This White Bread recipe uses Plain Flour and Fast Active Dried Yeast. It's such an easy recipe to make if you are a beginner and want to know how to make bread for the first time.
This basic white bread recipe is adapted from a supermarket recipe I received in an email.
I've adjusted the amount of salt, yeast, Water & sugar needed and added a little butter for taste.
If you can't get hold of bread flour, let me tell you, this is the perfect recipe for using plain flour as an alternative.
I've made it several times and it's that good. There is very little kneading required. Just 5 mins is all it takes.
The end result has all the texture and taste of a classic white loaf with a soft white dough. You will want to make this again and again.
This Easy Brown Bread is another easy bread recipe to make. It uses fresh yeast.
If you are interested in Sourdough Baking, read my review of Elaine Boddy's Cook Book 'Whole Grain Sourdough Baking at Home'.
Other Beginner Recipes
As a new home baker, you are going to want to start baking more. The next thing you may want to bake is an Easy Victoria Sponge cake. Filled with raspberry or strawberry jam.
Or this Apple Sponge Eve's Pudding. A lovely sponge on top of stewed Apples. Serve with cream or custard.
What you need to make a White Loaf
- Plain Flour - For this recipe, I used Plain White Flour as an alternative to White Bread Flour. On the packet, it says it contains 10g of protein per 100g of flour. Normal Bread Flour has a much higher Protein level which gives a slightly different texture and taste.
- Sea Salt - Sea Salt contains lots of minerals. Table Salt is fine.
- Caster Sugar - Granulated sugar is fine
- Fact Active Dried Yeast - The kind that you can add straight to dry ingredients rather than add to liquid first.
- Unsalted Butter - Not too soft.
- Tepid Water - Anything hotter and you may kill the yeast
Note: Full quantities can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of this page.
How to make Classic White Bread
I made this White Bread Recipe using a 2lb loaf tin which I lightly greased with butter and dusted with flour.
Remember to shake off any excess flour. Leave the loaf tin to one side until required.
Place the plain white flour into a large mixing bowl. Add the salt and sugar to one side of the bowl. The Fast Action Dried Yeast to another side taking care not to mix the salt and yeast directly together as salt can kill the yeast.
Give everything a good mix.
Using your finger tips, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Mix to a cohesive dough that's not too sticky
Add the tepid water. Mix together until a rough dough is formed. Ensure there are no clumps of flour left to mix.
The dough will look a little rough. But don’t worry about that at this time.
Cover the bowl with a pan lid or cling film. Leave in a warm place for 30 mins to allow the dough to develop a little.
After 30 mins or so, knead the dough on a lightly floured service until you have a nice smooth finish. This can take about 5 mins.
Place the dough back in the bowl. Cover again and leave in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size.
This usually takes about an hour, depending on how warm your kitchen is. This will take longer if your kitchen is a little cooler.
When the dough has doubled in size, tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface. No kneading this time.
Very gently fold over the edges of the dough to a size that will fit your prepared loaf tin. Taking care NOT to knock out any air from the dough.
Carefully place the dough into the loaf tin. Dust with flour and lightly cover with a clean cloth or cling film.
Leave to rise in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size. This may take about an hour or so. Longer if your kitchen is cooler.
About 20 mins before your loaf is ready to bake. Turn the oven on and preheat to 200 deg c. I use a fan oven.
Score the top of the white bread dough with a serrated knife. This will help the bread to rise a little more before the crust sets during baking.
Bake for 40 mins or until baked. The crust should be nice and lightly golden. For a more golden colour leave to bake a little longer.
How to Test if a Loaf is Baked
You can test for a baked loaf by turning it over and checking for a hollow sound on the bottom.
Another way is to use a Thermometer pen such as Thermopen. Pierce the thermometer into the centre of the loaf to check the temperature. Around 94 deg and over, it will be baked.
A few degrees either way won't matter. If it's much less than that, pop it back in the oven for a few extra minutes and check again.
Which Loaf Tin to Use.
If you chose to bake this White Bread Recipe as 2 x 1lb loaf tins or baguettes, you will need to adjust the baking times. Which won't be quite as long when baking it as a 2lb loaf.
Can you freeze bread?
This bread will freeze well. Double wrap to avoid freezer burn. Leave to thaw out at room temperature before slicing. Frozen bread is very hard to slice.
Alternatively. You can slice the bread before freezing so that you can use each slice as and when you need it.
Why this recipe works
- The White Bread recipe is suitable for use with plain white flour
- Using Fast Active Dried Yeast means that you can add it straight to the dry ingredients rather than mixing it with liquid first
- Very little kneading is required.
- Using steam in your oven helps. See my note below.
Notes:
- Invest in an oven thermometer to ensure you reach the correct temperature.
- I use a steam oven, that allows me to pour a cup of water into the bottom of the oven which creates steam allowing the bread to rise higher before a crust is formed on the outside.
- If you don’t have a steam oven. The alternative is to place a suitable tray at the bottom of your oven whilst it is heating up, ready to take your cup of water. This way instant steam is created. But take care when pouring the (cold) water into the tray.
- This loaf will keep for a few days. Supermarket loaves will often keep a lot longer if they contain preservatives.
Keen to Bake More?
Subscribe to my newsletter. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. You are also welcome to join my Facebook Baking Community group where members share images of all their lovely bakes to inspire and support each other with any baking issues. If you make this recipe, please leave a comment with a rating, to let me know how you got on.
Easy White Bread Recipe
Equipment
- Oven Thermometor
- 2lb Loaf tin
Ingredients - Imperial /oz are approx weights which are calculated by a 3rd party app
- 500 g Plain Flour
- 1 teaspoon caster sugar granulated sugar is fine
- 7 g (1 x sachet) of fast action dried yeast. See my note about Fast Action Dried Yeast.
- 1 teaspoon crushed Sea Salt Table salt is fine, but has less nutriants and will also contain anti caking agents.
- 25 g unsalted butter cut into cubes
- 300 ml tepid tap water
Instructions
- Grease a 2lb loaf tin and lightly dust with flour. Shaking off any excess flour. Leave to one side.
- Place the flour into a large mixing bowl. Add the salt and sugar to one side of the bowl. The Fast Action Dried Yeast to another side taking care not to mix the salt and yeast directly together as salt can kill yeast.
- Give everything a good mix.
- Using your finger tips, rub in the butter until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
- Gradually add the tepid water until a rough dough is formed. Ensure there are no clumps of flour left to mix. The dough will look a little rough. But don’t worry about that at this time.
- Cover the bowl with a pan lid or cling film. Leave in a warm place for 30 mins to allow the dough to develop a little.
- After 30 mins or so, knead the dough on a lightly floured service until you have a nice smooth finish. This can take about 5 mins.
- Place the dough back in the bowl. Cover again and leave in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size. This usually takes about an hour, depending on how warm your kitchen is. This will take longer if your kitchen is a little cooler.
- When the dough has doubled in size, tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface. No kneading this time. Very gently fold over the edges of the dough to a size that will fit your prepared loaf tin. Taking care NOT to knock out any air from the dough.
- Carefully place the dough into the loaf tin. Dust with flour and lightly cover with a clean cloth or cling film. Leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
- About 20 mins before your loaf is ready to bake. Turn the oven on and preheat to 200 deg c. Fan assisted oven.
- Score the top of the dough with a serrated knife. This will help the bread to rise a little more before the crust sets during baking.
- Bake for 40 mins or until baked. The crust should be nice and lightly golden. For a more golden colour leave to bake a little longer.
Notes
- Fast Action Dried Yeast can be added straight into the dry ingredients. There’s no need to add to water first.
- Invest in an oven thermemtor to ensure you reach the correct temperature.
- I use a steam oven, which allows me to pour a cup of water into the bottom of the oven which creates steam allowing the bread to rise higher before a crust is formed on the outside.
- If you don’t have a steam oven. The alternative is to place a suitable tray at the bottom of your oven whilst it is heating up, ready to take your cup of water. This way, instant steam is created. But take care when pouring the (cold) water into the tray.
- This loaf will keep for a few days. Supermarket loaves will often keep a lot longer if they contain preservatives.
Janet Dryden
Can you use gluten-free plain flour in this recipe please?
Lynn
Thanks for the question Janet. I've never actually used gluten free flour so I'm not sure how it would bake. I'm guessing there will be a suitable recipe on the packet of gluten free flour that you could try first, just to get the feel for it.
Wendy Rogers
What's the equivalent temperature for a fan oven please?
Lynn
Wendy. I always use a fan oven so the temp will be the same. I should have mentioned that on the recipe card. I'll update it now.
Miranda
Can I use plain wholemeal flour or a mixture of plain white and plain wholemeal flour for this recipe? I have accidentally got a large packet of plain wholemeal flour (didn't notice the difference!). Your wholemeal bread recipe says use fresh yeast - I only have dried fast acting yeast. Nightmare!
Lynn
When swapping flour, you need to check the protein on the packet, as it's that which helps create the gluten needed to help the bread rise. Some bread flour can have a protein level of 13 and higher. I've used plain white flour for this recipe with a protein content to 11.5 and it's worked fine. Anything less and I'm not too sure.
I would use a mix of white and wholemeal flour if you are going to make this recipe using dried yeast, but you may need to add a little more water as wholemeal flour absorbs it more than white flour. But use the amount that the recipe suggests and only add a little more if there is too much unmixed flour after you have added the initial amount.
Shelly Palazzo
Would this work in a bread maker?
Lynn Hill
Honestly. I don’t know. I haven’t used a bread machine for many years.