Homemade White Bread

I went to the food store yesterday to pick up some essential supplies and was faced with several empty shelves due to this Coronavirus pandemic that we are all currently weathering. One aisle that was particularly striking was the bread aisle. There was not a single loaf of bread. I don’t know what it is about a crisis, be it pandemic, hurricane or blizzard, that makes people want to go out and buy up all the bread, but there seems to be something to it. A shortage of bread has never been a worry for me, but then again I grew up baking homemade bread on a regular basis with my mother. As long as I have flour and yeast I know I’ll be okay. I do know, however, that a lot of people have never baked their own white bread, which is a shame because it’s not hard and is very delicious. So I figured now would be a great time to share my mom’s homemade white bread recipe for anyone who might want to give it a try, whether it be for necessity or fun.

How this White Bread Recipe Came About

When I was a kid my mom got it into her head that store-bought bread was bad. She was uneasy about feeding her young children something that she knew was full of preservatives to extend its shelf life. Her solution was to simply bake her own bread. She literally baked bread at least twice a week to ensure we always had fresh preservative-free bread in stock. Eventually, the demands of life meant she couldn’t keep up her crazy baking regimen and we ate store-bought white bread like all the other kids. However, to this day the smell of yeast will still transport me right back to some of my earliest memories of kneading bread next to my mom in our tiny yellow kitchen.

I will be the first one to admit what my mom did was complete craziness. She has since admitted this herself. Looking back I have no idea how she managed it for as long as she did. I will also admit to not baking bread regularly as she did. Don’t get me wrong I love to bake bread! I just don’t have the time to be constantly baking it as she did. However, her insanity had a major pay-off, a delicious fool-proof homemade white bread recipe that I still pull out for special occasions and bread shortages.

Tips and Tricks

Warm Not Hot to Activate the Yeast

When you dissolve your yeast into the water, it’s important that your water is warm, not hot. The warmth will activate the yeast. However, if the water is too hot it will kill it and the leavening won’t happen. Ideally, you’re looking for something between 105 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit, or lukewarm.

The Right Amount of Flour

In the recipe below you might notice that it says 9 to 10 cups of flour. With this bread and many others, it’s all about getting the right consistency. Depending on the weather, the dough might need a little more or less flour to be just right. You are looking for the dough to pull away from the sides of the bowl and come together in a ball. It should be easy to work with and not sticky. If you do find that the dough is sticky when you go to knead it, it’s no big deal. Just add more flour and work it in while you knead by hand until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.

How to Knead Bread

1. Lightly flour your work area and turn the dough out.
2. Stretch the dough away from you pressing with the heel of your hands.
3. Pull the dough back folding it back onto its self.
4. Give the whole ball of dough a quarter turn and continue to repeat the process until the dough is smooth and elastic.

How to Make Bread without a Stand Mixer

If you don’t have a stand mixer you can still make bread. It is just a lot easier with the mixer. Instead, you would just mix them in a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon. You would mix in the flour a cup at a time until it became too difficult to mix with a spoon. Then you would turn the dough out and work in the remaining flour while you knead it by hand. You would also have to knead the dough for a lot longer than you would have to with a mixer.

White Bread

A delicious soft white with a light crust. The perfect bread for sandwiches, toast or just eating by the slice with butter.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Rising Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Course Bread

Cuisine American

Servings 2 loaves

Equipment

• Stand mixer
• Mixing bowl
• Plastic wrap or a clean dish towel
• Two 9x5x3 loaf pans

Ingredients

  

• 2 envelopes active dry yeast
• ¾ cup warm water
• 2⅔ cup warm water
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 tbsp salt
• 3 tbsp butter softened
• 9 to 10 cups all-purpose flour
• Crisco or butter for greasing

Instructions

 

• In the bowl of your mixer, dissolve yeast in ¾ cup warm water. Stir in the remaining 2 ⅔ cups of water, sugar, salt and butter.
• Insert the bowl to the mixer and attach the dough hook. Set the mixer on a low setting (2 or 3) and start to add the flour one cup at a time, allowing some mixing time between each addition. Keep adding flour until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl forming a ball and is easy to handle.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board or directly onto your counter and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 to 8 minutes. If the dough still feels sticky you may need to work in another cup of flour.
• After the dough is sufficiently kneaded place in a large greased mixing bowl and then flip the dough over so that the greased side faces up. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Punch down the center of the dough and divide it in half. On a lightly floured counter roll each half out into a log shape. Turn the ends of the log down and place in a greased loaf pan. Brush the tops with melted butter, cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Heat the oven to 425°. Uncover the loaves and place them on a rack low enough so that the tops of the loaves hit about the center of the oven. When placing them, make sure that the pans do not touch each other or the sides of the oven to ensure even browning. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the loaves are a deep golden brown and they sound hollow when tapped. If they seem to be browning too quickly you can cover them with foil for the last 10 to 15 minutes of baking.
• After baking immediately remove loves from the pans and place them on a wire rack to cool. Allow to cool before slicing or the bread will tear.

Keyword bread, homemade, white bread, yeast

If you like this recipe please like and share: