A bread machine recipe that makes homemade bread simple to make. Make your own homemade bread machine white bread with this easy-to-follow recipe.
Using a bread machine to make homemade bread is by far the easiest way! I love that I can toss in the ingredients, walk away, and come back later to a crusty, warm loaf of homemade bread.
After learning how to use my bread machine to make this simple white bread, it’s hard for me to enjoy store-bought white bread anymore! This bread machine recipe makes the perfect loaf for slicing for toast, peanut butter sandwiches, tuna salad sandwiches, tuna melts, BLT’s, or your favorite lunchtime meal.
Ready to do more with your bread machine? Make Whole Wheat Bread in the Bread Maker, Seed Bread, Thyme Bread, Oatmeal Bread, or Bread Maker Pizza Dough.
Don’t have a bread machine? Try my no-knead bread recipe instead!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s Easy. Maybe you’ve seen the videos online of people making beautiful, artisan loaves of bread? Well, this isn’t quite that. Bread machine recipes are more utilitarian, creating simple loaves that are square, simple, and easy to slice.
- Control the Ingredients. Store-bought white bread can have additives and preservatives in it that you don’t necessarily want. If you look at the labels, you’ll find sugar, sodium, and probably some things you can’t pronounce. Making your own bread machine bread allows you to control exactly what goes in.
- Vegan or Vegetarian. Use oil to make this a vegan bread machine recipe, or substitute with butter and it will still be vegetarian.
- Basic White Bread. Sometimes calling something “white bread” is a bit of an insult, but in this case, it’s a good thing. A basic white bread loaf made in the bread machine is the perfect everyday sandwich bread.
- Set it and Forget it. Traditional bread making can take a whole day sometimes, requiring you to come back to it, knead the dough, let it rise, and do it all over again. The bread machine handles the kneading, rising, and baking for you, so you can forget all about the bread until it’s ready to eat.
Key Ingredients
See the recipe card for full details and measurements. I’m including measurements for three different bread maker loaf sizes, so you can make as much as you want.
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
- Flour: You can use regular all-purpose flour, or American white bread flour to make bread in the bread maker. Bread flour will give you a loaf that is a bit more chewy, since this type of flour has more protein, thus creating more gluten.
- Yeast: Instant yeast is the right choice when deciding what type of yeast to buy for your bread maker bread. You may also see “bread maker yeast”. This is also Instant yeast, just with a different label, so feel free to use either. Active Dry Yeast won’t properly bloom in the bread maker, so don’t use that here.
- Fat: Oil adds texture and flavor to our homemade bread. You can use any type of oil, but for white bread I use a plain canola or vegetable oil. Melted butter can also be used.
- Sweetener: Sugar or honey adds flavor and helps to give us a golden browned crust on our bread. It also jump-starts the yeast, helping it to work more quickly. You can leave the sugar out if you want to make a sugar-free loaf.
- Salt: This is added for flavor. If you’re watching your salt intake, you can reduce the amount or leave it out entirely.
How to Make Bread Maker Bread
- Add Ingredients: Layer your ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the following order: Water, Oil, Salt, Sugar, Flour, and lastly, yeast.
- Set up: Add the bread pan to the bread machine, and make sure that it’s secured. Close the lid, and plug in the machine.
- Turn it on: Choose the basic bread setting on your bread machine, the size loaf you are making, and the desired browning level. In these photos I choose the darkest setting.
- Let it work: The bread machine will now take over for you, and knead, proof, and bake your bread dough!
- Cool: When the baking cycle ends, unplug the bread machine, open the lid, and remove the pan from the machine with kitchen mitts. Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then shake it out of the pan and allow it to cool completely. Carefully remove the paddle from the bottom of the loaf if it got stuck there.
Bread Maker Bread Tips
Measure Carefully: I tested this recipe using metric weights, then converted that to cups for your convenience. I suggest weighing your ingredients for the best results using a digital scale. They are inexpensive, and so useful when it comes to baking perfect bread. Learn more about measuring ingredients for baking in this post.
Warm Water: When making bread it’s best to have all ingredients at room temperature to start. The water should be a bit above that, at 110°F/45°C, in order to activate the yeast.
You Can Sift the Flour: Sifting flour before making bread with it helps to aerate it, and will make a fluffier, less dense bread. It’s not necessary for success, but is an option.
Learn Your Machine: Just like Air Fryers and Instant Pots, bread machines will have differences from brand to brand and model to model. The good news is that most of the household bread makers work in generally the same way, but if you are having trouble with your machine, feel free to reach out, or search out others using that specific machine on the web. Bread machine users are a helpful bunch!
What To Make With Bread Maker White Bread
White bread is the perfect canvas for so many delicious sandwiches! I enjoy this bread for breakfast, toasted or fresh, with a bit of butter and strawberry jam. If I have it, fresh Homemade Apple Butter is delicious on bread maker bread too.
Use this bread maker white bread to make the perfect Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwhich! Mine has a secret ingredient that makes it amazing.
Try Vegan Eggplant Sandwhiches (like a BLT!), Banana Fluffernutters, or Tuna Melts with your fresh white bread.
Have you ever made Stuffing with fresh bread? Or Croutons in the Air Fryer? Both are amazing.
FAQs
The manufacturer’s instructions will tell you to add the liquids first, then the dry ingredients. The instant yeast always goes in last. This ensures that the yeast is separated from the liquids until the kneading begins, and is an important step to follow.
In the recipe card, I give specific measurements for making small, medium, and large loaves.
A good rule of thumb is that a bread machine recipe that uses approximately 3 cups of flour will make a 1.5 pound loaf, and one with around 4 cups of flour will make a 2 pound loaf.
Choose Rapidrise yeast, Instant yeast, or Bread Machine yeast. According to Fleishmann’s Yeast’s website, the three are exactly the same, just sold under different names. Active Dry yeast is different from the others, and not recommended for bread machine recipes.
A bread machine is basically a small countertop oven that can also mix and knead ingredients and time the breadmaking process. The pan that the bread bakes in also contains a paddle, so that the bread can be mixed and baked in the same vessel. Electronic controls allow you to set the machine to knead, rest, and proof the dough. It’s a simple machine, but a very smart and time-saving appliance.
This Hamilton Beach programmable bread maker is very well rated on Amazon and available at a reasonable price. You can buy more expensive bread makers, but I would start with a basic one until you’re comfortable and know that you want to use it often.
You should always make sure that your yeast is fresh and active. It could be that your yeast is dead, or you added too much salt or sugar, or you forgot to add the yeast.
You probably added too much yeast.
If this happens for some reason, add more liquid (1 tablespoon at a time) until a ball of dough is formed.
You need to add more flour, add it gradually (1 tablespoon at a time) until a ball of dough is formed.
Enjoy making your own made-at-home white bread with your bread maker! Pin this recipe so you don’t lose it.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Bread Maker Basic White Loaf
Ingredients
For a Small Loaf (1lb):
- ¾ cup water (110°F/45°C)
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar or honey
- 2½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
For a Medium Loaf (1½lb):
- 1 cup water (110°F/45°C)
- 2½ tablespoons oil
- 1¼ teaspoons salt
- 1½ tablespoons granulated sugar or honey
- 3½ cups all purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons instant yeast
For a Large Loaf (2lb):
- 1⅓ cups water (110°F/45°C)
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar or honey
- 4½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
Instructions
- To the pan of the bread machine, add the ingredients in the following order (water, oil, salt, sugar, flour, and yeast).
- Add the bread pan to the bread machine, and make sure it's secured. Close the lid.
- Plug it in, and choose the basic bread setting, the size, and the desired browning (light, medium, dark).
- The bread machine will knead, proof the dough, and bake.
- When the baking cycle ends, unplug the bread machine, open the lid, and with kitchen mittens remove the baking pan from the machine. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then shake it out of the pan and allow to cool completely. If the paddle is stuck in the bottom of the loaf, remove it carefully.
Notes:
- Warm Water: When making bread it’s best to have all ingredients at room temperature to start. The water should be a bit above that, at 110°F/45°C, in order to activate the yeast.
- You Can Sift the Flour: Sifting flour before making bread with it helps to aerate it, and will make a fluffier, less dense bread. It’s not necessary for success but is an option.
- Pictured is a large 2 lb loaf, using the darkest setting.
- Nutrition: Calculated is just a rough estimate for the smallest loaf if it’s sliced into 10 slices. Info is per slice.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Jane says
I’ve made this several times on the dough setting, and it turns out perfect every time.
Rei Alvarez says
I followed the recipe for white bread. It came out perfect. Its almost like french bread. the crust is thick and crunchy. What can I tweak in the recipe in case someone prefers a thinner crust? Thanks a lot.
Diana says
Hi, I’m glad to hear you liked the recipe! For a thinner crust, most bread machines have a crust setting. Choose the “light” option if it’s available. You can also try and reduce the sugar and fat as both can contribute to a harder crust. A slight reduction could make the crust softer without drastically changing the bread’s flavor.
You can also try and take the bread out of the machine as soon as it’s done to prevent it from continuing to cook and potentially hardening the crust. When you take the bread out, you can also wrap it in a clean kitchen towel. This will trap some of the steam and soften the crust a bit.
I hope these tips make your next loaf even more to your liking!
Fab says
I sure made this delicious bread, not only once, but I’m making it every week 😉 thanks for sharing this recipe.
Diana says
I’m thrilled to hear you’re making the bread every week and loving it! Knowing that a recipe has become a regular in someone’s kitchen is the best compliment. Thanks so much for sharing your positive feedback!
Betty says
Very good recipe
Marcie says
I have made bread in my bread maker lots of times but just never turned out.
This was amazing. Crusty on the outside & like a cloud on the inside, so soft & moist.
I did the medium size loaf and I did have to add a Tbsp of water otherwise direction on point.
Will be using as my go to recipe. I would have give 10 stars but was not an option