daily bread. Thank you so so much for sharing. It was just like a French loaf with it being so light on the inside and a crispier crust.
Cynthia, I am super flattered by your comment, WOW! Thank you for being so sweet and kind - I appreciate it and it means a lot to me! 🙂 I am happy this is now your go-to daily bread!
Hello,
I made your Bread today and it is Awesome.. Thank you so much for posting it online..
Terry, you are very welcome! I am glad you found this recipe useful - thank you for your comment and the 5-star rating! 🙂
This recipe is awesome! So easy and quick! Throw some ingredients in push a button and 3 hours later you’re in heaven. I can’t keep up with my family eating this bread up! We all love it!
Deenah, I am so flattered by your comment! 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to write this wonderful feedback - I appreciate it!!!
Have been looking a long time for a good white bread recipe. Love this one immensely, it's consistent every time. My family and friends love it and ask me for a fresh loaf everytime we get together for a meal. My Husband is very fussy about his bread and he loves it. Makes great french toast too. Thanks so much!
Jacquie, you are very welcome! I am glad this recipe was a success! 🙂 And, thank you for taking the time out of your day to share such a positive and enthusiastic comment and the 5-star review! 🙂
I don't see where you state what size loaf this recipe makes. I'm assuming 1.5 or 2 but I need to know before I set my machine.
See step 5. Dale.
1.5 loaf
Bake 3hrs 15 minutes.
Dale, it's 1.5 lb loaf, medium crust cycle (3 hrs 15 minutes).
Thanks so much for this basic recipe. I lost the book that came with the bread machine, and realized it only when I started the bread! I sifted the flour too, so hopefully everything will work out okay. Peter
Peter, I am glad you found this recipe - it will definitely help you to make a basic fluffy bread loaf! Enjoy!
Absolutely love this bread...it is light and fluffy and great the next day, especially when stored in a keep fresh bread bag. Please could you give me the quantities if i wanted to make a 2lb loaf (in Metric and Imperial if possible )
You can definitely turn this from 1.5 lb loaf to 2 lb loaf by simply multiplying all the ingredients by 1.33
Measure your ingredients by weight - this way you can safely increase bread recipes with very little room for error.
Can I double the recipe? I can’t wait to try this. Thanks
Jayne, yes, you can safely double the recipe by doubling all the ingredients.
Measure your ingredients by weight - this way you can safely increase bread recipes with very little room for error.