Homemade White Bread Loaf (Basic Recipe)

This homemade white bread loaf is my first bread recipe, one that I perfected to my liking. This is a basic white bread recipe, super easy to make, and can be easily mastered by anyone, including those who are new to baking bread.

I call this a homemade white bread loaf because that is what it is. You make it on your own, at home, using very basic ingredients that you will most likely readily have in your pantry, except may be yeast.

Making this white bread does not take too long either. It requires 2 stages of proofing, with each stage taking about an hour. So all in all, you can make and bake this basic homemade white bread loaf in under 3 hours.

The white bread loaf is soft and fluffy, and has a pleasantly light crust. It is perfect for toast and sandwiches and equally awesome when dipped in curries too!

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How to Make the Bread

The best part about this easy homemade white bread recipe is that it can be made with all-purpose flour, so if you don't have any bread flour, you can always make this white bread loaf with all-purpose flour!

Ingredients

This basic white bread recipe uses only 5 ingredients (excluding water) and they are:

• All-purpose flour
• Instant Yeast
• Sugar
• Butter
• Water
• Salt

Very basic right?

Mixing and kneading the bread

1. Start by adding half of the water into your mixing bowl.
2. Add yeast and mix with a spoon until the yeast appears dissolved.
3. Once the yeast is dissolved, add the remaining water and sugar, followed by sifted flour and salt.
4. Knead the dough on medium-high speed with a dough hook for approximately 2 minutes. At this stage, it should come together nicely and appear stretchy.
5. Cut butter into small pieces and add to the mixing bowl.
6. Continue the machine kneading for an additional 7 to 8 minutes (on medium high speed) until the butter is fully incorporated. At this point, the dough should be soft and stretchy.

Proofing

1. Turn the dough out of the bowl.
2. Form into a ball. Dust with flour if it is sticky.
3. Place it in a large bowl. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel or cling wrap and leave the dough to proof in a warm place until it is almost triple in size.
4. This can take anywhere between 1 hour to 2 hours depending on the temperature.

2nd proofing and shaping

1. Once the dough as almost tripled in size, press it down (or punch it down) to release the air bubbles. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
2. Press it into a rectangle with the short side measuring the same as the long side of your bread tin.
3. Roll it tightly.
4. Tuck the ends and sides.

Baking the bread

1. Place the roll into a well-greased bread loaf tin.
2. Cover the bread with a kitchen towel and leave it in a warm place to proof again, this time until it has doubled in size.
3. Bake the bread in a preheated oven at 165 degrees Celcius for 30 minutes. Place it on the lowest rack in your oven to avoid the top from browning too much. Remove the baked bread from the oven. Let the freshly baked loaf rest in the bread tin for approximately 1 to 2 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack.
4. Brush the top with melted butter immediately. Cool the bread completely before slicing it.

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Notes

Instant yeast

• This homemade white bread recipe uses instant yeast. Instant yeast does not require activation which means you can literally mix the yeast and the rest of the ingredients and knead the bread.
• If you are using active yeast, mix it with half of the warm water and leave it aside for at least 5 minutes until it turns frothy before adding the rest of the ingredients. If it does not turn frothy, it is no longer active and cannot be used. You need to discard and restart with a new batch of yeast.

Flour

• I used all-purpose flour to make this white bread loaf. You can always substitute it with bread flour if you wish.

Kneading the dough

• I use a mixer with a dough hook to knead my bread. The timing indicated in the recipe below is for kneading with a mixer. If you knead this homemade white bread by hand, a longer knead time would be required. Ideally, the dough needs to be kneaded until it turns stretchy.

Proofing the bread

• This homemade white bread requires 2 stages of proofing. Proofing is the process of letting the bread dough rest to allow it to increase in size, often double its original size. Proofing requires a warm temperature so place your bowl of dough somewhere warm to help it rise well.
• For the first stage, it helps to cover the bowl with cling wrap.
• For the second stage, the loaves need not be covered, but you can always place a light kitchen towel on them if you wish. You can also proof this homemade white bread loaves in the oven, just don't turn it on until the bread is ready to be baked. The closed oven helps keep the air in there warm to help with the dough to rise in size.

Melted butter glaze after baking

• The homemade bread loaf is brushed with melted butter after baking. I like to brush mine generously with butter. You can use butter lightly if you like. It makes the crust soft and remains soft even the next day.

Cutting the bread

• If you cut the bread immediately after it is baked, it will be crumbly. This white bread loaf is best cut after the loaf has completely cooled down.

Storing the homemade bread

• The bread can last at room temperature for a good 2 to 3 days. If refrigerated, it can keep for at least 4 to 5 days. It tends to become a little dry when consumed after 24 hours. A light toast helps to make it all soft and fluffy again.

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Like this recipe? Here are my other posts you might want to check out:

• Coconut Loaf Cake with Lemon Glaze Topping
• Homemade Fondant Recipe
• Strawberry Filling - An Easy Homemade Recipe
• Easy Moist Banana Bread with Oil (No Butter)
• Pandan Bread - Homemade Milk Loaf with Raisins
• Dark Chocolate Banana Cake with Buttermilk (Super Moist)
• Chocolate Brioche (Easy Brioche Loaf)
• Ube Rolls - Soft and Fluffy Twisted Bread Rolls

Recipe (Printable)

Here is the full printable version of my homemade white bread recipe.

And that's my homemade white bread recipe for you.

Happy baking 🙂