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This bread machine bread recipe is the foolproof method for getting perfect white bread every time! Just dump in all the ingredients and let the bread maker do all the work! With about 5 minutes of minimal effort you can have soft, warm bread in just a couple of hours!
The Best Bread Machine Bread Recipe
My good friend Abby makes THE BEST bread. A few years ago I convinced her to let me in on her secret, and to my surprise, she simply stated that the secret is that she uses her bread machine. Seriously!? I honestly didn’t believe her at first, because bread machine bread just isn’t usually good (compared to the classic, manual-rising, oven-baked variety)! I’ve attempted making bread in a bread machine at least a dozen times and it always came out dry and hard, and just not quite right. Well, she proved me wrong. Now making bread/dough in the bread machine is my VERY favorite way to make homemade bread. Trust me, you are going to love how easy and delicious this recipe is!
The Secret to Bread Maker Bread
Bread machines are SO convenient. You just put everything right in, push go, and they do all the work for you! The mixing, the kneading, the rising, the baking – everything! Where a bread machine falls short is in the “baking” part. When it comes to baking bread, the bread machine is not your friend. So what is to be done? Shhh.. I’m going to let you in on the secret. Here’s what you do: Let the bread machine do all the mixing, kneading, and rising. Then dump the dough in a bread pan, put it in a COLD oven (no preheating, YAY!), turn the oven on and bake. It’s THAT easy. Just these few little steps make a world of difference!
How to Make Bread using a Bread Machine (Step by Step)
- First, place 1 cup VERY hot water, 1 egg, 4 tablespoons cold butter, ¼ cup sugar, and 1 ¼ teaspoons salt in the bread machine. No need to mix or anything, just put it all straight in.
- Next, Add 3 cups flour directly to the bread maker. Make a small well in the flour with your hand and add yeast to the well.
- Set bread machine to “dough” for 90 minutes (it should default to 1 hour 30 minutes) and press “start”.
- When your dough is finished, pour it straight into a greased bread pan. If you want to make it look pretty, you can turn it so a smooth side is facing up. Then just tuck down any unruly edges.
- Place the bread pan in the COLD oven. No preheating necessary!
- Set temperature to 350-degrees and set timer for 30 minutes. The bread will rise and bake in this time.
- Remove baked bread from the oven and remove quickly from pan. Place on a cooling rack and brush with butter. Cover with a towel or place in a plastic Ziplock bag to keep from drying out.
What Bread Maker is Best?
Honestly, it doesn’t really matter what kind of bread machine you have. We got the cheapest bread maker on Amazon that had decent reviews. I think it was under $100. Any basic bread maker will do the trick. Just make sure it has a “dough” option so it will stop once the dough is done.
Adapting to Make More Bread Machine Recipes:
We have used this exact dough recipe for all sorts of recipes. Sometimes you have to knead it with some flour to get the right consistency depending on what you are making, but it works like a charm in these recipes:
Gino’s Deep Dish Pizza
Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
Parmesan Pull Apart Bread
Pani Popo (Samoan Coconut Rolls)
BBQ Cilantro Pizza
Quick and Easy Calzones
Monkey Bread
Pesto Rolls
Fry Bread
Breadsticks
Read more: 35+ Dinner Ideas
Frequently Asked Questions
Bread machines usually call for ‘bread flour’. The main difference between bread flour and all-purpose flour is the gluten content (bread flour has more gluten). All-purpose flour is absolutely fine to use! Your loaf of bread may not rise as spectacularly as it would with the bread flour, but there really isn’t much of a difference.
YES! Not only is it cheaper, but you know exactly what is going into it! No mystery ingredients in your sandwich bread.
Broken down, the savings look like this: The average cost of a loaf of basic white bread is around $4 (more or less), making it yourself costs about $1.
(It also tastes better!)
Nope! Just make sure you are using a quick-rise yeast for it to work best. In this recipe, we just use all-purpose flour. No need to spend extra getting special ingredients.
Bread Machine Bread
Video
Equipment
- Bread Machine
Ingredients
- 1 cup water (very hot)
- 1 egg
- 4 tablespoons butter (cold- not softened)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon quick-rise yeast
Instructions
- Place hot water, egg, butter, sugar, and salt in bread machine.
- Add 3 cups flour. Make a small well in the flour and add yeast.
- Set bread machine to "dough" for 90 minutes (1 hour 30 minutes) and start.
- When dough is finished. Pour directly into a greased bread pan. If needed, gently turn the bread or tuck in the edges so the top is smooth (it's ok if it is sticky).
- Place bread in COLD oven and set oven to 350 degrees. Set timer for 30 minutes.
- When finished baking, remove from oven and carefully remove bread from the pan.
- Place on a baking rack to cool and brush the top with butter. Place a towel over the bread or place in a plastic Ziplock bag to keep from drying out.
- Serve immediately or place in a plastic Ziplock bag to keep from drying out.
If Making Rolls:
- Remove dough from bread machine and place on a floured surface.
- Knead in a little flour if dough is too sticky to handle.
- Divide dough into 12 equal pieces. Fold and pinch into dough balls and place in a greased 9×13 glass baking dish.
- Place in a COLD oven and set to 350 degrees. Set timer for 25 minutes.
- Remove rolls from oven and brush with butter.
Notes
- using as a crust to spread with jams, from raspberry to fig to cherry, and drizzled with honey
- toasting and slathering with garlic and cheese, and pairing with soups, salads, and vegetables
- your favorite new sandwich
- French toast, a morning staple
- and finally, the classic bread and butter, not to be overlooked.
Turned out absolutely wonderful and tastes amazing. The texture is perfect as well. Super easy and quick. The only variations I made were that I used bread flour and Fleichmann’s refrigerated bread machine yeast. (1T)
Thanks so much!
This is a great bread recipe; used my bread maker on the Dough setting, when it ended, I shaped it, greased it, put in a bread pan, then baked according to the instructions. Hubby LOVES it!
Thank you for your review! Your hubby has good taste! 🙂
I LOVE this recipe. I can honestly say that we will never buy bread ever again. Have you ever tried this with whole wheat flour?
I haven’t tried it with whole wheat flour before so I looked at the King Arthur website to help me find an answer. This is what I gathered:
When whole wheat flour is used up to 50/50 with all-purpose flour, there’s no need to make a change in your favorite white-flour yeast recipe – the result should be quite similar to the original.
When whole wheat flour is substituted 100% for the white flour, allow the dough to rest for 20 to 30 minutes before kneading.
When whole wheat flour is substituted 100% for the white flour, adjust the dough consistency by adding 2 teaspoons additional liquid per cup of whole wheat flour used, to start. After giving the dough a rest, start to knead; if it begins to feel overly dry and stiff, add more liquid, enough to make a smooth, supple dough.
This all being said, I would simply add a little extra water or reduce the amount of flour it using wheat flour. I don’t know how to adjust for the resting time before kneading, but maybe you will be fine? If you try it please come back and let me know!
Thank you so much so glad I found your recipe the first time my bread turned out not dense and a weird taste.
I was ready to get rid of it not now.😊
I’m so glad you like the recipe! Hold on to your bread machine! 😉
Can I leave 1000 stars? Thank you for this perfect recipe that is manageable as a Mom of young kids, fun to make together, and absolutely delicious.
Only note – must be my oven – but since I’ve made this too many times to count now, I can say that 40 minutes in the oven works better for us.
This is the nicest comment! Thank you so much! This recipe does make homemade bread more achievable for busy families. I’m curious what the elevation is where you live. That may have an impact on the cooking time, as well as differences in oven temperatures not always being consistent.
Oh – my – goodness!!! I will never ever search for another bread recipe. So delicious! Softest bread I have ever eaten. Honestly! Absolutely wonderful! I was afraid dough wasn’t going to bake because it was really sticky. I knew I had followed the recipe correctly, so I went ahead, put the dough in the pan and baked it. Removed it from the pan, gently put butter on top and let it cool. Perfection! The cornmeal trick really does work, too! Bread came right out of pan. Mmmm! Thank you for this recipe
Thank you so much for your comment! I’m so happy you love the bread as much as we do!
I have, seriously, tried over a hundred bread machine recipes; and this recipe is, by far, the best! Thank you for sharing. I was getting very frustrated with the whole bread making experience until I stumbled upon this recipe. The recipe needs no changes, as it is perfect just the way it is.
What a compliment! Thank you, Tamara! I’m so happy you like the recipe. 🙂
Easy and best bread recipe for making bread that looks also like a bread “loaf”. Q: Can this recipe be used or adjusted if necessary to make hamburger buns?
I’ve made rolls out of this recipe before, but not hamburger buns. It should work great if you form them into the shape of hamburger buns and bake. Thanks for asking!
This is absolutely perfect. I bought an inexpensive bread machine and not having any luck with it. I used to make all my bread by hand but rheumatoid arthritis put a stop to that. This recipe let’s the bread machine do all the hard work and then I pop it in the oven. Amazing results. Thank you!!
I’m so happy you like this recipe as much as we do. It is nice not to have to do all the kneading by hand!
Erica, thank you for this delicious bread recipe! I don’t like the way my bread makes in my bread maker, so this is excellent. Two quick questions: Is there a way to successfully make this recipe using sourdough starter in place of instant yeast? Also, what’s the difference between how this recipe turns with active dry yeast instead of instant? Thank you so much!
So glad you like this bread recipe! For sourdough, I actually haven’t attempted this with sourdough before so I can’t say for sure. I will have to experiment and update the recipe when I have a better answer. As for the rest, you should get the same results with either type of yeast. Hope this helps!
Can I substitute the butter with a non dairy option, like olive oil? Please advise. Thank you! Can’t wait to try this out.
I haven’t’ tried it with a non-dairy oil but I don’t see why it wouldn’t be similar. I don’t think I would use olive oil because olive oil has a strong flavor. I would opt for a mild vegetable oil or canola oil so it doesn’t alter the taste of your bread. Hope this helps!
I was told a while back on another site that Canola oil gives the bread a fishy taste. I never tried it but just thought I would share.
This recipe worked really well- I have been trying to use my bread machine more often but don’t like the huge blocks it produces. Call me crazy, but I think bread should be bread-shaped. I was using a sourdough recipe in my machine but the loaves ended up hard as a rock- back to the dutch oven for that one. This recipe was perfect!
So glad you liked it! I agree, I like a loaf that can expand in the oven and be airy on the inside. I love the idea of being able to make it and bake it all at once but it just doesn’t taste right. It’s so easy to transfer it to a pan.
I’m hoping my old bread maker with a dough cycle of 1 hour 3 minutes works! May be time for a new bread maker. Hoping for the best!
It should still work. Just make sure you follow the bread maker’s manual. Hope this helps!
I want to make raisin bread w/white raisins. How many should I add to the dry mix?
I haven’t added raisins to the mix before so I don’t know how well they will do in the bread machine. I would just recommend experimenting with a small amount to begin with to see how it goes. Hope this helps!
My dough deflated and was wayyyy super sticky. I’m not sure what I did wrong or need to change up. I followed the recipe and watched your video. Any tips??
I’m not sure what happened. At what point in the process did the dough deflate?
I’ve got myself in a bit of a bind. Because this bread is SO good, I have been assigned the dinner rolls for Christmas! I need to make about 30 and only have one bread maker. I saw your comment about refrigerating dough to prevent second rise, would you let the full “dough” cycle complete, then refrigerator as a ball overnight, then form into rolls the day of and rise? How long would that rise be do you think?
This highly depends on the temperature of your kitchen. Because it has been refrigerated it could take up to an hour or two to get to room temp and rise. I would say plan on 2 hours just to be safe!
I tried this recipie and this is a must to put in with all your favorite recipies! I was going to get rid of my Breadman Machine . I have never made a loaf that didn’t seem to weigh at least 5 lbs. I was going to do one last loaf and I saw this recipe and it intrigued me. Basically a dump bread recipe. Well followed the directions and OMG the Breadman now has a permanent place on the counter next to the Insta Pot.I just wanted to say thank you to you and your friend who shared the recipe with you! Try This! You will be hooked!
What a great comment, thank you! I am so glad you didn’t get rid of your bread machine quite yet! I like how you called it a “dump bread” recipe because that is totally what it is! You just dump it all in and you are good to go– and when you bake it in the oven it bakes up nice and fluffy instead of dense and heavy. Don’t ask me why that is, it just works better 🙂
While I’ve reviewed this before, I had to come back on here and say that I have two friends whose dad died a couple of days ago. I made them a big meal. And while they were super sweet about the meal, it was the rolls that got the rave reviews from both of their families. This recipe is perfection.
This isn’t bread machine bread. This is oven made bread. Please change the title to correctly reflect that.
It is mixed and proofed in the bread machine and then put in the oven to bake while the oven is still cold. It is bread machine made, just oven baked. Oven bread wouldn’t be exactly accurate either because it isn’t prepared like most oven breads. If you would like to make it from beginning to end in your bread machine, you absolutely can, it just won’t come out as nicely as when it is put in the oven.
While I’ve reviewed this before, I had to come back on here and say that I have two friends whose dad died a couple of days ago. I made them a big meal. And while they were super sweet about the meal, it was the rolls that got the rave reviews from both of their families. This recipe is perfection.
When I was looking for a bread, machine recipe, I too, was disappointed when I saw this had to go to the oven. But when I actually did it… There is a no turning back. This recipe is fantastic the way that it is. And it is so crazy easy. So I’m glad it was listed the way it was or I never would’ve found it.
What temperature is “very hot”?
Hi Margaret, Use the hottest water you can get from your tap. It doesn’t need to be hotter than that. Thank you for asking!
Do you use regular flour or bread machine flour?
I just use regular flour but you can also use bread flour or bread machine flour