Soft and delicious, with just a touch of sweetness, and not at all like flimsy store-bought white bread, this homemade white bread recipe is easy and it’s made with simple ingredients.
There’s something deeply satisfying about a slice of white bread. And when that white bread goodness is homemade? The best! Plus, I LOVE the smell of freshly baked bread. I’ve been making Homemade Bread (White Bread) for about 15 years now, and I’ve made it so often that I can make this white bread recipe without measuring the ingredients now. And the more you make it, a better feel you get for it, and you’ll instinctively know what your bread dough is supposed to feel like.
However, I also like to add a little citric acid (or vinegar) as well. This is optional, but it achieves two things.
Easy Homemade Sandwich Bread
Knead the dough by hand, but it takes quite a while to develop the gluten in the dough this way. (Although, I do quite enjoy kneading dough by hand sometimes, bashing the dough repeatedly. Great for letting out some pent up frustration!). Just make sure not to “tear” the bread while you’re kneading it by hand.
This is the only way to make sure you get the right consistency. The amount of water or flour needed to make this homemade white bread can vary slightly each time. Use this recipe as a guide, and know that you
With bread flour, you may need to use a little extra water to get the right consistency, because the more protein content in the flour, the more moisture it’ll need to yield a soft texture.
Bread Maker Bread (basic White Loaf)
The first proof is important to allow the yeast and gluten to develop. This plays a huge role in the flavor of the final product as well. The second proof is important to get a loaf that is light and airy with a beautiful rise.
If you over-proof the bread dough at any stage, it can result in an unpleasant yeasty flavor. And if you over-proof the dough during the second stage, you’ll likely end up with a bread loaf where the crust separates from the rest of the loaf, or the crust is misshapen, or there’ll be big holes in the bread and it’ll collapse.
A quick, simple way to check whether your homemade bread loaf is done is to tap the bread on top for that characteristic “hollow” sound. However, a fool-proof method to ensure perfectly baked bread is to use a thermometer. Your bread loaf is done when the internal temp. registers195°F.
Perfect Homemade White Bread (sandwich Bread Recipe)
Leave it in the pan only for about 10-15 minutes and then place it on a wire rack to cool completely. This prevents any condensation from forming on the pan and making the bread soggy.
When the bread is done, I turn off the oven and let it cool down inside, with the oven door half open. Or if I have to do more baking, I let the bread cool down in a draft free, warm place. If the bread cools down too fast, it can cause some wrinkles to form on the crust. It doesn’t affect the taste however, just the appearance. However, this may sometimes be unavoidable in the winter.
You can make this white bread recipe in a8½ x 4 ½ inch loaf pan for best results. But a 9 x 5 loaf pan will work too. However, if you do use a9 x 5 inch pan, the resulting bread loaf won’t have as much height (or shape).
White Bread {so Soft And Easy To Make!}
The next step after proofing the bread dough, is to form the dough into a log to fit inside your bread pan.
I turn the bread dough out on to a lightly floured surface and flatten it into a rectangle. This removes excess air that formed in the dough while it was proofing. The longer side of this rectangle should be slightly shorter than that of your bread pan.
To make sure you have a tightly formed bread loaf, roll up the dough, while pinching the edge into the dough along the way. Pinch the seams of the dough, tuck the sides in and pinch them into the dough as well. It’s important to tightly roll up the dough while pinching it into itself. This prevents large air pockets from forming inside the dough as it proofs and bakes.
Basic Soft White Sandwich Loaf Recipe
All the seams of the dough should be on one side, while the other side should be smooth and tightly stretched (with no wrinkles). Make sure your bread dough log has an even thickness too.
Then carefully place this in the prepared bread loaf pan, and gently press it into the corners and bottom of the pan. Cover the pan and let it proof for a second time.
The second proofing time can vary greatly depending on the ambient temperature and weather. It can take much longer in the winter to proof, than in the summer. So it’s important to know what signs to look for to know when you’re bread loaf has proofed properly and is ready to be baked.
Sandwich Bread Recipe
So it’s important to keep your homemade bread in a container that allows for some ventilation, to let the the bread “breathe”. This white bread will keep for about 4-5 days this way.
But what I personally like to do (especially because I bake two loaves on the same day usually), is to slice the bread once it cools down, and then place these bread slices in a container or sealable bag and freeze. This keeps the bread fresh for much longer! Then I just remove the slices I need from the freezer, and let them thaw out whenever needed.
Seriously, there’s something just so satisfying about a slice of white bread, when you’ve made it yourself! 🙂 Even from frozen, it tastes incredibly fresh and DELICIOUS.
Perfect White Bread Recipe
The chances are that your bread was baked in an oven that is too hot. My oven is a conventional oven, and if you have a convection oven, you will need to reduce the oven temperature. Usually by about 15 – 25 degrees. Sometimes, oven just run hot and can burn food. You can check this by using an oven thermometer, and then adjust the temperature to compensate.
If your loaf pan is dark in color, this can also conduct heat too fast and bake the outside faster than the inside.
This is because the oven was too hot, baking the outside faster than the inside. See above for ways to fix this issues.
Classic White Loaf Recipe
If you used cups to measure the flour, the chances are that too much flour was added. Cups are not recommended as cups will add varying amounts of flour depending on how you use the cups to scoop the flour.
To fix this issue, always use a kitchen scale to weigh the flour and/or other ingredients. If you absolutely have to use cups, then adjust the water in the dough until you get the right consistency. The dough should be soft, and tacky. If its not tacky when you need to the dough, then there’s too much flour in the dough.
For bread to be too dense, you either added too much flour (see above), or the bread was over proofed during the final proofing. A dense bread can also occur if the dough is under proofed before baking as well. Under-proofing can happen if the loaf wasn’t given enough time to proof to at least 1.5 times or wasn’t in a warm place, or if the yeast has somehow died and is not active enough.
Easy Homemade Bread Recipe
This is because of the yeast. If you do an overnight proof, this can happen as the yeast develops ore flavor. I personally love the more complex flavor.
However, if you over proof the dough (especially during the last proof), the bread will have an unpleasant flavor and will also be dense.
As with all y bread recipes, I recommend going by visual cues, rather than time. Depending on the ambient temperature, humidity, and flour type the proofing times can vary.
Simple White Tin Loaf
Absolutely! Milk has fat that can inhibit some of that gluten structure. So the bread might be less chewy and even more soft.
Yes! It is optional. You can read the post as to why I do like to add citric acid and why it’s optional.
Absolutely! Bread flour will give the bread a slightly chewier texture. Because of the higher protein content, you will need to add some extra water. Just add enough water to create a dough that is soft, smooth, satiny and tacky to the touch. The soft, tacky dough is what will make a soft loaf.
Farmhouse White Sandwich Bread
If you liked this step by step recipe for Homemade Bread, then you may also like some of my other detailed how-to posts,
Measuring Cups– I like to use cups to measure all liquid ingredients most of the time. I absolutely LOVE my colorful cup measuring set, and I also love my pyrex measuring jugs too.
Looking for more recipes?Sign up for my free recipe newsletter to get new recipes in your inbox each week! Find me sharing more inspiration on Pinterest and Instagram.
White Bread Recipe
How to make the best Homemade
0 Komentar