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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.
I was careful to measure the ingredients exactly, and I was watching it bake and it looked great and was rising! But when I took it out the top had collapsed and the bread tasted ok, but wasn’t delicious like I imagine it would be if it was less dense and had risen correctly. Any insight as to why this happened? It was the first time using my bread machine.
That is by far the first bread I’ve baked in my breadmaker that actually tastes and feels like bakery bread! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I used olive oil and substituted sugar for 1-1/2 tbsp of maple syrup. Turned out great! I’ll be making more and will be proud to share and give away.
Thank you so much for this! I’ve known I should be sifting but was always lazy and didn’t do it. What a HUGE difference in the weight & texture of the loaf! Now... do you have a light & airy wheat recipe? Thanks again!
You are very welcome! Glad I was helpful.
Today is my first time EVER making my own bread with a “BreadMaster” machine. Thank you so so much for the recipe & for making this so much easier than any book could. Very much appreciated. Can’t wait until it’s finished but if I don’t succeed I will most definitely try & try again!!!!!
Kasey, thank you for your kind comment! 🙂 I hope this recipe was helpful to you.
This is the Holy Grail of white bread recipes for the breadmaker! Thank you! The first loaf was amazing!!!!
Thank you! Glad this recipe was useful! 🙂
Brilliant result
Thank you! 🙂
The recipe is great! It came out well but not as was expected.My husband has got a bread machine from Germany, being in India we dont get ready bread flour; alternatively I had to use regular all purpose flour and Bread had dry edges. The Bread has come out dense.This was my third trial with different recipes but failing breads are disappointing.Would be great if u can suggest some tips.
Hi Vandita, are you able to obtain gluten flour? Adding some to your regular flour may help. Try a tablespoon or two to start with. It will increase the elasticity of the dough enabling gas cells to become bigger without bursting as it rises.
I am glad you liked the recipe! The difference between regular all-purpose flour and bread flour is that bread flour has more protein than all-purpose, which helps to produce more gluten. That's what makes the difference in texture. Breads made with bread flour are more chewy. But maybe there is another issue. Try to sift the flour really well before measuring, or just use a slightly smaller amount of flour than indicated in the recipe and see if it makes any difference.
I have made a lot of bread in my lifetime. Correction, I have made a lot of BAD bread in my lifetime. This recipe is absolutely incredible! It is soft and fluffy. It slices beautifully. But most importantly, it is insanely delicious! This WILL be my new go to bread recipe. This is the FIRST loaf of bread I am actually proud to say I baked!
Diane, I am so happy to read comments like yours! Thank you for stopping by and taking time to leave such a kind comment! 🙂 So glad this recipe was useful for you.
Thank you so much for the basic recipe. I've got the bread machine from a friend and was following the recipe that came with it. The bread always came out too dense and on a dry side. Used yours and it is a perfect bread, soft and springy like it's suppose to be!
Svetlana, I am so happy to read comments like yours! So glad you found my recipe useful.
The bread sounds great Julia, but I couldn't find the size of bread maker the recipe is for. Thanks.
I have a similar recipe for a Shiner Bock Beer bread that uses 1/3 cup of honey that turns out very nice. I recommend heating the honey to make it runny to it combines more evenly when mixed. Here's the full recipe:
1.5 Lb, Light Crust, Basic White Setting
1 cup warm, flat Shiner Bock Beer
1/3 cup honey
3/4 tsp salt
3-1/4 cup bread flour
2-1/4 tsp (1 packet) yeast
After measuring 1 cup of Shiner Beer, pour beer back and for between two cups to accelerate the release of the carbonation. The carbonation will have adverse effects on the rise. Heat up the honey a bit to get it runny and mix well with the beer, pour in bread pan. Add remaining ingredients in order and set machine for Basic White, 1.5 lb, light crust.
thanks for sharing Jake!! the bread recipe was just sooo awesome (we ate the whole thing in one sitting!) but with a tinge of beer and honey? can’t wait to try that one!! 🙂
The 2 # loaf recipe I have is :
1 1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons oil
4 cups bread flour
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons Bread machine yeast
I always add 2 tablespoons dried milk to the water it makes for a softer crust
Hi! Thanks so much for the recipe. I too, like many other reviews was tired of the hard dense bread and never could figure out why. It was the sifting of the flour! I get it now!! Thanks so much, this bread is really really good!
Question - has anyone substituted Honey for the Sugar? If so how much honey? We are trying to stay away from refined white sugar but I know that yeast needs sugar to activate.
Kristina, I am so glad this recipe was helpful to you! 🙂 I never used honey in baking bread with yeast so unfortunately cannot help you with that question.
I have a similar recipe for a Shiner Bock Beer bread that uses 1/3 cup of honey that turns out very nice. I recommend heating the honey to make it runny to it combines more evenly when mixed. Here's the full recipe:
1.5 Lb, Light Crust, Basic White Setting
1 cup warm, flat Shiner Bock Beer
1/3 cup honey
3/4 tsp salt
3-1/4 cup bread flour
2-1/4 tsp (1 packet) yeast
After measuring 1 cup of Shiner Beer, pour beer back and for between two cups to accelerate the release of the carbonation. The carbonation will have adverse effects on the rise. Heat up the honey a bit to get it runny and mix well with the beer, pour in bread pan. Add remaining ingredients in order and set machine for Basic White, 1.5 lb, light crust.
I have a 2 pound loaf bread maker. How do I tweak this. My bread machine is the Zojirushi.
I have the same Bread maker and I love it.
I posted my 2# loaf recipe a few minutes ago so I hope it shows up. You should have a recipe in your Bread maker manual too.
Oh my dear...this is a great simple bread recipe. I lost my bread recipe in a move and I am a culinary graduate and it is spot on!
So glad you found this recipe useful! 🙂
Thank YOU! You have freed us from grocery store bread, which is tasteless, weightless, and expensive. We like a thicker bread, so I use 3½C of aerated flour, 1C+3T whole milk & two egg yolks with 1T of olive oil, 1T Sugar, 1⅛t Active Dry Yeast, & 2t of salt. 3hrs 15min, medium crust.
If I hadn't read your article, I'd still be stumbling around my kitchen, cursing the cooking gods. Thank you so very much!
You're very welcome! I am glad you found this recipe useful. 🙂