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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!
Included with this Recipe
The Best Bread Machine Bread Recipe
My good friend, Abby, has always made THE best bread. A few years ago, I asked her what her secret is and she told me she always does her bread in a bread machine. I honestly didn’t believe her at first because bread machine bread just isn’t usually good. I had attempted making bread in a bread machine at least a dozen times and I could never make it taste right. It always came out dry and hard. 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 it does all the work for you! The mixing, the kneading, the rising, the baking…everything! Where the 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.. it’s a secret. Here’s what you do: 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:
- BBQ Cilantro Pizza
- Quick and Easy Calzones
- Monkey Bread
- Pesto Rolls
- Samoan Coconut Rolls (Pani Popo)
- 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! And 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
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.
- 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 (it's ok if it is sticky).
- 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.
Are there adjustments to be made for bread machine baking on the account of elevation and humidity within the house? My question stems from 3 failures from too dry to too wet when following recipes and pre-sets on machine. I’m at 7000’ and house humidity is usually always under 30% (often around 5%)… Any help with this would be greatly appreciated as wasting materials is quite undesirable!
Thank you,
Craig G
I am not knowledgeable on this subject, but I found some helpful information on the web at: https://www.thespruceeats.com/how-do-i-adjust-bread-machine-recipes-for-high-altitude-908823
Would this work with gluten free flour?
Yes. You would need a really good cup for cup flour blend. I like the Namaste GF Flour brand that you can find at Costco.
The BEST dough ever because it makes the most delicious rolls! I have saved this recipe to use over & over again, and it always turn out perfectly! Sooo yummy!!
The best bread mix ever .comes out perfect every time.
This is, without question, the best bread machine recipe I have ever tried. No kneading, cold butter, put the dough in a cold oven? It just ran counter to every other recipe I’ve tried. But it just works beautifully. And I found that the bread does not dry out as quickly as other recipes have tried. Thank you for this.
Best bread recipe by far! Did find the dough a little sticky when checking it, so I added a tablespoon at a time of flour until it was as sticky. I also used bread flour & I don’t know if that would have anything to with the stickiness. Was very leery of proofing the bread that way, but wow, I was pleasantly surprised!
At what temp do you consider very hot for the water?
The best temperature for water to mix with yeast is 38 C or 100 F. Hope this helps!
Have not used this recipe yet but I will be using it soon.
Loved loved this recipe. Making another 🍞right now. We had it fresh the first day. I’ve been making toast with the rest.
I have not used your method yet, but do we really throw an egg into hot water?
It is hot, but not boiling, so yes! We do!
I love this bread recipe. So much that I would like to make a really large batch and multiple loafs at one time. Have you ever made this dough without the bread maker to allow for a bigger batch? Any tips on how to go about this? I’ve never made bread without my bread maker.
This bread turned out delicious!!!! Perfect taste, beautiful crust and so easy using the bread machine for the dough. Only had active dry so used 1/4 more yeast and activated it fully before adding all ingredients. Made french toast with it the next day and it was perfect!
Thank you, I have found my go to bread recipe! 🤗
The bread came out great! But the dough did not come out the way it does in your pictures…it was really wet and I scraped out the pan with a spatula…any idea why? Too much water?
Huh, that’s strange! I haven’t had it turn out wet like that before. Did the bread come out dense?
I just made the best bread I’ve ever made and this was the recipe. I love the sweet, buttery taste and it was so easy. I’m going to start making bread for family and friends. I can’t tell you how happy I am and how much I enjoyed this bread recipe…Thanks so much
I’m thrilled you loved this recipe! Thank you for your comment!
I have always had problems making bread in my bread machine. It never bakes long enough. This recipe was just great! From now on will be my go to bread recipe!
I made this recipe exactly as written even though I was skeptical about the baking instructions. It came out perfectly. My husband and I both feel this this is the best bread I have ever made. It is easy to make, the texture is not too heavy and crust was perfect. Thank you for sharing. #1 on our list.
So glad I found this recipe. My bread maker died a few weeks ago. It was a Toast Master that I had for over 25 years. It made the most amazing bread. So, I got a new machine by Cuisnart. I used the same recipe and was very disappointed. The taste was very different and the crust was much darker even on the light setting and very hard. I like a light and soft crust. And, I loved the taste that my old machine made. Your recipe is very close to it. I am so glad I found your recipe. Baking it in the oven was wonderful. I have made my old recipe for many people as gifts. Now I am looking at buying a pan from William Sonoma to make perfect rectangle bread loaves for sandwiches. Thank you.
Yesterday, I had a serious yen for fresh hot rolls. So, I made this dough in my Amazon Basic 2 pound bread machine. But literally just as it was done, our power went off for a few hours, so no oven was available and I had to refrigerate it overnight. It continued to rise even in the refrigerator. What would be the best method for making rolls from this refrigerated dough? Should I let it set out until it becomes room temperature again before shaping and placing the rolls? Should I preheat the oven instead of baking in a cold one? thanks for any advice.
I think you could shape them right out of the fridge and then let them rise to room temp. Sorry your power went out! Hope everything is okay!
So glad I found this recipe site! Today I tried the bread machine and then the oven and it came out perfectly! The only change I made was to use bread flour, which I sifted. I am going to try the rolls next…excited to have bread in half the time it would take by using the bread machine for the whole cycle. Thank you for sharing with your readers.
My aunt has a bread machine from years ago. She said it was a fad. But when I tried this recipe in her machine… we laughed and said we’re ready for bread machines to come back into style again! SO SO good. And so easy to make.
Such a comprehensive post on how to use a bread machine, thanks for the great info!