This basic white bread recipe is one of those recipes that is good to have on hand. I make it in my bread machine, so there is very little work involved. Just add the ingredients, turn on the machine, and forget about it for about three and a half hours!
I use this bread on its own, but it is also a basic recipe that I use as the starting point for other recipes. Instead of buying bread flour, I use regular all-purpose flour with vital wheat gluten. It costs less, and I have found that it works just as well.
Basic White Bread 🍞
Homemade white bread from the bread machine. Perfect for sandwiches, toast, or thick slices of French toast!
Loaf size: 2 pounds
Yield: 12 slices
Serving size: 1 slice
Ingredients
- 1½ cups room-temperature water
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup nonfat dry milk
- 1½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 4 teaspoons vital wheat gluten
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients into the bread-machine pan in the order listed.
- Place the bread pan into the bread maker.
- Select the Basic White program.
- Select the 2-pound loaf size.
- I prefer the medium crust setting.
- Start the bread maker and forget about it for about three and a half hours!
- When the bread is finished, carefully remove the loaf from the pan.
- Place it on a wire rack and allow it to cool completely before slicing.
Calorie Crusaders Tip: Slice the cooled loaf into approximately equal pieces. Adjust the slider to match the number of slices you cut. Thicker slices have more calories, while thinner slices have fewer.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 slice
Slices per loaf:
12
Nutrition information is estimated from standard ingredient values. Actual values vary depending on ingredient brands, measurements, and slice thickness. The calculations assume equal-sized slices.
Carol’s Bread-Making Tip
Bread flour works perfectly well in this recipe, but I prefer to use all-purpose flour with vital wheat gluten. All-purpose flour is usually cheaper, and adding the vital gluten gives the dough some of the extra gluten strength you would normally get from bread flour. It works very well for me.
Try it with: This homemade white bread is perfect for our French Onion Soup. A thick slice holds up beautifully under the broth and melted cheese.
Calorie Crusaders Tip
Let the loaf cool completely before slicing it. Besides making the bread easier to slice, cooling gives the inside of the loaf time to finish setting. Then you can cut fairly even slices, which also makes it easier to estimate the calories in each serving.
Nutrition information for homemade recipes is an estimate. Exact values can vary depending on the brands of ingredients used and the number and thickness of slices.
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