Homemade White Bread

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Homemade White Bread

This no-fuss Homemade White Bread recipe is so light and tender, perfect for sandwiches, simple toast in the mornings slathered with butter, or eating just the way it is!

Prep Time20

Cook Time35

Rise Time1 45

Total Time2 40

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Keyword: homemade sandwich bread, homemade white bread, sandwich bread recipe

Servings: slices (2 loaves)

Ingredients

5 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour , spooned and leveled, divided
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter , softened to room temp
2 & 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cups warm water (about 115F)
2 tablespoons melted butter , for finishing (optional, but recommended)

Instructions

Add 2 cups of the flour, dry milk, sugar, butter, yeast, and salt to the body of a stand mixer. With the hook attachment, mix it around just to combine for a few turns.
Add the water and mix to combine.
On slow speed, begin to add the flour a little at a time until you come to 5 cups of flour. Place the mixer on medium-high speed, the dough should clean the sides of the bowl after a couple of minutes. If it doesn’t, add a little more flour at a time until it does, up to 1/2 cup more.
Continue to mix/knead the dough on medium-high speed for 10 minutes. The dough will be smooth and elastic.
Spray the dough with a little cooking spray and roll it around in the bowl, so it is lightly coated. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place in your house for about 1 hour.
Take off the plastic wrap and punch the dough down in the bowl to release the air bubbles.
Lightly flour a clean work surface. Knead the dough a few times by hand to get any additional air bubbles out, about 1 minute.
Spray 2, 9x5 loaf pans with cooking spray.
Divide the dough into two even pieces. With your hands, form them into a log. Place each log into a prepared baking pan.
No need to cover the dough again. Let them rise until doubled in size, about 30-45 minutes.
While they are doing the second rise, preheat the oven to 400°F
Once doubled, make a slit down the center of the bread. Place the loaves into the oven and immediately lower the temperature of the oven to 350°F. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and immediately brush the bread with the melted butter. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes.
Take out of the pans and cool on a wire rack completely before slicing.

Video

Notes

Don't skip the dry milk. I believe the dry milk is what makes the bread so light and fluffy, so don't omit it.

Use bread flour instead. If you have bread flour, you can also use it 1:1 for all-purpose flour. I have used both, whatever I have on hand. I think the bread flour version comes out a touch lighter, but either way, still great.

Nutrition