Gramma's Homemade White Bread
Gramma's homemade white bread is fluffy, moist, and golden brown with an irresistible buttery crust. This bread is the perfect accompaniment for homemade soup or stew, is great for making sandwiches, and makes the best crispy toast.
Servings: 2 loaves
Ingredients
- 2 c lukewarm water
- 1 heaping Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp canola oil
- 1½ tsp salt
- 4 - 5 c all-purpose flour or white whole wheat flour
- 2¼ tsp active dry yeast
Instructions
- Mix the water, sugar, and yeast in a large mixing bowl. To ensure the yeast is active, check for the formation of small bubbles.
- Add the salt and oil. Stir in the first 3 cups of flour. Then gradually add more flour, as needed, ½ cup at a time, until the dough begins to get thick and hard to mix. It generally takes about 5 cups of flour to get to the right consistency.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead the dough until it is no longer sticking to your hands and is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
- Lightly mist the bowl with cooking spray and return the dough to the bowl. Cover with a clean dish cloth and let raise for 1 hour.
- Divide the dough in half. Lightly mist 2 bread pans with cooking spray. Transfer each half of dough to each bread pan. Cover with a clean dish rag and raise another hour.
- Preheat the oven to 400F during the last 10 minutes of rising time. Cook the bread 30 minutes, or until lightly golden on the top. If the top begins to brown too quickly, loosely tent with tin foil to prevent burning. Transfer the bread to a cooling rack and coat the top lightly with butter.
Notes
- Make sure that your yeast is still active. When you add it to the lukewarm water and sugar mixture, it should form bubbles. If no bubbles form, your yeast may be inactive.
- The water temperature is crucial for proper activation of the yeast. Water that is too hot will kill the yeast. Water that is too cold will not activate the yeast. As a result, the bread will not rise properly.
- Kneading is also crucial for a good bread loaf. Do not over-knead the bread, or it will be tough. 5 minutes is a rough estimate for duration. In general, knead until the bread is smooth and elastic (this may be less than or more than 5 minutes).
- We recommend hand kneading over using a stand mixer to avoid over-kneading the dough. It is much easier to overwork the dough when using a stand mixer.
FAQ
- Is making your own bread healthy - yes! You can control the amount of oil and sugar, plus there are no additives or preservatives.
- Is making your own bread cheaper - absolutely! Making white bread only requires a handful of very affordable ingredients, like flour, yeast, sugar, oil, and salt. You can make 2 loaves with this recipe for a fraction of the price of a discounted Great Value bread.
- Can you use regular flour for homemade bread - yes! We stick to all-purpose flour and have never used bread flour in this recipe or any other bread recipe and have had fantastic results.
- How long does homemade bread last - 3-4 days at room temperature. Homemade bread does not contain additives or preservatives and will not last nearly as long as store bought bread.