Bread Machine White Bread

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Making your own white sandwich bread in a bread machine couldn’t be easier.  Just put the ingredients in the machine, push the button and a few hours later open it to find fresh baked soft white sandwich bread.

Everyday white bread is one of those simple pleasures that just makes a day whole.  Nothing complicated, but just right for complementing the perfect sandwich.  I love baking my own bread, and tasting the fresh warm flavors right out of the oven.  More often than not, I choose a hearty multi-grain bread, but now that I have two toddlers at home, crusty loaves, and 7-grain breads are on the back burner.

When I found a bread machine at a local thrift store, it took me back to my childhood.  My mom never made bread, but one Christmas, she was gifted a bread machine.  All winter, she played with that machine, baking several loaves a week.  It was a welcome change from the styrofoam-flavored wonder bread from the grocery store.

Now that I have my own kids, I know why my mom never made bread.  It’s tricky to find that kind of time, even with two little ones always trying to “help.”  I’ve been pretty successful on occasion making a soft Amish white bread with their help, but it doesn’t come anywhere close to providing for all our bread needs.

Now that I have a bread machine in the house though, we haven’t bought store-bought bread in quite some time.  I can have the ingredients prepped, and a loaf started in about 2 minutes, which is usually about as much time as I have between being tackled and breaking up baby battles.

Ingredients for Bread Machine White Bread

I’m baking this as a 2-pound loaf in my Zojirushi Supreme Bread Machine, which makes beautiful horizontal loaves in a pan that uses two paddles for more efficient mixing.  I’ve worked with many different machines over the years, and this one’s my favorite. 

I’ve also included instructions for a 1 1/2-pound loaf if you’re working with a smaller machine or a machine that bakes vertically since they don’t work as well with full-sized loaves. 

To make an extra small 1-pound loaf, just divide the 2-pound quantities in half.

Two Pound Loaf Ingredients

To make a 2-pound loaf of Bread Machine White Bread, you’ll need the following:

Liquid Ingredients (add first)

• 1 cups (235 ml) lukewarm water
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) milk
• 3 Tbsp. (42 g) butter

Dry Ingredients (on top of wet)

• 3 3/4 cup (450 g) White Flour (All Purpose or Bread)
• 3 Tbsp. (38 g) Sugar
• 1 tsp. (6 g) salt
• 2 tsp. (6 g) SAF Instant Yeast (or 2 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast)

One and a Half Pound Loaf Ingredients

To make a 1 ½ pound loaf of Bread Machine White Bread, you’ll need the following:

Liquid Ingredients (add first)

• 3/4 cups (180 ml) lukewarm water
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) milk
• 2 Tbsp. (28 g) butter

Dry Ingredients (on top of wet)

• 2 3/4 cup (330 g) White Flour (All Purpose or Bread)
• 2 1/4 Tbsp. (28 g) Sugar
• 3/4 tsp. (5 g) salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. (5 g) SAF Instant Yeast (or 2 tsp bread machine yeast)

Choosing Bread Machine Yeast for White Bread

The main thing to know about bread machine baking is that choice of yeast matters.  Active yeast is designed to be dissolved in water before other ingredients are added.  Bread machine yeast and instant yeast (SAF) are different.  The liquid ingredients go into the bottom of the machine, then the flour floating on top, and then finally a scoop of bread machine yeast in a well in the flour. 

This order allows you to use a timer on the bread machine, and start the loaf with a delayed start so that it’s ready right when you get home from work.  The yeast stays dry until the machine starts, which is perfect for a delayed start.

Bread machine yeast is also designed for a rapid rise, which helps a bread machine complete a loaf relatively quickly.  

Since I still do make homemade bread in the oven, I wasn’t excited about keeping two types of yeast in the house.  I’ve had great success with a brand called Saf-Instant Yeast, which is perfect for both oven-baking and bread machine use.  It’s sold in a 1-pound bulk package for about $4, and the same amount of yeast in tiny packets would cost about $65!  This has been a real game changer for my home bread baking, and it’s really helped keep costs down when we’re baking 2-3 loaves a week.

You can also use bread machine yeast in this recipe, and I’ve included amounts for that as well.  If using active yeast instead of instant yeast, you’ll need to dissolve it in water and allow it to stand for 10 minutes before proceeding with this recipe.

How to Make Bread Machine White Bread

Making white sandwich bread in a bread machine couldn’t be easier.  While a crusty french loaf may only have flour, yeast, salt, and water, a soft bread needs a few more things.  To get a really wonderful soft sandwich bread, a bit of butter helps to create a tender crumb.  The addition of a small amount of milk and sugar helps round out the flavor and create a wonderful texture.

When you’re using Saf-Instant Yeast or Bread machine yeast, it goes on top of the flour with the dry ingredients.  If you only have “active” yeast, it needs to be dissolved in the water instead.

I’ve given ingredient quantities for both a 1 1/2 and 2-pound loaf of soft white bread.  You can make a 1-pound loaf by cutting the 2-pound loaf quantities in half. 

Select the basic setting on your bread machine for a 2-pound loaf.  On my machine, that cycle takes an even 3 hours from start to finish, but the total time will depend on how your bread machine works.

4.44 from 207 votes

Servings: 10 slices (2 lb loaf)

Bread Machine White Bread

By Ashley Adamant

This simple white bread comes together quickly in a bread machine, with only 2 minutes of active work and 3 hours from start to finish.

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 1 hour hr 50 minutes mins

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Equipment

• Bread Machine

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

Liquid Ingredients (add first)

• ▢ 1 cup Water, lukewarm
• ▢ 1/3 cup Milk
• ▢ 3 Tbsp. Butter

Dry Ingredients (on top of wet)

• ▢ 3 3/4 cup White Flour, All Purpose or Bread
• ▢ 3 Tbsp. Sugar
• ▢ 1 tsp. Salt
• ▢ 2 tsp. SAF Instant Yeast, or 2 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast

US Customary - Metric

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Instructions 

• Add all ingredients into the bread machine in the order listed. The wet ingredients should go at the bottom, and then you use the flour to create an "island" on top to keep the yeast from getting wet before the cycle starts. (If you're using active yeast instead of instant or bread machine yeast, dissolve it in the water before starting, and don't use the time delay cycle.)
• Set the machine "basic white" and click start.
• The bread machine should go through a full cycle, first kneading the bread and then allowing it to rise before baking.
• Allow the bread to cool completely before cutting.

Notes

One and a Half Pound Loaf Ingredients

To make a 1 ½ pound loaf of Bread Machine White Bread, you’ll need the following:

Liquid Ingredients (add first)

• 3/4 cups (180 ml) lukewarm water
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) milk
• 2 Tbsp. (28 g) butter

Dry Ingredients (on top of wet)

• 2 3/4 cup (330 g) White Flour (All Purpose or Bread)
• 2 1/4 Tbsp. (28 g) Sugar
• 3/4 tsp. (5 g) salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. (5 g) SAF Instant Yeast (or 2 tsp bread machine yeast)

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice, Calories: 226kcal, Carbohydrates: 39g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 11mg, Sodium: 225mg, Potassium: 70mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 125IU, Vitamin C: 0.003mg, Calcium: 19mg, Iron: 0.4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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