The softest and most delicious white bread recipe ever. With a shiny top, super soft crumb, and slightly sweet flavor, this will be your new favorite sandwich bread.
Table of contents
❤️ Why you’ll love this recipe
- The soft, fluffy texture. When you want a PB&J on soft white bread, nothing else will do.
- It’s made with simple ingredients like all-purpose flour, milk, butter, sugar, salt, and yeast. You don’t need to buy anything weird.
- It freezes beautifully. Double the recipe and save one for the freezer if you’d like.
🧂 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You’ll find the full measurements and instructions in the printable recipe at the bottom of the page.
Here’s what you’ll need to make this delicious Amish bread:
- all-purpose flour
- milk
- butter
- sugar
- salt
- instant yeast
- egg
- water
🥣 Equipment
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- 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x2 1/2 loaf pan
- mixing bowl for the first rise
- plastic wrap
- a bread machine or stand mixer (helpful but not necessary)
🍴Instructions
Step One: mix
Add all ingredients to a bowl. Combine until a dough is formed that holds together and does not stick to the sides or bottom of the bowl. If it seems too dry and crumbly, add more water by the teaspoon. If it’s too sticky, add more flour.
Step Two: knead
Knead the dough by machine or hand for ten to fifteen minutes until it is smooth and soft. The windowpane stage means that when the dough is stretched, a translucent area appears. If using a stand mixer, allow the machine to rest every five minutes.
Step three: the first rise
Gently shape the dough into a ball and place it in a clean, lightly oiled bowl. Cover it with a clean, damp tea towel and put it in a warm place to rise. Let the dough rise for 60 minutes until it is puffy and has doubled in size.
Step Four: shape
Stretch the dough into a rectangle that is as long as the loaf pan you will be using for baking. Tuck in the corners and top of the dough, and roll into a long. Pinch the seams closed and place the loaf, seam side down, into a lightly oiled loaf pan.
Step Five: the second rise
Cover the dough with plastic wrap that has been greased. Put it in a warm place until the dough rises to one inch above the top of the loaf pan. When it is ready, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush the top of the dough with a beaten egg mixed with water.
Step six: bake!
Bake the bread at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. It is done when the inside of the bread is 200-210 degrees and it sounds hollow when tapped. Take it out of the loaf pan and let it cool completely on a wire rack. The bread will stay fresh for 2 days at room temperature or 2 months if you freeze it.
🥫 Storage instructions
The first step is to allow the bread to cool completely before storing it in an airtight container or plastic bag. You should also store the bread away from direct sunlight and heat sources as these can cause the bread to dry out quickly.
Finally, if you plan on freezing the bread for future use, make sure it is wrapped tightly in foil or plastic wrap (better yet, double-wrapped in both!) before placing it into the freezer. You can slice and then freeze to take out slices individually or freeze a whole loaf and then defrost it whole.
🔍 FAQs
No, regular is fine. I love instant because you can buy it very affordably in bulk, it dissolves a bit faster, and you don’t need to proof it in water before using it.
Nope! It’s just for looks. You can skip it, but your bread won’t be as shiny.
You could also experiment with white whole wheat or bread flour. Just keep in mind that any changes to the type or amount of flour will affect how much water you need. I always like to substitute 1/3 of the flour and then increase from there.
👩🏻🍳 Expert tips
- Make sure you have kneaded long enough. It’s very rare to over-knead but quite common to under-knead. When in doubt, keep going.
- It’s more important to watch your dough vs watching the clock. Look at the step-by-step pictures to see when the rising is done. Even if an hour has passed, if it hasn’t risen enough, give it more time.
- Don’t forget to grease the bowl and plastic wrap. This will make it easier for you to remove the dough from the bowl, shape it, and remove the wrap after the final proof.
- Make sure your oven is hot enough before adding the bread. Preheat your oven longer than usual if need be. Just because it beeps to say it’s ready doesn’t mean it has reached that temperature all over the oven.
📘 Related Recipes
🍽 Serve it with
There’s nothing like bread and jam. Try my blackberry jam, small-batch strawberry jam, or classic triple-berry jam.- For dinner, try Amish White Bread with soup or stew. You’ll love it toasted and buttered with a nice crockpot potato soup.
- Ever had a BLT made with homemade bread? Just the best.
📖 Here’s the recipe
Amish White Bread
Ingredients
For the Bread
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk may need up to 2 additional tablespoons
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 2½ teaspoons instant yeast (SAF brand is recommended)
For Brushing the top
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon water
Instructions
- Mix ingredients. Add all ingredients to the bowl of an electric stand mixer or to a large mixing bowl. Combine until a dough is formed that holds together and does not stick to the sides or bottom of the bowl. If it seems too dry and crumbly, add more water a teaspoon at a time. If it's too sticky, add more flour.
- Knead. Knead the dough by machine or hand for ten to fifteen minutes, until it is smooth, soft, and reaches the windowpane stage (meaning that when the dough is stretched, a translucent area appears). If using a stand mixer, allow the machine to rest every five minutes.
- The first rise. Shape the dough gently into a ball and place into a clean, lightly oiled bowl. Cover with a clean, damp tea towel and place into a warm place to rise. Let the dough rise 60 minutes, until it is puffy and has doubled in size.
- Shape. Gently stretch the dough into a rectangle, with the short side of the rectangle as long as the long side of the loaf pan you will be using for baking. Tuck in the corners and top of the dough, and roll into a long. Pinch the seams closed and place the loaf, seam side down, into a lightly oiled loaf pan.
- The second rise. Cover with heavily greased plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise again, until the dough rises to be one inch above the top of the loaf pan. When it is ready, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously brush the top with a beaten egg mixed with a teaspoon of water.
- Bake. Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes, until the dough is 200-210 degrees internally and sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from loaf pan and allow to cool fully on wire rack. Bread stays fresh 2 days at room temperature, or 2 months frozen.
Just a question. What happens if your dough doesn’t rise? Mine Disney rise very much at all
couple of possibilities: your dough might have been too dry or it might have been in too cool a place. if you leave it long enough, it will rise eventually, even in a cooler kitchen, but putting it into a slightly warmed up over will speed up the process.
I haven’t made this yet but it is very similar to my favorite sourdough recipe. I just wanted to leave a tip: Wet is better than dry. If you are making the dough and wondering if the dough is too dry add just a BIT of water. A wetter dough rises better than a dry dough.
such a good tip! once people get the feel of what their dough “should” look/ feel like, bread baking is a breeze 🙂