Nothing beats homemade bread 🍞—warm, soft, and filling your kitchen with that amazing smell. Here’s a simple, beginner-friendly loaf that comes out fluffy every time.
Easy Homemade Bread (1 Loaf)
Prep time: 15 min
Rise time: 1½–2 hours
Bake time: 30 min
Ingredients
- 3½ cups all-purpose flour (or bread flour)
- 1 packet (2¼ tsp) active dry yeast
- 1 cup warm water (110°F / 43°C)
- 2 tbsp sugar or honey
- 2 tbsp oil or melted butter
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Activate yeast
- Mix warm water, sugar, and yeast.
- Let sit 5–10 minutes until foamy.
- Make dough
- Add oil and salt.
- Gradually mix in flour until a soft dough forms.
- Knead
- Knead 8–10 minutes by hand (or 5 minutes with mixer) until smooth and elastic.
- First rise
- Place dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise 1 hour or until doubled.
- Shape & second rise
- Shape into a loaf and place in a greased loaf pan.
- Cover and rise 30–45 minutes.
- Bake
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Bake 30 minutes until golden brown.
- Cool
- Remove from pan and cool before slicing.
🔥 Pro Tips
- Soft crust: Brush top with butter right after baking
- Crispier crust: Bake with a small pan of water in the oven
- Whole wheat: Replace 1 cup flour with whole wheat flour
- No yeast smell: Yeast foam = yeast is alive 👍
🍞 Quick Variations
- Garlic bread: Add garlic powder + herbs
- Milk bread: Replace water with warm milk
- Dinner rolls: Shape into balls and bake 18–20 min
If you want, I can give you a no-knead bread, 2-ingredient bread, or soft sandwich loaf next.
