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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!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- hot water
- egg
- butter, (cold- not softened)
- sugar
- salt
- flour, (you can use either all-purpose or bread flour)
- quick-rise yeast
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. You can run a full “Basic/White Bread” cycle in the bread machine, but this recipe was written to use the machine for mixing/kneading/rising and the oven for baking because it gives a taller loaf and more traditional shape. If baking in the machine, use your machine’s “Basic/White” setting and check dough consistency during the first mix (see the sticky dough question below).
You can use instant/rapid-rise or active dry yeast.
Instant/rapid-rise: add it dry to the machine (no proofing needed).
Active dry: you can also add it dry in most bread machines, but if you’ve had trouble with rising, you can proof it first in warm water until foamy.
Tip: If your machine has a yeast dispenser, follow your machine’s instructions.
Yes—the recipe uses tablespoons, which can be more than a single packet. A packet is usually 2¼ teaspoons, so make sure you’re measuring the yeast with teaspoons/tablespoons rather than assuming “1 packet.”
Either works, but they behave a little differently.
Bread flour: chewier texture and often a slightly higher rise.
All-purpose: softer crumb (still great).
If you swap flours, keep an eye on dough texture during mixing and adjust with a little flour/water if needed.
Yes, but expect a denser loaf. For best results, start with half whole wheat / half white flour. Whole wheat often needs a touch more liquid and sometimes a slightly longer rise.
During the first few minutes of mixing, the dough should look soft and slightly tacky, but not like batter.
Too sticky/wet: add 1 tablespoon flour at a time until it comes together.
Too dry/crumbly: add 1 tablespoon water at a time until smooth.
Small changes make a big difference—add slowly.
Most common causes:
Yeast is old/expired.
Water was too hot or too cold.
Flour was packed too tightly (too much flour).
Kitchen is cold (slower rise).
Quick fix: check yeast freshness and make sure you’re measuring flour correctly (spoon-and-level if using cups).
Use hot tap water, not boiling. If you’re worried, aim for roughly 110–120°F (warm/hot but not scalding). Bread machines mix quickly, so the egg gets incorporated fast, but if your water is near boiling, it can cause issues.
Start timing when you put the loaf into the cold oven and turn the oven on. That ramp-up time is included in the bake.
A few things can cause this:
Oven runs cool (use an oven thermometer if you have one).
Pan is too dark/thin (browns outside faster).
Loaf is too tall/thick for the bake time.
Fix: tent loosely with foil if the top is browning too fast, and bake a little longer until the center is done. Bread should sound hollow when tapped; internal temp is typically around 190°F for white bread if you use a thermometer.
This recipe makes a standard sandwich loaf. A 9×5-inch loaf pan is the most common fit. If using a smaller pan, don’t fill more than about ½–⅔ full before the rise to avoid overflow.
Yes. After the dough cycle, you can shape it and refrigerate it covered for a slower rise. When ready to bake, let it sit at room temp until puffy, then bake.
Store cooled bread in a bag or container at room temp for a few days. For longer storage, slice and freeze in a freezer bag. Thaw slices as needed.
Salt level can feel stronger depending on the brand of butter and how you measure.
If using salted butter, consider reducing the added salt a bit.
If you’re sensitive to salt, reduce the salt slightly next time (small changes go a long way).
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!)
Using the Dough for More 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:
Bread Machine Bread
Video
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, (you can use either all-purpose or bread 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.
Equipment
- Bread Machine
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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Hi, what if my oven is not cold? I was just finishing Salisbury steaks in the oven and was going to bake my bread?
I’m guessing by the time it took me to respond, your bread has baked. How did your bread turn out? The purpose of the cold oven is to give the bread a little more time to rise. Hopefully it still worked out and you were able to enjoy homemade bread with your Salisbury steaks!
I didn’t take the dough out to bake in my oven. I let the bread machine bake it and it was so delicious! Thank you for the recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the bread! Thank you for the 5-stars!
First time making bread in years. This is the BEST bread EVER! No joke! So easy. Highly recommend.
Thank you for the 5-stars, Autumn! I’m so happy you like the recipe!
Hi
Such a high rating for bread maker bread, hoping to make this soon.
Love the comments, but after reading quite a few have not noticed any referencing adjustments for altitude. I live in SLC at approximately 5140ft, any additional recommendations?
Thanks so much
You should be fine just making the recipe as-is. It may cook a little faster, you may just want to check it 5 minutes before the baking time is up. If it is totally baked through you can remove it a little early. Hope this helps!
I live in a high altitude area. Do you have high altitude directions?
What elevation? You may want to bake for a little less time, when baking at high altitudes I just check it at 5-8 minutes before the baking time is up. You may end up just removing it a few minutes early.
I am not familiar with bread machines but I had a piece of this bread at a function at work today and it was amazing!! Would this work in a KitchenAid mixer if I have no access to a bread machine? I honestly have no clue and don’t have space for another appliance in my kitchen!
I’m so glad to hear you liked the bread! I haven’t made it with a kitchen aid before. The big difference between the two is that the dough rises and mixes a couple times automatically in the bread machine. It doesn’t really do that in the kitchen aid and I’m not sure what the timings are on the cycle to do it manually. Sorry this isn’t much help :/
I wasn’t sure how the machine works – but makes total sense! Thank you for your reply!
I love this recipe! The taste is perfect! I have a problem with the top burning though. After about 12 minutes the top starts to get really brown and then will burn if I don’t tent the bread with aluminum foil. I have followed the instructions exactly. I have made this 3 times now and each time the top starts to burn halfway through. Any suggestions? Should I try lowering the temperature to 325 and baking a little longer? I don’t know why it is happening and none of the other comments I have read on here seem to have this issue. Thanks!
I’m not sure what is happening in your oven but my first thought was to try lowering your rack, the bread might be too high in the oven.
This happened to me as well. I know my oven is accurate. I tried removing the bread before the 30 minutes was up, but the bottom was not fully cooked. All that said, this bread is delicious and a bit brioche-like.
This is the best bread I’ve ever made! So light and fluffy with just the right amount of sweetness. The only tweak I made was substituting milk for the water. This will definitely be my go to recipe!
Thank you so much! And thanks for sharing how it worked with milk.
Hi, I have a bread machine that makes so so bread. I can’t wait to try baking this in a oven. Is this recipe for a one pound loaf pan or 2 lbs? I want to use a pullman loaf pan and am not sure which size to place the dough in.
This recipe is for a 2 lb loaf pan.
I have made lots of bread as I can’t have any enriched products, and this is by far the best! My husband and kids can’t get enough. I was very skeptical due to the way the ingredients were just thrown in there, not to mention only 1 rise. And who would ever think to NOT preheat the oven? But I followed the directions exactly and it was truly amazing!! Thanks for sharing this recipe. I will be playing with some herbs in it for a dinner bread. Can’t wait!
So glad you liked it, you have to trust the process but it’s worth it!
Mine didn’t rise very well, the dough was pretty loose. Maybe I need more flour? I used bread flour and measured ingredients in grams.
This can also be effected by humidity or elevation.
This bread was very good. It was lightand had good flavor.
So glad you like it!
Excellent bread!! I’ll be making this regularly!! Thank you!
You are very welcome!
Awesome, delicious, easy. The dough was literally popping the lid on the bread maker. Was worried about the time instruction but followed them to the letter. It was perfect. Love, love, love it!! My new go to. 🥰
So glad you liked it!
Fantastic bread! My husband’s new favorite.
Have you ever shortened the “dough time”? Accidently put on 30 vs 90 today… we will see how it turns out!
I haven’t, let me know how it goes!
Why are you not baking your bread in your machine?
You definitely can, but I think it turns out better in the oven.
I may have missed it if someone else asked, sorry, but can you use this recipe without a bread machine? My husband has just started making bread, and I’d love for him to try this one if possible.
Yes, you definitely can, the bread machine just takes the work out of the mixing and kneading and rising.