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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
Caramel Monkey Bread
Pesto Rolls
Fry Bread
Bread Twists
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
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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I tried cooking it all the way in the bread machine. It was too big for my 2lb capacity machine and was pressed against the roof of the machine. So I transferred it to the oven in the bread machine basket partway through the baking stage. It worked out eventually. Just misshapen. I’ll try again after I buy a bread pan haha
Hopefully it still tasted ok! haha let me know how it turns out with the bread pan!
Does this recipe make a 2lb loaf?
I have never weighed it before so I don’t know exactly how much it weighs. To me it seems lighter than 2 pounds but I could be wrong.
Have you tried using active dry yeast that you activate with water then use? I jut noticed I have active dry not instant yeast!
You should be fine using the active dry and activating with water before use. Just allow it to bloom first and I think you should be ok!
I just made this recipe and WOW it came out so good soft fluffy and oh so good . I ate 1/3 of the loaf
I made a small loaf and 5 buns to go with the fresh ground beef I made for burgers tonight.
Family is going to love the burgers tonight. They always love them but the buns will make a big difference .
So glad this turned out so well for you, I love that you made a small loaf and still had enough to make burger buns! Let me know how the burgers turn out!
I would give this recipe 20 stars! I just finished this bread recipe and I am blown away with how easy this recipe is and how delicious my bread is. Thank you for sharing!!
Thank you so much for the rave review! Glad it was a hit!
Can I use this recipe and just cook it in the bread maker?
You absolutely can but it won’t come out and soft and fluffy. Every time I have left it in the bread is dense and the crust is dry. No matter what recipe I use it never turn out right. You can read in the post above the reasons for this. Hope this helps!
I threw everything in the bread machine and leaving it to bake too. I had to leave and thought why not that’s what the machine is supposed to be for. Will let you know how it turns out.
Yes please do! I hope it still turns out well leaving it in the machine. It might not be quite as light and fluffy as it would transferring to the oven but it should still taste ok!
I am curious as to how your bread came out cooking it in the Breadmaker
I normally don’t write reviews but this bread is so easy and so good a beginner can do a wonderful job thank you
Thanks so much for the 5-stars and for taking the time to come back and write a nice review!
I have been using my bread maker as a dough machine for a decade. Very occasionally I may bake in the machine, but mostly dough. You can trade out portions of the flour but I would add a tiny bit of baking powder to help lift anything with low gluten or bran. But remember baking powder depletes. So bake quickly. Putting the dough in the fridge over night works just fine. This recipe is really easy to memorize. Thx.
So glad you like this recipe, the dough function makes it so easy! I love just being able to dump it all in and let it do its thing.
Excellent recipe. I let it rise on the counter when I don’t have time to cook right away. I used 1/2T of yeast and a scant 1/4 cup of sugar and came out beautifully (1T seemed like a lot for one loaf). Will try to reduce the yeast again to see if it works with less.
Oh good to know it worked out well with less yeast, thanks for letting me know!
So easy and good! Simple and quick. We love it.
So glad you liked it! Thanks for the 5-stars!
Love this easy recipe! Its become our staple in the house.
I’m wondering if I can use 100% whole grain white bread flour, and if so, what tweaking may be needed?
Thank you!
I haven’t used the whole grain while bread flour so I’m not sure how to advise you on this. Do you swap it out 1:1 for most bread recipes you have used in the past with success? If so, you are probably fine swapping it 1:1 in this recipe as well. Hope this helps!
I bought a used bread maker and this was my favorite recipe. I won’t buy store bought anymore. So easy and yummy.
I’m so glad you like the recipe! Enjoy your bread maker! 😋
Looks great. Could I do all the prep steps in the bread machine, allow the dough to then sit overnight, and bake the next morning?
The dough will over proof if it sits out all night and will collapse. You could prep the dough and then keep it in the fridge overnight. I can’t guarantee this will work on this recipe because I haven’t tried this yet myself, but I have tried it with other bread recipes. Let me know if you try it!
I just took out of machine and baked i think it should be shaped before baking the sides are totally looks like i scored it .and 30 minutes was not long enough i put bake in for 7 minutes for temp.of 200. But was a very simple recipe. Thank you
I’m glad you like the recipe! Thank you!
This is a great recipe I made with my 6yr old daughter. We made it last night and sadly this morning it was gone.😂😋🥰Simple and not alot of ingredients. Will be making it again today. Thank you for this great recipe. Have a blessed day 🙏🏾
I am very grateful for your recipe. I’ve been looking for a simple and easy bread machine recipe to make with my daughter (6yrs). This turned out great and delicious 😋. Sadly to say I made it last night and it’s was gone this morning 😂🥰. I will be making this again with my daughter today. Thank you for the recipe. 🙏🏾
I’m so happy you had success with our Bread Machine Bread recipe. Thank you for your comment!
So you don’t have to do a second rise before baking? It’ll rise in the oven as it preheats?
That’s right – a second rise is not required. It rises and bakes in the oven. Thanks for asking!