Farmhouse White Bread Recipe

A recipe for a hearty white sandwich loaf that’s easy to make and rises high and fluffy. This farmhouse white bread is perfect for every day.

If you have never made a yeast bread before, please check out my beginners guide to yeast bread baking, which will go over the basic steps and different methods you can try.

Everyone needs a good white bread recipe, and if you don’t have one yet, now you do! This is a versatile, easy to make sandwich bread that can be used for BLTs, morning toast, and everything else you need. It uses all pantry ingredients, rises super high, and has a great soft texture that’s still sturdy enough for all your favorite sandwich toppings.

If you’ve never made bread before, you’ll find a video and step-by-step photos to help you out!

Ingredients for this farmhouse loaf

• 3 cups white bread flour
• 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon lukewarm water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons butter (unsalted or salted is fine, won’t make much of a difference)
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast (I recommend SAF brand, which you can purchase in bulk here)

Step by step

Kneading and rising the dough

(If you have a bread machine, this dough works very well in there! Just go ahead and add your ingredients, select the dough cycle, and come back once the dough has risen, then proceed to shape, rise again, and bake as described in the next section.)

To knead the dough in your stand mixer, put all the ingredients in the bowl, attach the dough hook, and start stirring on low. After a few minutes of mixing, evaluate the consistency of the dough. It should come together in a ball with no crumbly bits, and should not be sticking to the sides of the bowl. If it’s too dry, add more water a teaspoon at a time. If it’s too wet and sticky, add more flour a teaspoon at a time.

(Related: How to knead dough in a stand mixer)

Once the consistency of the dough looks correct, it’s time to knead. Using the dough hook with your machine set on low, let it knead for five minutes. Then let the machine and the dough rest. Knead for another five minutes.

Continue this process until the gluten develops enough that the dough forms “windows”. This means that when you stretch out a golf-ball sized piece of dough, translucent patches are visible.

Once the dough has been kneaded enough, gently shape it into a ball and place it into a clean., lightly-oiled bowl. Cover it with a damp tea towel and place in a warm place to rise until doubled in bulk.

Shaping the loaf and the final rise

When the dough has doubled, it’s time to shape. To shape a sandwich loaf, first stretch it out gently into a rectangle. Use your loaf pan as a guide and form a vertical rectangle. The short side of your rectangle should be the same length as the long side of the loaf pan.

To roll this up into a log-like shape, remember the phrase “shoulders in, head down”. Tuck in the corners and top of the rectangle, then roll into a log. Pinch all the seams closed. Place the log into a loaf pan sprayed with non-stick spray. Cover it with generously greased plastic wrap. Now it rises again in a warm place for about 45 minutes.

Towards the end of the rising time, preheat your oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the center.

The loaf is finished with its second rise when it has risen an inch to an inch and a half over the edge of the loaf pan. Generously rub with with flour.

Bake the sandwich bread at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.

Cool and slice the loaf

Once the bread is fully baked, place on a cooling rack to fully cool before slicing, at least 3 hours. Sometimes overnight is best for nice, neat slices.

The bread will stay fresh at room temperature for a day or two. To store longer, slice the loaf and freeze it, just pulling out slices as you need them.

More sandwich bread recipes

• Oatmeal sandwich bread adds whole wheat flour and oatmeal for a hearty loaf that’s just as versatile.
• Milk and honey bread is a tad softer and sweeter with a butter-brushed top.
• If you have a sourdough starter going, this sourdough sandwich bread is a hybrid loaf with a slight tang.

Here’s the recipe