This delicious Bread Machine Onion Bread is soft, fluffy, and flavorful. It makes a great side dish for pasta dinners and is wonderful dipped into stews, soups and saucy casseroles. It's easy to make and can be baked in the bread maker or the oven.
Table Of Contents
Made in the bread maker, this onion bread is easy to make. It's the same basic recipe I use for my all time favorite garlic bread and very similar in texture and fluffiness to my white bread.
As with most bread machine recipes, onion bread is essentially hands-off as long as you already have caramelized onions on hand. If you don't you can quickly roast onions in the air fryer or oven before preparing your dough. Then just add all of your ingredients to the bread machine and let it do all the work for you.
There are instructions in this recipe for baking your bread in the machine or in the oven. I like baking my homemade bread in the oven so I can control the shape. But with either method you'll make the tastiest onion bread!
Why This Recipe Works
- Using sweet caramelized onions to flavor the dough creates a fantastic tasting bread and is much better than using dried onion powder or minced dried onions.
- The ratio of ingredients in the dough produces a soft and chewy bread- one of the best fluffy onion breads!
- You can add roasted garlic, roasted tomatoes or a blend of fresh herbs to create a tasty variation.
Ingredients
- Warm water: you can also use milk, but any liquid should be warmed to between 110 and 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Olive oil: I use extra virgin olive oil in most of my bread recipes, but butter cut into small pieces can also be used.
- Salt: use iodized table salt for the best results.
- Bread flour: can be substituted with all-purpose flour.
- Vital wheat gluten: optional, but will produce a fluffier and softer bread with a chewier texture.
- Yeast: instant, active dry, or bread maker yeast are all suitable for bread machines.
- Roasted or caramelized onions: onion bread tastes best when made with caramelized onions or roasted onions, but fresh and raw onions work too.
Step-By-Step Instructions
- Add all the ingredients except for onions to the bread maker pan in the order listed (for Cuisinart machines*). If baking in the bread machine, select the basic/white bread setting, choose the 1.5 pound loaf size and your prefered crust color. If baking in the oven, select the dough setting and 1.5 pound loaf size. Turn on the mix in function.*For other bread machine brands refer to the instruction manual for the correct order to add ingredients.
- When the mix in signal chimes, add onions, reserving a small amount for the top of the bread if desired. Use a spatula to help knead the onions into the dough if necessary. If dough becomes too sticky, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time until a tacky and soft dough ball forms.
- For machine baking, once the kneading cycle is finished carefully brush the top of the dough with milk or egg white. Sprinkle on any reserved onions. If baking in the oven, remove the dough from the bread pan. Punch down a few times and reshape into a ball. Place on a baking sheet and cover with a heavy towel. Put in a warm place and let rise for 30-40 minutes, then gently brush the top of the dough with milk or egg white being careful not to deflate the dough. Sprinkle with any reserved onions and bake at 350℉ for 35-40 minutes, or until the internal temperature is about 190℉.
- Remove bread from the machine or oven when done. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before slicing and serving. Onion bread is great served with a creamy fettuccine alfredo dinner or creamy tomato pasta, along with dipping into a vegetable soup, broccoli cheese soup and beef stew.
Chef's Tips
- You may need more to add more flour after adding the onions if using caramelized or roasted onions that contain a lot of oil. If the dough starts to stick to the bread pan, add flour in small amounts (about 1 tablespoon), wait a minute, then add more as needed. In the end, a tacky and soft dough ball that pulls off the side of the pan should have formed.
- To give the bread a rustic or bakery look, slice 3-4 lines using a sharp knife in the top of the dough immediately after the kneading cycle (before the rising cycle).
- To give the final bread a tasty crust, use a milk, egg or egg white wash brushed over the top immediately before baking. Milk will yield a soft, light brown crust. Egg will yield a golden brown crispier crust and egg white will produce a golden brown soft crust.
How To Store
Onion bread is freezer-friendly and can be stored for up to 6 months in an airtight plastic bag. It keeps well at room temperature for around 3 days and in the fridge for around 5.
Recipe FAQs
While it is optional, adding vital wheat gluten to homemade bread gives it a protein boost. This results in a stronger gluten network, and in turn, produces a crispier crust, larger crumb, chewier bread and softer texture in your bread.
Usually breads that turn out very dense lack enough liquid or were made in conditions that were too cold during the proofing and rising process.
Bread doesn't rise for many reasons. It could be that the liquid used was too cold, the yeast was dead, or the conditions it was being made in were not suitable to the process of making dough (such as too little or too much humidity or a kitchen that is too cold). Determining which factor caused your bread not to rise is a process of trial and error.
Just as with store bought bread, bread machine bread is as healthy as the ingredients that go into it. So just how healthy the bread is depends on the type of bread. This onion bread recipe is made with only a few wholesome ingredients as opposed to many store bought onion breads that contain double or triple the amount of ingredients.
Recipe
Bread Machine Onion Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water approximately 110°F
- 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups bread flour plus more if needed
- 1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten optional
- 2 tsp yeast instant, active dry, or bread maker
- 1½ cups roasted or caramelized onions diced
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients except for onions to the bread maker pan in the order listed (for Cuisinart machines*). If baking in the bread machine, select the basic/white bread setting, choose the 1.5 pound loaf size and your prefered crust color. If baking in the oven, select the dough setting and 1.5 pound loaf size. Turn on the mix in function.*For other bread machine brands refer to the instruction manual for the correct order to add ingredients.
- When the mix in signal chimes, add onions, reserving a small amount for the top of the bread if desired. Use a spatula to help knead the onions into the dough if necessary. If dough becomes too sticky, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time until a tacky and soft dough ball forms.
- For machine baking, once the kneading cycle is finished carefully brush the top of the dough with milk or egg white. Sprinkle on any reserved onions. If baking in the oven, remove the dough from the bread pan. Punch down a few times and reshape into a ball. Place on a baking sheet and cover with a heavy towel. Put in a warm place and let rise for 30-40 minutes, then gently brush the top of the dough with milk or egg white being careful not to deflate the dough. Sprinkle with any reserved onions and bake at 350℉ for 35-40 minutes, or until the internal temperature is about 190℉.
- Remove bread from the machine or oven when done. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before slicing and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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