Basic White Bread for the Bread Machine
What’s better than having fresh homemade bread? The fact that you can easily “make” it yourself with a bread machine. This basic white bread recipe is SO simple, seriously your child could prepare it! Although it takes about 3 hours to be complete, your prep time is 5 minutes and that’s all! The recipe’s for a 1 1/2 – 2 lb bread machine. And no need for bread flour, this is made with all-purpose flour.
To Start Making Your Own Bread
First step is to find a bread machine, whether you buy one or find one on your local Buy Nothing FB group(sadly people don’t tend to use there’s and it sits on the shelf). If you can’t find one for free then I suggest buying one with multiple features and sizes like mine.
Second, find an easy recipe with limited effort on your part – like the basic white bread recipe below.
Thirdly, find your “routine” – how often will you make a new loaf, what time of day. We make a new loaf every 2-3 days, I’ll throw all the ingredients in the machine and hit the start button and 3 hours later I’ll have a fresh loaf and be prepared for the morning.
Lastly, find the way you’ll store your bread. I’ve found ours stay fresh the longest in a large cloth bag inside a bread box or in a cupboard or pantry.
How to make the bread
Pull out your bread machine, plug in and open the lid. Pour in ALL your ingredients by order listed. Close the lid, choose your settings. I typically do a 2 lb loaf, basic loaf, light or medium crust. And then click start.
After the bread is all done, carefully remove the pan from the machine and leave on the counter for 5 minutes. To get the bread out, carefully shake it and place in a storage container or bag.
Serve warm or cold, do as you wish. Just store it properly for freshness and so it doesn’t go stale quickly. It last about 3-4 days stored in a cloth bag in a dark area of your kitchen or pantry. If you don’t have a cloth bag or a bread container, a freezer side ziplock bag.
We’ve been solely making our own bread for the past couple weeks and it’s been so great. I’ve had this bread machine sitting on the shelf collecting dust for a couple years now. Then I vowed to start going Zero Waste and instead of finding a bakery I could buy a loaf without the packaging, I just decided to start making my own.
Pin for later!
Basic White Bread in the bread machine
Ingredients
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 1/3 cup lukewarm milk
- 3 Tbsp melted butter
- 3 Tbsp sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast or instant yeast
- 3 3/4 cup all purpose flour
Instructions
- Pour in ALL your ingredients by order into the bread machine.
- Close the lid, choose your settings. I do a 2 lb loaf, basic loaf, light or medium crust. And then click start.
- After the bread is all done, carefully remove the pan from the machine and leave on the counter for 5 minutes. To get the bread out, carefully shake it and place in a storage container or bag.
- Serve warm or cold, do as you wish. Just store it properly for freshness and so it doesn't go stale quickly. It last about 3-4 days stored in a cloth bag in a dark area of your kitchen or pantry.
Looking for other recipes for your bread machine?
Tags : bread, bread machine, eco-friendly, recipe
FSethman says
Trying this today and hoping for the best!! Super easy and fool proof. Haven’t made bread machine bread for years now (handmaking bread instead). Thx for the recipe.
Laurie Nykaza says
I love my bread machine too. I make my son GF bread in it since he has Celiacs disease and it always comes out great too we love it.
jinglebellstime@gmail.com says
I need to learn how to make a good GF bread because my husbands been diagnosed with celiacs disease as well. Do you happen to know a good one? I’d love to try it.