HOMEMADE BREAD (HOMEMADE

WHITE BREAD)
COURSE: BREAD, BREAKFAST, BRUNCH, LUNCH
CUISINE: AMERICAN, EUROPEAN, OTHER

KEYWORD: BREAD, BURGERS & SANDWICHES, MAKING HOMEMADE BREAD

PREP TIME: 45 MINUTES COOK TIME: 45 MINUTES PROOFING TIME: 2 HOURS
TOTAL TIME: 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES SERVINGS: 20 SLICES CALORIES: 122KCAL
AUTHOR: DINI @ THE FLAVOR BENDER

How to make the best Homemade White Bread that's soft and delicious, with a touch of
sweetness. An easy to follow recipe for perfect homemade bread, with step by step instructions. 
This recipe can be doubled, and made in 2 loaf pans.

EASY - A great basic bread dough recipe for beginners.

US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Common Measurement Conversions

EQUIPMENT
See post for detailed list of
equipment & tools used.
INGREDIENTS
PROOFING YEAST
2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast 7 g
1 cup lukewarm water
1 tbsp honey (or sugar or
maple syrup)
BREAD LOAF
Proofed yeast mixture
(ingredients listed above)
19.5 ounces AP flour 4 ⅓
cups, spoon and leveled
(please see notes)
⅓ cup lukewarm water
1 ¼ tsp sea salt
2 tbsp honey (or sugar or
maple syrup)
¼ tsp citric acid or ½ tbsp
white vinegar (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
PROOFING YEAST
1. Place the water in the mixer bowl of your stand mixer.
2. Stir in the honey to dissolve, and sprinkle the yeast over the
water. Gently stir to mix.
3. Allow the yeast to sit in a warm place for about 15 minutes,
until it's activated and becomes frothy. This could take
longer if your yeast was in the freezer. If the yeast doesn't
activate (no frothy bubbles), then your yeast is likely too old
and you will need it replaced with fresh yeast.
4. Once the yeast is activated, you’re ready to make the bread
dough.
BREAD LOAF
1. To the proofed yeast mixture, add the flour, warm water,
salt, honey, citric acid and melted butter.
2. Using a dough whisk or a spatula, mix the ingredients to
form a rough dough.
3. Place the bowl in the mixer with a kneading hook attached,
and knead the dough on low speed for about 2-5 minutes,
until the dough comes together to form a ball.
4. Increase the speed by 1 level (speed 3 in a kitchen aid
mixer) and knead the dough for a further 12-15 minutes
2 tbsp unsalted butter until it's smooth and elastic.
melted (or vegetable oil) 5. While the dough is kneading, check on it every few minutes
to make sure it’s kneading well, and is not too dry or too
wet.
. If the dough is sticking to the sides of the bowl, then it’s too
wet, so add a little extra flour (a dusting at a time), to get
the right texture. To check if it’s at the right consistency - lift
the kneading hook from the bowl, and check if the dough
only sticks to the bottom of the bowl. If yes, then the
moisture is perfect. If the dough isn’t sticking to the bottom
of the bowl however, you may need to add a little extra
water (just ½ tsp at a time), to get the right consistency.
The dough should be smooth, a little soft and a little tacky
to the touch.
7. Once the dough is kneaded, remove the dough hook and
fold the dough over a few times by hand, to get a smooth
ball. Then place it in a lightly oiled bowl, and cover with
plastic wrap. Let the dough proof for about 1 hour until it
has doubled in size.
. While the dough is proofing, prepare the bread loaf pan.
Butter 1 - 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and set aside, until the dough
is ready.
9. Turn the proofed dough out onto a lightly floured work
surface. Gently press the dough into an evenly thick
rectangle. The short side of this rectangle should be
roughly about 8 - 8.5 inches (i.e. slightly shorter than the
length of your bread loaf pan).
10. Next, tightly roll up the short side, along the length of the
dough rectangle. Make sure to pinch/press the edge of the
dough as you go, while rolling it up (read the post and see
pictures for more details).
11. Once the dough is rolled up, pinch the seams to seal it, and
tuck in the two sides and pinch these seams as well. Make
sure all the seams are on one side (this will be the bottom)
and the other side is smooth and seam-free (this will be the
top).
12. Transfer this into the prepared loaf pan, seam side down,
and press the dough into the pan. Make sure it’s evenly
pressed into the bottom of the pan. Loosely cover the loaf
pan with plastic wrap and let it proof again in a warm place,
for about 45 minutes - 1 hour.
13. The top of the dough should rise about 1 inch above the rim
of your bread loaf pan (when looking from the side), and
when you leave an indentation in the dough with your finger,
 the indentation should remain, and not bounce back (read
the post and see pictures for more details). 
14. Preheat oven to 375°F, during the last 30 minutes of the
second proofing time. It’s best for the oven to be preheated
to the right temperature for at least 20 minutes, before
baking the bread.
15. When the bread loaf is ready and the oven has preheated,
place the loaf pan in the middle of the oven, and bake for
45 minutes. It's done when it sounds hollow when the
bread is tapped on top, OR when the internal temperature
has reached 195°F.
1 . Remove the pan from the oven, and keep it in a warm place
(away from drafts) to cool. After about 10 minutes, remove
the bread from the pan and keep it on a wire rack to cool
down completely. The bread is now ready to be served.
17. Optional - brush melted butter on the top while it's hot to
add more buttery flavor. 
1 . Keep the loaf in a bread box at room temperature for upto 4
- 5 days, or slice and keep in the freezer for up to 1 month.

NOTES
Flour -

If you use a scale to measure the flour, then the amount of liquid in this recipe is perfectly
sufficient to make a wonderfully soft bread loaf. 

However, if you use MEASURING CUPS to measure the flour, PLEASE use the spoon and level
method to get the most accurate amount of flour. When using cups, you risk having MORE FLOUR
THAN STATED IN THE RECIPE, which will result in a denser, heavy bread. Or you may end up using
more water than stated in the recipe. 

This dough should be soft and supple, and a little tacky. 

Choosing the right loaf pan - 

I have had a few readers reach out to me about the bread being perfect, except for the fact that
they are extremely tall after baking. If you use a 8.5 x 4.5 inch baking loaf pan, and the weather is
warm, the bread may proof faster, and create a much larger loaf. If you use a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan in
winter, it may not proof as fast and give you a heavier shorter bread loaf. 

Choose the larger pan (9 x 5), if your kitchen is warm / it's summer. The goal is to have the bread
loaf proof to the point that the highest point of the dough, is about 1 - 1 .5 inches ABOVE the rim of
the loaf pan. At this stage is should be proofed perfectly (check with the indentation test described
in the post). Bake the bread at this stage. 

NUTRITION
Calories: 122kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 147mg |
Potassium: 33mg | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 35IU | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 1.3mg

Recipe from The Flavor Bender by Dini Kodippili

 Homemade Bread (Homemade White Bread) https://www.theflavorbender.com/homemade-white-bread-recipe/