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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.
This recipe is amazing! I make at least 2 loaves per week. Haven’t bought bread at the grocery store for a month now. I was wondering if it could be baked in a pullman loaf pan with a lid?
That’s a great question, I have never made it in a pullman loaf pan before so I can’t say for sure. I used them when I worked at the bakery but I actually don’t own one myself. I’m tempted not to try it! If you happen to try it before me, please come back and let me know how it turns out!
This bread is so easy and delicious. I’ve made it so many times. Always turns out perfect. My daughter just got diagnosed with a gluten intolerance.
Can you sub gluten-free flour for the bread flour?
I am so glad you like it! And I’m sorry to hear about your daughter. We have a lot of GF family members and know that it is hard to find good GF recipes, especially bread. That being said, we haven’t tested this recipe using a GF flour. For bread especially it’s so hard to find a good blend that works well. In theory you should be able to swap it out 1:1 but I honestly can’t guarantee it will turn out. If you happen to try it and find a good blend, please let us know! I would love to know the results!
Thank you for this recipe! I have made it multiple times and it is perfect. My family loves it! Just curious- have you experimented with using less sugar and/or substituting honey? Wondering how much it will impact the end product. 🙂
Hi Bailey – every time I have made this recipe I have made it exactly as it is written. I haven’t tried it with less sugar or honey. That being said, I can’t advise on how it will affect the texture. If you happen to try it, please let me know back here in the comments how it goes!
I made it and it is amazing! Thank you!
This bread is amazing! It was difficult to work with the stickiness, so I will have to learn how to work with that better. Very moist, nice and filling and it slices very well.
That could simply have something to do with your elevation or the humidity. Definitely play around with the recipe to see how to make it work best for you. Glad you liked it so much!
So the market was out of jars of yeast, so I used a packet thinking it looked close. Now, I’m wondering if I should just take it out and start over since I looked up the amount (which is less than a tablespoon) of the packet after starting the machine 🤦♀️ On the off chance that you are online now, I’m just checking so that I started over as soon as possible.
Sorry, I am just seeing this. Did you figure it out?
This is the perfect white bread – and omg , so fast. I have stopped buying bread because i can actually slice this. I’m waiting for the dough right now and this time i added a bunch of dried italian herbs. I can’t to smell this one baking. Thank you !
You are so welcome!
Love this recipe, 1st 2 loaves were perfect, plan on making this at least weekly. Can wheat bread be made the same way?
We haven’t tested it with wheat flour. It wont come out the same with those same measurements. In the meantime our Honey Whole Wheat bread that bakes in the oven is really good!
Can you use honey or maple syrup instead of sugar?
You can substitute honey. Maple syrup might give it a weird flavor.
How much honey equals 1/4 cup of sugar?
When substituting honey for sugar in a recipe, you generally use aa little less honey because it’s sweeter and contains more moisture. I would still use the 1/4 cup but maybe just fill it 3/4 full.
Absolutely perfect bread, loved it. Do you have other bread, rolls etc recipes.
Thank you and yes! Definitely check out the bread category under the dropdown.
Absolutely loved this bread ❤️. Followed directions completely and my family loved it. Where would I find more of your recipes. Would love more bread recipes.