White Bread Recipe for Beginning Bakers

Step 1

Gather the ingredients. The Spruce Heat 1 cup of milk and 2 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from the heat when the butter is melted and set aside to cool. The Spruce Pour 1/2 cup of warm water into a small bowl. Slowly pour the yeast into the bowl while stirring. The constant stirring while adding the yeast will prevent it from clumping. Set the bowl of yeast water aside for about 5 minutes while you work on the next two steps. The Spruce In a large bowl, add the sugar, salt, and the remaining 1 cup of warm water. Mix well. The Spruce Check the saucepan of milk and butter. If the contents are warm to the touch, pour the liquid into the large bowl and mix. The Spruce Pour the yeast water into the large bowl. It is important that the batter is warm, not boiling hot. Hot liquid, such as the milk you heated up, will kill the dry yeast and prevent the bread from rising. The Spruce Begin mixing in the unbleached bread flour, one cup at a time. The Spruce By the fifth cup of flour, the dough will begin to get stiff and it will be difficult to mix it with a wooden spoon.

Step 2

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and begin to knead the dough. The Spruce Continue adding more flour - a couple tablespoons at a time - and knead the flour into the dough until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky. How much flour you use will depend on many factors, including the temperature, humidity and altitude of your home. It's likely that you will not use all 6 or 7 cups. The Spruce Grease a large bowl with butter, shortening or oil (the bowl should be 2 to 3 times the size of your dough). Place the bread dough into the bowl and then turn the dough over so that the top of the dough is also greased. The Spruce Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise at room temperature until it has doubled in size - about 1 hour. The Spruce

Step 3

Punch down the dough. The Spruce Turn it out onto a floured board and knead out all the bubbles for about 5 minutes. The Spruce Divide the dough in half and form each half into a loaf by rolling the dough into a rectangle. The Spruce Roll the dough up like a jellyroll. The Spruce Pinch the seam closed, then pinch and tuck the edges under the loaf. The Spruce

Step 4

Preheat the oven to 375 F. The Spruce Grease two loaf pans. Spread a light layer of yellow cornmeal on the loaf pans, if desired. The Spruce Set the loaves in the pans. Cover with a kitchen towel and allow the dough to rise until it has doubled in size (about 30 minutes). The Spruce Bake the bread for about 45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. The Spruce Remove the bread from the oven and turn out the loaves onto a rack or a clean kitchen towel. The Spruce Allow the bread to cool before cutting. The Spruce Serve and enjoy! The Spruce