This is my go-to recipe for a quick and easy white bread. There’s no fancy ingredients or difficult measurements. My quick and easy white bread recipe is refined sugar free, simple, and is a prime example of why I love using a bread machine. I think that bread machines are an excellent example of low effort high reward baking.
For this recipe you will need the following:
Yeast (active dry or bread machine)
Bread flour
Salt
Butter
Honey
Water
Milk
Another benefit of this recipe is that the ingredients can be easily substituted for what you have on hand. Butter can be substituted for vegetable oil, the honey can be substituted for sugar or maple syrup, and if you are out of milk, you can add 2-3 tablespoons of dry milk powder and increase the water by an equal amount. I haven’t excluded milk or milk powder altogether when making this, but it would likely still turn out well, although it might result in a tougher loaf
I have only made this bread in my machine, although I’m sure it could be adapted to be made by hand and baked in the oven. If this is something you are interested in- please let me know and I will make that recipe!
Getting into the action, here is the full recipe:
2 tsp yeast
3 cups bread flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp honey
1 cup water
1/4 cup milk
Step one: Add ingredients to your bread maker, starting with the yeast. Then, add the remaining dry ingredients and finish with the water and milk as your final additions. The ingredients listing is arranged in order of use to make this recipe as straightforward as possible.
Step two: Select medium loaf size, and the rapid bake setting on your bread machine. I recommend the light crust selection, but you could opt for medium if that’s your groove. Your setting options may vary based on what bread machine you have (I have a Panasonic sd-rd250) but most machines have these standard settings, if you are in doubt- refer to your manual.
Note: Avoid opening your bread machine while it is baking, this releases heat and can cause your loaf to be deflated on top.
Step three: When your bread machine is finished, you can take out your bread. It will still be hot, and to avoid burns you will need an oven mitt. Carefully remove the loaf pan and gently shake so that the loaf slides out. Do not cut your loaf for a minimum of 15 minutes after removing. This is because it is continuing to bake inside from the residual heat. If you slice into it now, your results won’t be ideal.
And that’s all! So easy, minimal work or clean up, and you get fresh bread! This is a very basic recipe and it lends itself for so many uses, it’s perfect for the basic butter or jam toppings, french toast, or sandwiches.