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Perfect White Sandwich Bread

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Simple Homemade White Bread Recipe

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Have-it-on-hand-at-all-times Homemade Sandwich Bread.

Guess what? You could be eating a thick slice of buttery homemade bread in about 3 hours. Even better, only about 20 minutes of that time is hands-on. This homemade white bread recipe has been a staple in my house for over 20 years because it’s quick, simple, fail-proof, and deliciously satisfying like only homemade bread can be.

A perfect loaf of simple homemade bread.

Years ago, when our kids were little and the budget was tight, I decided to plant a vegetable garden. My initial interest in doing so was economic. I figured that a few packets of seeds and seedlings could provide a healthy, savvy solution to our super restricted grocery budget.

This proved to be true. That vegetable garden fed our little family well for the few years we had it. What I didn’t anticipate was the enormous satisfaction I felt from walking out into the garden on a warm summer evening and picking things for my family’s dinner that I had grown myself.

This is how I feel about homemade bread.

Baking your own bread is economical and delicious. But, it’s also enormously satisfying. It is one of the most effortless ways I know to feel like a domestic goddess.

A sliced loaf of perfect simple homemade sandwich bread.

Is there anything as basic and extravagant as homemade bread?

I make at least one batch of homemade bread every single week, which means that homemade bread is completely commonplace around my house. And yet, like magic, it never looses its novelty. We comment on how good it smells while it’s baking. We hover around warm loaves, wondering if they are cool enough to slice.

Homemade bread is always welcome, always delicious, and always a treat. Comfort food at it’s finest.

I can cook dinner guests a gourmet feast of complicated, expensive dishes and you know what they can’t get enough of? The homemade bread.

All of us love and appreciate homemade bread. But, few of us actually bake it. Perhaps this is partly because many don’t realize how easy it is. The majority of the bread making process is hands-off. Mix the dough and let it sit. Shape the loaves and let them rise. Put the loaves in the oven and let them bake.

If you’re making bread by hand, the most involved part of the process is the kneading, which will only take you 10 minutes or so. (Kneading dough is also a great way to get out any pent up frustrations. I recently received a sweatshirt that says, “I bake because punching people is frowned upon.” There are days when a truer statement has not been uttered.)

Spreading butter onto a slice of homemade bread.

Spreading jam onto a slice of homemade bread

Two slices of everyday homemade sandwich bread with butter and jam.

If you have a standing mixer, even kneading the dough for this white bread recipe is hands-off.

I made homemade bread before I owned a standing mixer. But, I started making it weekly after receiving one. It just makes the process so incredibly easy. Dump the ingredients in the bowl and let the mixer do all the work of kneading them into bread dough.

You can even force the dough to rise in accordance with your schedule. For this homemade white bread recipe, there are two blocks of time during which the dough is left alone to rise. If you allow the dough to rise at room temperature, each rise will take between45 minutes and an hour and a half.

However, if you place the dough in the refrigerator to rise, you can slow the whole process down. Use this as needed to make bread baking fit your schedule. Mix up a batch of dough and let it rise in the refrigerator all day if you wish.

Another way to make bread baking suit your schedule is to punch it down after the first rise and let it rise again before shaping it into loaves and baking it. This will, in fact, make your homemade white bread loaves even more delicious because it’s during the rise time (also called “proofing”) that the bread’s flavor is developed.

A bowl of beef and barley soup with homemade bread.

A slice of perfect simple homemade bread.

One reason why you might not want to bake homemade bread…

I recently read an article about a woman in Rhode Island who is literally the town baker. It’s the kind of town where such a thing can still exist. Every week she bakes wholesome, hand crafted gorgeous loaves of bread, which she then delivers around town, stocking local shelves with the kind of happiness that only comes from a fresh loaf of homemade bread.

If you live in that Rhode Island town, buy that woman’s bread. Otherwise, it’s time to start baking.

Two slices of everyday homemade sandwich bread with butter and jam.

Used to make this homemade white bread recipe:

6 Quart KitchenAid Standing Mixer

6 Quart KitchenAid Standing Mixer

More favorite homemade bread recipes:

More great bread recipes: Simple Homemade Whole Wheat Bread, Buttery Homemade Dinner Rolls, Homemade Flour Tortillas, Simple Homemade Pizza Dough, Soft, Buttery Potato Rolls

For more delicious bread recipes, follow me on Pinterest.

If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or take a picture and tag it #ofbatteranddough on Instagram.

Happy baking!

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A perfect loaf of simple homemade bread.

Simple Homemade White Bread Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 6 reviews

  • Author: Rebecca Blackwell
  • Prep Time: 2 hours, 20 minutes, approximately, including rise time
  • Cook Time: 40 minutes
  • Total Time: 3 hours
  • Yield: 2 loaves
Print Recipe

Description

This simple, fail-proof homemade white bread recipe turns sandwich suppers, a humble bowl of soup, or a simple piece of toast into a whole new treat.

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups whole or 2% milk (warmed slightly, to between 80–100 degrees Fahrenheit)
  • 1 tbsp active dry yeast
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar
  • 4 tbsp (1/2 stick or 2 oz.) butter, melted and cooled to at room temperature
  • 6 cups (approximately) unbleached all-purpose flour (or bread flour)
  • 1 tbsp salt

Instructions

  1. Add the milk, yeast and sugar to the bowl of a standing mixer and whisk with a fork to blend. Let the mixture rest for about 5 minutes, until the yeast is activated and looks creamy. Whisk in the melted butter.
  2. Fit the mixer with the dough hook and add 4 cups of flour to the milk and yeast mixture. Turn the mixer to low (speed level 2 on a KitchenAid mixer) and beat to start to bring the dough together. As the dough beats, slowly add enough remaining flour to bring the dough together into a soft, smooth dough. The dough should clean the sides of the bowl, but still stick slightly to the bottom. (*See note.)
  3. With the mixer continuing to knead the dough, slowly sprinkle in the salt. Once the salt is incorporated, let the mixer continue to knead the dough for another 5 minutes, until the dough is elastic, smooth and soft.
  4. Spray a bowl large enough to hold double the amount of dough with non-stick spray, or coat it with a bit of melted butter. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl, shape it into a ball, and plop it down into the greased bowl. Spray a sheet of plastic wrap with non-stick spray, or brush it with a bit of melted butter, and use it to cover the bowl.
  5. Let the dough rest at room temperature until it has doubled in size. Depending on the temperature of the room, this will take between 45 min, and 1 1/2 hours.
  6. Spray two 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch loaf pans with non-stick spray, or coat with a bit of melted butter. Dump the dough out onto a clean work surface and divide into two pieces. Lift one piece of dough and form it into a ball by using your thumbs to gently stretching the outside of the dough into a ball, pinching the dough together at the bottom. Bring the opposite sides together and pinch together at the bottom. Lay the ball of dough on your work surface, and roll it back and forth a few times to create an oblong ball. Lay the dough, seam side down, into one of the loaf pans. Repeat with the other half of dough.
  7. Spray two sheets of plastic wrap with non-stick spray, or brush them with a bit of melted butter and loosely cover each loaf.
  8. Allow the loaves to rise at room temperature until they double in size again, rising over the tops of the pans, 45 minutes – 1 1/2 hours.
  9. While the loaves rise, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. When the loaves are fully risen, bake for 35-45 minutes, until they are golden brown and an instant read thermometer plunged into the center of one of the loaves registers between 190 – 200 degrees.
  10. Remove from the oven and use a dish towel to grip the top of each loaf to lift it from the pan onto a wire rack. Allow to cool completely.
  11. Once cool, the loaves can be wrapped in plastic and stored for 2-3 days at room temperature. For longer storage, wrap the bread airtight and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw at room temperature, still wrapped.

Notes

  • If you add too much flour and your dough is dry and tough, just add in more milk, teaspoon by teaspoon until the dough is wet enough to stick ever so slightly to the bottom of the bowl.
  • Category: Bread baking

Keywords: bread, homemade bread, sandwich bread, homemade sandwich bread, simple homemade bread quick homemade bread, bread recipe

 

A partially sliced loaf of simple homemade white bread.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Hi. I’m on my 7th batch of this lovely bread and am coming back for some clarification now that i’ve had some seasonal variation in temperature and humidity. During the summer i was using almost all the 6 cups of flour. Then i had a week in September when 4 cups of flour produced a real tough dough, so i made again adjusting the liquid up a bit.

    Mid-october 4 cups was perfect no adjustments. Today (Nov 4), I used about 5 cups flour, the dough cleared the sides and stuck only slightly to the bottom. As I tried to transfer to another bowl, it was really sticky to hands, etc. I put back in and added a bit more flour, so the transfer was only mildly sticky.

    As i’m still learning how the dough should feel, could you comment on how sticky it should be when you go to transfer? Thank you.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Hi Meg! I’m so glad you’re getting so much us out of this recipe! I have also found that bread doughs need more or less water/ flour depending on the time of year and the weather. You’re looking for a dough that sticks to the bottom of the bowl slightly while kneading, but that clears the sides of the bowl with no sticking. The dough should feel tacky – not dry – but if you’re having trouble keeping it from sticking to your hands, it’s too wet. Does that help?

      Reply

  3. Oh my, this couldn’t be any easier or more delicious. I’m not a huge white bread fan, but I’m with my young granddaughters who prefer white. The process was so easy, probably only 15 minutes of hands on time. Great directions, great results.

    Reply

  4. I’m curious as to why in this variant of your bread recipe you use regular unbleached all-purpose flour, as opposed to bread flour. Is there a reason. Can I continue to us bread flour?

    Reply

    • Hi Meg! Yes – you can absolutely use bread flour. I changed it because the bread also turns out beautifully with regular all-purpose flour, an ingredient that more people tend to have on hand. However, your comment made me realize that I should at least put bread flour as an option in the ingredient list for those who would rather use it. 🙂 Thank you for your question! xo

      Reply

    • Hi Erin! Your bread might bake a bit faster. I would suggest checking it at 30 minutes. Do you have a meat thermometer? That’s the best way to make sure that bread is done – plunge it into the center of the loaf (sometimes I dump the loaf out of the pan and do this from the bottom). The bread should register 195 – 200 degrees when it’s done. Does that help? Please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Baking! xo

      Reply

  7. I’m excited about trying this bread. It’s rising as I write this. One clarification, does the recipe really call for 1 tbsp of salt like the ingredients list states? It’s more than other similar recipes I’ve looked at. Thanks 😊

    Reply

  9. Super easy recipe and very tasty. This was my first foray into bread making and I made this with my 4 year old. We decides to hand knead to have more hands on experiance, and it was great!

    Thanks for the recipe. We’ll definitely make it again.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Hi Laura! I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed this bread! And how fun that you hand kneaded the dough with your 4-year-old! There’s something so enjoyable and satisfying about homemade bread, especially when you get your hands in the dough. It’s wonderful that you are sharing that experience with your child from such a young age. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave this comment! xo

      Reply

    • Hi Julie! Sorry – it’s been a few days since you left this comment. I’ve been traveling, with limited internet. Anyway – oil will work fine, but it won’t contribute the flavor that butter does. If I was going to use butter, I’d probably increase both the sugar and salt but just a tiny bit to try and compensate. Will you let me know how your bread comes out? xo

      Reply

  11. I have been packing to move…could only find one bread (glass) baking pan,hope this is o.k.,as I am using a glass bowl,ovenproof type,for the other loaf…? They’re on second rising now….Thankyou!

    Reply

  12. I made this bread in my kitchen oven. It came out perfect. My real goal is to make it in my outdoor, wood fired, brick oven. i wanted to make sure the recipe was right (and it is) before attempting. The difficulty with the wood fired brick oven, as you probably know, is that I cannot simply set the temperature to 375 degrees. I will be trying your pizza dough next. Any chance of helping me get other bread recipes like, Italian and semilnole bread? Thank you.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Hi Bill! I am so envious of your outdoor brick oven! How amazing! I’ve actually heard from a couple of other people that they’ve cooked my pizza dough recipe in outdoor brick ovens and that it worked well. So you should be good with that recipe. For more rustic loaves, I actually highly recommend two amazing books – Tartin Bread by Chad Robertson and Sourdough by Sarah Owens.

      I’ve been baking weekly loaves of sourdough for years using those books as guides. I bake in a bread cloche – which I think would work in an outdoor brick oven, but have never tried it personally. I would LOVE to know if it works, though. So, if you try it, will you let me know?

      Thank you so much for taking the time to leave me a comment! It’s so fun to connect with other bakers! xo

      Reply

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