This is an easy recipe for a white bread made from wheat flour. If you follow the steps exactly, it can’t fail and will make you and your loved ones very happy.
Most of the time I am baking bread, mixed from wheat and rye flour or other flours. Nevertheless, every now and then we are all craving a fluffy white bread. That’s where this recipe comes into play. It makes a big loaf of bread and has a wonderful taste. The crust is nicely crusty and beautiful and no matter what you match with it, it will be perfect in every case. I love it with just butter or jams, cold cuts or cheese or I use it as a side to a soup,
How To: White Bread Video
The video shows you step by step what you need to do to bake this bread. I know that not everyone has an electric mixer. That’s why I decided to show you, that it is possible to make this bread by kneading by hand. It is not difficult and only slightly exhausting. Just the amount of exercise everyone who’s healthy would tolerate without getting out of breath.
Also in the video, I explain the different Technics to make a bread rise. Bread with yeast, sourdough, no-knead bread or bread that is baked with baking powder or some soda and buttermilk. They all have their benefits in some way and their uses in certain situations.
Yeast Bread
This bread is made with yeast and is done – start to finish in roughly 3 hours. This includes the 2 times 60 minutes rising and the 35 minutes baking time. This is much faster than a sourdough bread or a no-knead bread. On the downside, a yeast bread will not stay fresh for as long a sourdough bread. It’s best to eat a white bread made with yeast on the same day it is baked. But if you can’t finish the whole loaf, don’t worry about it. This bread is amazing for the toaster or if you want to make grilled cheese sandwiches!
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White Bread Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 500 g wheat flour (all purpose or bread flour)
- 11 g instant yeast
- 250 ml lukewarm water
- 10 g sugar
- 10 g salt
- 40 g butter
Instructions
- Put the flour into a large bowl.
- Make a little space in the center and put the sugar into it.
- Also, put the yeast and some of the water into the center and mix it slightly.
- Let stand for a couple of minutes until the yeast starts bubbling.
- Now, add the remaining ingredients.
- Start mixing either with an electric mixer or by hand.
- If mixing by hand: Once the ingredients have formed a solid mass, move it to a board or table and knead by hand.
- After 10 minutes of kneading, the dough should be smooth and soft.
- Shape the dough into a sphere and put it back into the large bow. Cover with a lid or damp kitchen towel.
- Let rise for 60 minutes, the dough should have at least doubled its size by then.
- Move the dough back onto the table or board and shape it into a rectangle.
- Fold the dough from the top to the center, then turn the dough 45° and again fold the top to the center. Keep turning and folding it for 16 times.
- Shape the dough in the preferred shape and place it onto a baking sheet or put it into a large bread baking pan.
- Cover and let it rise again for 60 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 390°F / 200°C.
- Before you put the bread into the oven, use a sharp knife and cut the top of the bread lengthwise.
- When you put the bread into the oven, spray some water to the oven walls or put a small ovensafe bowl with water into the oven.
- After 10 minutes of baking, open the oven door and release the steam. Then continue to bake for another 25 minutes or for the time it needs until the bottom of the bread sounds hollow when knocking on it.
- Let the bread cool completley before cutting it.
Based on 14 Review(s)
Guten Tag Barbara,
I have never tried baking before but as I have been to Germany many times I love the bread. So I am going to attempt to make your loaf. Can I use sweetener instead of sugar ?.
I had my first German meal in the Hofbräuhaus in München 26 years ago and have been making Krautsalat ever since.
MfG,,,,John ( Scotland )
Hi John,
instead of artificial sweetener, I would recommend to just leave the sugar out. The sugar is mostly to boost the yeast but it will do fine with just the energy from the flour. As an alternative to sugar, you could use some honey. I looked for bread recipes with artificial sweeteners but did not get any results for that combination. So, it seems to be not advisable to use it.
Best,
Barbara
Thank you very much Barbara,
Kind regards,,,,John.
I am new to bread baking and enjoyed your video very much. I am trying to replicate my German grandmother’s recipe for white bread. The recipe was never properly written down, but she used flour, yeast, sugar, salt, water, and a “chunk” of old dough! The bread was white, had lots of nice holes (not too big), a fairly soft crust, and a slightly tangy or sourdough taste. Could this recipe be adapted to the “old dough” method? I have a nice bit of dough that I save each time, about 100 grams or 1/2 cup, but my results have been inconsistent. It tastes pretty darn good, but it doesn’t always rise properly. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Hi Janice,
I actually had to look it up. Though I have heard of baking with “old dough”, I’ve never made it and don’t have a recipe. However, the technique is also known as “Paté Fermenté” and there are articles about it like this one: https://www.severnbites.com/2019/02/21/bake-better-bread-by-using-pre-fermented-dough/
I hope this will help.
Best, Barbara
Thanks, Barbara. I will keep reading and experimenting! Really enjoy your videos.
Janice
❤
Great recipe! Any recommendations for using mixer to get the right texture before the first rise, or is this only a 10 minute option to knead?
Hey Mark,
An electric mixer would take 10 minutes, too. Use lower speed on mixer for kneading. You can check the consistency of the dough in between as I showed in the video, so you know when it’s ready. In case you are using Spelt flour, the kneading time would be less, like somewhere between 5 and 7 minutes.
Best,
Barbara
Working this today, and will advise end result.
?? Any chance thia could be separated in 2 loaves after the 2nd rise ?
Hi Marc,
sure, you can make two smaller loafs. The baking time might be a little shorter then, so watch out for when the bread has a hollow sound when knocking on the bottom.
Best,
Barbara
Hello Barbara,
Would it be OK to use active dry yeast instead of the instant yeast? Also, I was wondering if you use the convection (umluft) bake or regular bake setting?
Thank you!
Hi Etta,
Yes, both kinds of yeast will work. Usually, I am using convection for most things in the oven but not for bread. When baking bread or rolls, I turn the convection function off because it can dry out the bread during the baking process.
Best,
Barbara
You say 390 degrees in your video but write 490 in your recipe. Which one should we follow?
So sorry for that, it‘s 390•F. I will correct it on the blog. Thank you for pointing this out.
Thank you
Could you also use cups, teaspoons and tablespoons in your recipes . I’m going to have to figure out the gram measurements.
Thank you!
Terri
Hi Terry,
I will be able to afford a plugin for that, soon. Then it will be possible to switch between metric and customary measurments. I still recommend using a scale and weigh in g since it is more precise and the outcome will be better.
Best,
Barbara
Hello Barbara
Unfortunately I do not have access to fresh yeast, can you please advise the conversion to Dry Active Yeast. Thanks you.
Hi Elisabeth,
as shown in the video, I am using dry yeast. Use 11 g of dry yeast in the recipe.
Best,
Barbara
How do I convert the recipes into US measurements?
There are several websites, offering the conversion of different ingredient types. I will soon be able to afford a website plugin for my blog that lets visitors switch between metric and customary units. Please have a little patient, I am working on it.
Hello Leony,
You can now switch between units (US or metric) with this recipe. Just use the link in the recipe block right under the ingredients.
Best,
Barbara
Thank you for the conversion link
Yes, thank you for the conversion! I have a scale, but it is much easier to just be able to see it!