In this instructable I will show you how to make my favorite white bread. This recipe for amazing homemade white bread is really easy to make and winds up being light, soft, and fluffy. If I can do it, you can do it. Let's get baking.

If you have any questions or comments put them down below and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Follow the easy steps below or watch the video tutorial, or do both! :)

Step 1: Ingredients/Tools

If you want to print this recipe click here.

Ingredients:

1 cup of water (235ml)
2 1/4 tsp. of active dry yeast (6.5g)
1/3 cup of granulated sugar (66g)
2 Tbsp. of Canola or Vegetable oil (30ml)
3 cups of Bread Flour (you can use all-purpose) (380g)
3/4 tsp. of salt (4g)

Tools:

Wooden Spoon
Bowls
9x5 inch bread pan
Whisk
Fork

***Makes 1 large loaf of white bread

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Step 2: Proof That Yeast

First let's get our yeast started. Take your water and heat it up in the microwave for about 40 seconds. We want the temperature to be between 105 degrees F and 115 degrees F. (40-46 C) Then we will add about 1 tsp. of our sugar to the warm water. Next add your active dry yeast. Use a fork and mix it up a little bit. Then let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes until it gets nice and foamy. If it does not get foamy after 10 minutes, you will need to start over. It means the yeast was bad/old, or the water was too hot or too cold.

Step 3: Add Oil and Sugar

Now let's pour the yeast mixture into a large bowl, then add our oil and our sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon.

Step 4: Salt and Flour

Now we take our salt and add it to our bread flour. You can use all-purpose flour if you like, however the bread will come out a little more dense then if you use bread flour, with that said, the bread still tastes super yummy with all-purpose flour. Mix the salt and flour together with a whisk. Then add the flour about a 3rd at a time to the other ingredients, stirring really well with a wooden spoon, or you can use a stand mixer with dough hook. Make sure to leave about 1/4 cup of flour remaining and put that on the counter/table. At this point the dough should be forming and a little bit sticky. Go ahead and pour it onto the tabletop or counter.

Step 5: Knead That Dough

Now let's knead our dough for 8 minutes until ti gets nice and smooth. The way I knead is I fold the dough over on itself towards me and then push down with my palm of my hand. Then turn the dough a quarter turn and then push down again, then turn, etc. After 8 minutes the dough will be smooth, and when you poke it, it will spring back. If you notice I still have some flour left. It is important to not add all the flour at once. Add it gradually, even if using a stand mixer. We don't want to add too much flour. Sometimes you will have a bit more left, and other times you will have a bit less flour left.

Step 6: Grease and Rise

Now we take about 1 tsp. or two of oil and grease a large bowl. Then add the dough and and turn it over so it gets all coated with oil. Next add a damp cloth over the top and set the dough in a warm place to rise for 1 to 2 hours until the dough doubles in size. The damp cloth will help prevent the dough from drying out.

Step 7: Shape and Rise

After our dough has risen we want to pour the dough out onto the counter and knead the dough again for about 15 to 20 seconds. Next we do a little bit of rolling and stretching and shaping until our dough looks like a loaf. Now place the dough loaf into a greased 9x5 inch bread pan and cover again with our damp cloth, and let it rise for another hour to 1.5 hours. We want the top of the dough to rise above the walls of the bread pan.

Step 8: Bake That Dough!

Now we heat the oven to 350 degrees F. (176C) Place the dough in the oven on the middle rack and bake for 30 minutes. After 25 minutes check the bread, if the top is getting too brown, put a piece of foil on top of it.

Step 9: Cool and Slice It!

Now after coming out of the oven, let the bread cool for about 5 minutes in the pan, then take it out of the pan and let it rest on a wire rack to cool completely. Next it is finally time to slice into that bread! It winds up being super soft and fluffy, and super yummy! Enjoy!