Bread Machine White Bread is a simple and basic loaf that tastes great. This recipe makes a high rising bread with a soft and springy texture perfect for using as a versatile everyday bread for sandwiches, toast and more. It's the best white bread recipe for the bread maker that you'll find.
"I got so many compliments from this!!"Absolutely scrumptious! Made 2lb loaf on light crust setting. One of the best white bread recipes I’ve ever tried!"
Table Of Contents
This white bread recipe is perfect for the bread machine. It uses bread flour, which has a high protein content, to give it a soft and fluffy texture. With the perfect light density and a balanced flavor, it makes a great basic bread for sandwiches, toast and more. Spread on some roasted garlic, hummus or tomatoes and you've got a delicious snack.
White bread gets a bad name for being boring, but this easy bread machine recipe creates a loaf that is anything but that. Along with bread machine garlic bread, white bread is delicious as a side with Moroccan chicken stew, turned into pepperoni toast or meatball toast, and dipped into slow cooker potato soup.
Once you've mastered how to make a basic white bread in your bread maker, make sure to check out my whole wheat bread and cheese bread.
Ingredients (U.S.)
This recipe makes a 2 pound loaf. For smaller loaves, see the notes in the recipe card below.
- 1 ½ cups warm water:
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ tablespoon sugar
- 4 cups bread flour
- 2 ¼ teaspoon yeast
Ingredients (Weighted)
- 355 ml warm water
- 30 ml olive oil
- 36 grams unsalted butter
- 11 grams salt
- 31 grams sugar
- 572 grams bread flour
- 10 grams yeast
Ingredient Tips & Variations
- Water: water should be warmed to between 110 and 120 degrees Fahrenheit. You can also use warm milk for a slightly different flavor.
- Olive oil: I use extra virgin olive oil. Substitute with vegetable oil if preferred.
- Salt: white salt, such as table salt or iodized salt.
- Sugar: sugar helps the yeast activate a little more than without sugar but it's not absolutely necessary to add sugar to bread machine recipes. For a sugar-free loaf, leave it out.
- Bread flour: with it's relatively high protein content, bread flour is preferred for making light, fluffy and airy bread recipes. King Arthur bread flour is my preferred brand. You can use all purpose flour as well, but the texture may be a little less soft and springy.
- Yeast: you can use instant yeast, bread machine yeast or active dry yeast in breadmaker recipes. I like the outcome of my bread machine recipes most when I use instant dry yeast, so I stick with this. Do not proof yeast before putting into the bread pan.
Instructions
- Add the ingredients in the order listed to the bread pan, then follow the instructions below for how you'd like to bake the bread. *The ingredients are listed in the order that Cuisinart machines require them to go. Check your brand's manual for ingredient order. If it differs, add them in the order that your manual states.
- MACHINE BAKE: Select the basic/white bread setting. Choose the 2 lb loaf size and your preferred crust color. At the end of the last kneading cycle, remove the kneading paddle. If you miss this step, remove the paddle using oven mitts after the bread cools. When baking is complete, let cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the bread pan.
- OVEN BAKE: Select the dough cycle and 2 lb loaf. When done, remove the dough ball from the pan, punch down a few times and shape as desired (or split into 2 balls and place in 2 loaf pans). Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 40 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30-40 minutes or until the internal temperature reached 190 degrees.
- Cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before slicing. Slice with a serrated bread knife and enjoy.
Chef's Tips
- Don't let the yeast interact with the salt before the machine starts kneading. To ensure this doesn't happen, make an indent in the flour and add the yeast to it last.
- During the first 15 minutes of kneading, keep an eye on the dough. If it appears too wet add more flour in small increments until a tacky ball forms. If it's too dry add more water in small amounts.
- A bread slicer is a great gadget to have to ensure evenly cut slices.
How To Store Bread Machine Bread
Allow homemade bread to cool completely on a wire rack before packaging to store. Slice the bread and keep it in a cool dark place, such as a bread box or cloth bread bag. It will stay fresh for up to three days. Homemade bread can also be frozen. Wrap it tightly in plastic and put in a freezer safe storage bag. Freeze for up to 6 months.
Recipe FAQs
Instant yeast, active dry yeast, and bread machine yeast are all perfectly fine to use in the bread machine. Instant yeast rises and creates flavor with 1 rise, while active dry yeast takes 2 rises. Since the white bread cycle is programmed for 2 rises, either yeast will work. Bread machine yeast is basically the same as instant yeast, but is given a different name due to branding. It is a specially formulated instant yeast that's made to rise faster— twice as fast as active dry yeast. When using the different yeasts, you'll see insignificant, if any, differences in this white bread recipe texture or shape.
For breads that need time to rise, bread flour is the best flour to use. It has a higher amount of protein and gluten, which creates a chewy, airy bread. While you can swap bread flour for all purpose flour, it won't produce the same soft chewy bread. All purpose flour has a lower protein content. This makes it best for breads that are more dense and don't need time to rise, like cookies.
There are many potential reasons for bread machine bread to come out dense. Some of them include: not kneading the dough properly, letting the salt and yeast mix while adding ingredients into the pan, using all purpose or whole wheat flour, an inadequate rise time, and using dead yeast. Making bread in a bread machine should eliminate dense bread resulting from an inadequate rise time and having not properly kneaded the dough. Still, to create a fluffy white bread that is not at all dense, make sure: the salt and yeast do not interact when they are added to the bread pan and that you use properly measured bread flour and fresh yeast.
Recipe
Soft Bread Machine White Bread Recipe
Equipment
- bread machine
- bread knife
- bread storage bags
- wire cooling rack
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup warm water (approximately 110°F)
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon butter, room temperature and sliced into ¼ inch pieces
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ tablespoon white sugar
- 4 cups bread flour
- 2 ¼ tsp yeast instant, active dry, or bread machine
Instructions
- Add the ingredients in the order listed to the bread pan, then follow the instructions below for how you'd like to bake the bread. *The ingredients are listed in the order that Cuisinart machines require them to go. Check your brand's manual for ingredient order. If it differs, add them in the order that your manual states.
- MACHINE BAKE: Select the basic/white bread setting. Choose the 2 lb loaf size and your preferred crust color. At the end of the last kneading cycle, remove the kneading paddle. If you miss this step, remove the paddle using oven mitts after the bread cools. When baking is complete, let cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the bread pan.
- OVEN BAKE: Select the dough cycle and 2 lb loaf. When done, remove the dough ball from the pan, punch down a few times and shape as desired (or split into 2 balls and place in 2 loaf pans). Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 40 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30-40 minutes or until the internal temperature reached 190 degrees.
- Cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before slicing. Slice with a serrated bread knife and enjoy. Store sliced bread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Notes
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ tablespoon white sugar
- 3 cups bread flour
- 2 teaspoon yeast
- ¾ cup warm water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 2 cups bread flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon yeast
Cathy says
I made this bread yesterday and my fiance and I loved it. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Neala Corbett says
Hi Kristina. I tried this recipe last week and it is the best bread recipe I've found since buying my bread maker. We had run out of bread and I decided to make up a loaf of white bread for my husbands lunch. It turned out great. The crust was tender and the inside was light and fluffy. Absolutely perfect. I made it with all purpose flour and it worked perfectly. I've been using all purpose flour for making bread for over 60 years and have never had a problem with it. I started baking at the age of 7 and made my first batch of bread in my early teens. So if you find yourself out of bread flour don't be afraid of all purpose flour its fine. I wonder how this recipe would work with whole wheat flour? I think I'll try it just to see lol. Always experimenting. They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Wrong, always learning. I'll let you know how it turns out as whole wheat bread. I've had problems with the crust being tough with other bread machine recipes I've tried but not with this one. Thanks for the great recipe.
Jaye says
Hi,
Are these american cup measurements?
Kristina Tipps says
Yes.
Julie says
Finally found a recipe that makes a nice fluffy less dense loaf. Perfect
Bekah says
Just made this today and it came out perfectly! I just got a bread machine and followed the white bread recipe that came with it to start and it came out fairly dense. I found this recipe on Pinterest and decided to give it a try on my quest to find a fluffier loaf. It’s the perfect white sandwich bread! I’m so glad I won’t need to continue my recipe hunt anymore 🙌🏼
Joan says
I just made your bread tonight and it turned out amazing lite fluffy and airy 😋
Kristina Tipps says
I am glad to hear that it turned out great! Enjoy 🙂
Chuck says
Lowered water to 1-1/3 cups Lowered yeast to 2 tsp Good recipe
Nichole says
First recipe I found that finally delivers the softest bread!! Thank you!!
Kristina Tipps says
I'm glad you liked it!
Erin says
Loved this recipe! I just got a bread machine and tried this as the first loaf I have ever made and it turned out delicious. My family is hooked and so am I. The directions were easy to follow and worked for my machine well (I have the Neretva bread machine).
Kristina Tipps says
I am so glad you liked it. It's my favorite too.
Linda says
I made this recipe and I absolutely positively think it’s the best bread machine bread I’ve ever had. I have been making bread machine bread for so long but This made my bread crust soft for whatever reason. And it was phenomenal to be able to cut the bread and use it for sandwiches or toast and not have the crusty so hard that you can’t chew it. Thank you so much for this recipe. I will pass it on to my family, they’re all looking for something that simple and taste well. Quality with convenience I couldn’t recommend this recipe more.
Kristina Tipps says
I'm so glad you liked it Linda, and thanks for recommending it to others. This recipe is a favorite of mine too, and I use the base recipe for many of my other white breads.