This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
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.
I made this recipe a little while ago and read 3 cups water instead 1 cup 3 table spoons. I thought this recipe was terrible.
I came back to this recipe realising where my dilemma was and tried again.... OH MY GOODNESS am I glad I tried again. This is the most insane soft but just crispy enough on the crust. This is now my go to recipe for bread. I'll be surprised if we ever buy bread again. Thank you Julia!
Hi Sarah!! I am so glad you gave this recipe another chance and that it worked well!! Yes, 3 cups of water is way too much! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Hi Julie,
Super excited to try out your recipe with my new bread machine, however I do have a question about the yeast - do I not need to activate the yeast beforehand even though the recipe calls for active dry yeast as opposed to instant yeast? Thank you in advance.
Hi Jiji! Yes, you can use bread machine instant yeast in this recipe (instead of active dry yeast) without making any changes.
Here is some quick background about different types of yeast:
➡️ There are, basically, just two types of yeast. Instant yeast and active dry yeast. I used active dry yeast in this recipe.
➡️ Bread machine yeast, rapid rise yeast are both just varieties for instant yeast.
➡️ Active Dry Yeast (that's what I used) is preferred for normal or basic cycle (which is what this recipe uses). Rapid rise yeast and Instant yeast is prefered for a quick cycle.
Because this recipe is so basic , you can use all these yeasts here interchangeably without making any changes.
Enjoy!!
This white bread made in the bread maker is definitely the one. My husband loves it. I eat more low carb bread. I tried the recipe from the bread maker book and it’s not even close. Thank you. Now I hope I can find some great low carb bread recipes.
Thank you, Arlene, for your lovely review!! 🙂
In a pinch substituted.
Ty for such a great recipe. Even though I didn’t have the exact ingredients I had coconut oil and honey and it tasted delicious.
Next time I’ll make sure I have the ingredients listed and I’m sure it’ll be even tastier.
In a pinch
Martha
BC Canada.
Thank you, Martha, for sharing your substitutions—they’ll be so helpful for all of us who may want to try the same!
Came out perfect and was super easy to make!
So happy to hear that! 🙂
OKAY! I don't even like bread. It's always too soft or too dense. I make it for the smell. The book that came with my machine makes logs for fire.
So I thought to myself, there must be a recipe out there. The first one I picked at random was this one. Aerating the flour? Genius. I've eaten half this bread before supper. I burnt my mouth. This is amazing ! 10 stars. Will make again
Your comment made me laugh and brightened my day! Just be careful not to burn your mouth next time!
I have not used my bread machine in ages and noticed I had a bag of bread flour which I had been ignoring so all the ingredients went into my bread maker and I will post again after it is baked.
I hope the bread turned out well!
I am new to making bread. I've tried 4 other recipes and gave up. They were either to hard, to salty or just not right. This is THE BEST recipe I've ever done and it really makes me want to try again. The only thing I did different is substitute the oil with the amount of butter (only because I didn't have oil on hand). The entire family of picky eaters loved it as well. Thank you so much for sharing.
I am so happy that everyone enjoyed this bread! Thank you for your fantastic review, Melody! 🙂
This the best recipe I have used.
The family and friends love the taste.
Thank you, Debbie, for your wonderful review, I appreciate it. ❤️
Hi Julia, I'm excited to try out your recipe. Can you please share the ingredients in grams? Thank you!
Hello! In the recipe card, just below the list of ingredients, you'll find two options: US Customary and Metric. By clicking on Metric, the ingredient quantities will automatically convert to grams.
Please let me know if you have any other questions.
This was first try with the bread maker and it came out really well. Just wondering if you can use less sugar, 2 tblspoons seems another.
Hi Wendy! Tes, you can reduce sugar to 1 tablespoon.
Excited to try your recipe. I haven’t sifted flour before so I did that today. I did notice the bread flour we buy says “pre-sifted”. So wondering if I need to sift again before using? I haven’t ever had an issue with breads I have made before, although they are more dense.
Hi Laurey, I would sift the flour again, just in case. Who knows how it was stored before you bought it - it might be overpacked by now. So many factors can overpack the flour.
This is really a great bread recipe. Thank you.!!!
Thank you for your review - I so appreciate it! 🙂
I bought my bread machine almost a year ago and i tried so many recipes and there was always something missing. Not any recipes were as good as yours. Thank you so much it is so tasty and the texture is just perfect. I was wondering for any of your other bread recipes you added on your website could we use the bread machine and would that be the same measurement?
Noemie, I am so very flattered with your comment!! ❤️
Here are some other easy variations that you can do using this recipe:
➡️ 1) Cinnamon raisin bread. Add about 3/4 cup raisins (even pre-plumped ones) and 1 teaspoon cinnamon to the flour (dry mixture). And proceed with the recipe as is.
➡️ 2) Cheese bread. If adding cheese, I would use about 1 cup of shredded cheese (Parmesan or Asiago) and add it with the DRY INGREDIENTS (bread flour). Add the bread machine yeast last. The yeast should not touch the liquid ingredients.
➡️ 3) Bread with herbs. Another variation is to add about 1 tablespoon of Rosemary and 1/2 teaspoon of Italian seasoning (or some other combination of dry herbs, such as thyme) to the flour mixture.
➡️ 4) Garlic bread. Add the crushed or minced garlic (about 2 or 3 tablespoons) together with the LIQUID INGREDIENTS, then add dry ingredients (just like the recipe states), then add the yeast last (making sure the yeast is not touching the liquid ingredients).
That's great thank you so much for the ideas. I will try what you suggested with the bread machine. Do you always chose the white bread option on the machine for each recipe?
I would use a basic cycle or any similar option on your bread machine (similar to what I used).
This is it! The recipe I’ve been waiting for, for years! Followed the instructions to a T, and it turned out fabulous. I didn’t have bread flour, but King Arthur All Purpose organic flour did quite nicely. Next time, I’ll use bread flour.
Barbie, I am so flattered by your review!! I'm so glad you found this recipe and that it worked to your liking!! ❤️❤️❤️
Made buns out of the dough, were primo!
Haha, glad you loved it, Lisa!
So glad I found this! The whole family loves it. Do you have the conversion if I wanted to make a smaller 1lb loaf?
I love this recipe and have been using it for years! We make 1-2 loaves a week.
Ive used it as a base for sourdough bread in the bread machine-Usinf Sourdough starter and whole wheat flour.
Ive used it as a base recipe for 12 grain bread.
I like adding an egg to our loaves, as we find it helps get it nice and fluffy, but this recipe is perfectly fine without!
Oh wow, Gloria, thank you for your thoughtful review: so cool that you make a sourdough bread in the bread machine!
Can you share recipe with sourdough starter please?