Homemade White Bread

I have shared this homemade white bread recipe with hundreds of people, and every single person has raved about this recipe. It’s fluffy, delicious and incredibly easy to make. This will quickly become your new favorite bread recipe.

Homemade White Bread Recipe

I started making this homemade bread over 10 years ago and have never deviated from this recipe. I honestly use this recipe for every single thing bread related. It is a tried and true easy and AMAZING homemade bread recipe that has an amazing taste, texture and flavor.

I use this recipe for hamburger buns, rolls, pizza dough, calzones, and more. It always turns out beautifully and is so yummy no matter what meal I am making.

The Cowboys’ Rating: 10/10

Every time I make a new recipe, I have my family rate the recipe out of 10. By the time, these recipes make the blog, they’ve been tried and tested by some of my hardest tiny critics!

What Ingredients Are Homemade Bread?

• Bread Flour or All-Purpose Flour – For years I used all-purpose flour and this recipe turned out beautifully. Recently, I have been experimenting with bread flour and I haven’t really noticed any difference. You can use either for this bread recipe.
• Yeast – The yeast that I use for this homemade bread recipe is active dry yeast.
• Warm Water – I don’t ever check the temperature of the water (because who has time for that), but just make sure it’s lukewarm water so that it activates the yeast.
• Egg – The egg helps bind the dough together and makes the bread soft and fluffy.
• White Sugar – Sugar helps the texture and flavor of bread. Additionally, it also helps bread rise so it has a fluffier consistency.
• Butter Flavored Shortening or Salted Butter – 9/10 I will use butter flavored shortening. The major difference between shortening and butter in bread is the textures they create. Butter creates bread has a denser texture whereas shortening has a more tender and crumbly texture. Either will work in this recipe.
• Salt – Salt is very important for bread. It has a few roles in making homemade bread turn out. First, it helps to control the rate of yeast fermentation which is very important. Additionally, it strengthens the gluten in the bread. And finally, it helps with taste! If you have every tried bread that the salt has been left out of, it is not good!
• Nonfat Dry Milk – I have always used nonfat dry milk instead of regular milk in bread recipes. I swear by it. I think that it gives the bread a better, fluffier consistency.

Tools You’ll Need

• I always use my KitchenAid to make bread, but you can use a Large Mixing Bowl with a Danish Dough Hook
• Measuring Cups & Spoons
• Liquid Measuring Cup
• Spatula
• Bread Scraper
• 2 Bread Loaf Pans
• Flour Sack Dish Towels to cover dough

How to Make Homemade White Bread

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a bowl, combine warm water and yeast together. Set aside and let sit for 5 minutes until frothy.
3. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of flour, sugar, nonfat dry milk, and salt and mix until well combined.
4. Add in shortening and work into the dry ingredients until it is crumbly in appearance.
5. Add water and yeast mixture along with egg to the dry ingredients and begin mixing.
6. Gradually add flour one cup at a time to form a soft dough. Once all flour has been added, continue kneading or mixing for another 2-3 minutes. When done, the dough should be slightly sticky to the touch.
7. Cover the dough with a towel and let rise until double in size (about an hour).
8. Once dough has risen, generously flour a surface on the counter and scape the dough out of the bowl and onto the floured surface.
9. Knead a few times, then cut dough into two even pieces and form two loaves.
10. Spray two loaf pans with cooking spray and then place a loaf in each loaf pan.
11. Place the loaves in the oven on the top rack and bake for 30-35 minutes until the top of the bread is golden brown. (I also tap on the top of the loaf to see if it is done. The bread will sound hollow when it is done).
12. Remove bread from oven and remove from loaf pan. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool.
13. Enjoy!

Storage and Freezing

I store my bread loaves in a gallon Ziploc bag on the counter. It never lasts more than a day, so I don’t usually store it in the fridge. However, if you don’t eat bread like little chowhounds like my family does, you can store it in a Ziploc bag and place it in the fridge. It will last up to 7 days.

This homemade white bread also freezes well. I layer the bread in two layers of plastic wrap and then place it in a large Ziploc bag. Make sure to press out as much of the air as possible. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

To thaw out the bread, I just take it out of the freezer and let is thaw on the counter still in the bag. As it comes to room temperature, it absorbs the moisture in the bag and is perfectly moist and delicious.

Serve These Meals with My Homemade White Bread!