Description
This Homemade Bread recipe yields soft, fluffy loaves with a golden crust, perfect for sandwiches or toast. Made with simple ingredients, this bread involves two rises to develop flavor and texture, providing a rewarding baking experience for beginners and experts alike.
Ingredients
Scale
Yeast Mixture
- 2 cups warm water (105–115 degrees F) (474g)
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon honey or sugar (from the total 1/4 cup)
Main Dough Ingredients
- 1/4 cup honey or sugar (85g honey or 50g sugar total)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons oil (canola or vegetable) (30 ml)
- 4 – 5 1/2 cups all-purpose or bread flour (500g-688g)
Instructions
- Prepare the Dough: In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine the yeast, warm water, and a pinch of honey or sugar. Let it rest for 5-10 minutes until the mixture becomes foamy and bubbly to ensure the yeast is active.
- Add Remaining Ingredients: Stir in the remaining honey or sugar, salt, oil, and 3 cups of flour until combined.
- Incorporate More Flour: Add an additional cup of flour and mix thoroughly. Then, with the mixer running, add more flour ½ cup at a time until the dough pulls away from the bowl sides and becomes smooth, elastic, and slightly sticky but not overly so.
- Knead the Dough: Knead the dough on medium speed for 4-5 minutes or by hand on a floured surface for 5-8 minutes to develop gluten structure.
- First Rise: Grease a large bowl and place the dough inside, turning it to coat with oil. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
- Prepare Pans: Spray two 9×5-inch bread pans generously with cooking spray and optionally line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- Shape Dough: Punch down the dough to release air bubbles, divide it into two equal portions, shape each into a loaf, and place them in the prepared pans.
- Second Rise: Cover pans with a lightweight towel or oiled plastic wrap and let the dough rise again until it extends about 1 inch above the pans, approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Bake Bread: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Bake the loaves for 30-33 minutes until the tops are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.
- Cool the Loaves: Remove loaves from pans and invert onto a wire rack. Brush tops with butter and let cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing.
- Storage: Store cooled bread in airtight containers at room temperature for 2-3 days or refrigerate up to 5 days to maintain freshness.
Notes
- Make sure the water used to activate yeast is between 105-115°F to avoid killing the yeast.
- If yeast doesn’t foam during proofing, discard and use fresh yeast for best results.
- Flour amounts can vary based on humidity and brand, so add gradually to achieve desired dough texture.
- For softer crust, brushing with butter after baking is recommended.
- You can freeze the bread up to 3 months; thaw and warm before serving.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (about 1/16th of a loaf)
- Calories: 120 kcal
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 180 mg
- Fat: 2.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 22 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Keywords: homemade bread, yeast bread, soft bread, baking bread, easy bread recipe
