Easy Bread Recipe (Soft Bread)

Bread made at home is affordable, tasty, and healthy! You can have it for breakfast, snacks, or even desserts. Besides, how fun would it be to bake your own bread at home, right?

This soft and fluffy bread recipe will give you the best homemade white bread that’s so buttery and milky!

How to Make Bread at Home

Top-notch bread is now within your reach because this tutorial will teach you everything you need to know. This is truly the perfect time to learn how to make Super Soft Homemade Bread!

Ingredients

Strong bread flour

Strong bread flour contains high protein content compared to other flour variants – up to 13% of this flour is composed of protein.

Gluten is essential for bread because it is the primary factor in its quality, texture, and structure. Another purpose of gluten is to make the bread chewy, fluffy, and soft. The more you knead, the more gluten is produced and the airier it will be. 

Powdered milk

This recipe will also use powdered milk for a smoother texture and a more flavorful result. It also contributes to the structure of the pastry because it allows the dough to rise higher.

Milk powder also has protein to add to the bread’s nutritional value. 

Yeast

Of course, yeast is also a key ingredient because it will be the leavening agent for the pastry to rise. It is primarily responsible for the airy and fluffy texture.

Salted butter

On the other hand, salted butter is perfect for the bread’s flavor, texture, and structure. It also helps create a beautifully colored crust. 

Eggs

The recipe also adds an egg as an additional source of protein. Eggs also improve the browning as well as their shelf life. 

Seasoning

For seasoning, use salt, sugar, and nutmeg to combine the flavors into a perfect blend of salty and sweet. 

Learn how to make quality bread at home using simple ingredients! 

Directions

1. Whisk the strong bread flour, powdered milk, granulated sugar, salt, nutmeg, and yeast together in a bowl.

2. Use a stand mixer or a hand mixer for kneading. Set the mixer at the speed two option and knead for 3 minutes.
3. While the dough is kneading, gradually add the salted butter and knead for another 12 minutes. 
4. Prepare the loaf pan by brushing it with melted butter or oil. Grease the lid of the loaf pan as well. 
5. After kneading for 12 minutes, place the dough on a floured, flat surface. Divide the dough into three parts, 255 grams each.
6. Then, mold each dough part into a ball and use a rolling pin to flatten the dough slightly. 
7. Roll each portion of dough until it turns into a cylindrical-shaped dough.
8. Place each dough in the baking pan in a vertical position.
9. Cover the baking pan with cling film and secure it with the lid of the loaf pan. 
10. Set the loaf pan aside to allow the dough to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
11. Before placing it in the oven, remove the cling film.
12. Place the lid on top and bake it in the oven at 150°C for 18 minutes.
13. Once baked, you will find it easy to remove the bread from the loaf pan to let it cool at room temperature and enjoy!

And just like that, you have your Super Soft Homemade Bread! Cut into it and see how fluffy and heavenly it is. Spread some butter on it or eat the bread itself!

Tips

What to Avoid When Making Bread

• When it comes to baking bread, measurements are essential. For more accurate measurements, use a kitchen scale or measuring cups. 
• Don’t forget to cover the dough during the leavening process because there may be adverse reactions between yeast and air.
• Exposure to air can make it longer for the dough to rise, and it can also affect the texture of the bread, especially the crust. 

• Proofing is the process where you will allow the dough to rise.
• Remember that over-proofing can give you a hard time removing the dough from the cling film, it can even chip off some of the dough. 
• To avoid over-proofing, use your finger to push into the bread. If the indentation comes and goes quickly, it needs more time for proofing. If the indentation takes time to disappear, the bread has been properly and sufficiently proofed. 
• Also, do your best not to lose track of time. Baking bread is not just about measurements but also precise timing.
• Use a kitchen timer or the timer on your phone to monitor each step in the baking process. 
• Moreover, do not over-knead the bread because this will leave the bread with a flat and rubbery texture, making it difficult to chew. 

Reasons Why Your Dough is Not Rising

If your dough has not risen during the proofing stage, the outcome of the bread can be dry, flat, and rough. Here are some of the reasons why your dough is not rising and also some solutions you can do:

• As the bread’s leavening agent, the yeast must not be used beyond its prescribed expiration date and must have been stored in a cool and dry area.
• Before putting the yeast in the mixture, ensure it is at room temperature. 
• The problem can also be insufficient kneading of the dough. Kneading is important for the dough to rise because kneading activates the gluten to make the bread more elastic.
• If you don’t have a dough hook on your mixer, knead the dough by hand for at least 25 minutes. 
• Let the dough rest at room temperature because yeast is sensitive to temperature. Yeast can die at extremely high or low temperatures.
• Also, too much of everything can be detrimental to the whole bread, so make it a point to be exact with the measurements. 

How to Properly Knead Dough by Hand

Breadmaking is not possible without kneading the dough. Kneading helps you create the structure and texture of the bread. Never forget to flour your surface before placing the dough – this is crucial to prevent the dough from sticking to the surface. 

1. Use the bottom of your hand to push the dough downward and upward simultaneously.
2. Fold the dough in your direction and press it down using the heel of your hand.
3. Practice the downward and outward motions for a better kneading technique.  

As you go along, continue to flour the surface and your hands when you notice that the dough is starting to stick to the surface.

The kneading duration depends on what you are baking but for bread, knead the dough for at least 25 minutes. 

Another way to check if the dough is adequately kneaded is to do the Windowpane Test. Apportion a bit of dough and hold it between your thumb, index finger, and middle finger. As you pull your fingers away, notice how the dough stretches out. 

If the dough remains elastic and shows no breakage, it has been kneaded sufficiently. However, if the dough separates between your fingers, it needs more kneading. 

Bread Variations

For a gluten-free bread recipe, you can substitute the flour with all-purpose gluten-free flour and add some gluten-free baking soda. You may also incorporate honey, olive oil, or apple cider vinegar for flavor and texture. 

On the other hand, I recommend using unbleached flour and active dry yeast for structure and nutritional value for vegan bread enthusiasts. 

The great thing about homemade bread is that you get to bake bread according to your preferences. You can substitute ingredients for diet-friendly alternatives, and you can even add other flavors of your choice. 

Meanwhile, for a more baby-friendly bread recipe, you can use four simple ingredients: bread flour, dried yeast, olive oil, and water! Mix them, make your dough, put it in the oven, and your baby can have healthy homemade bread!

You can add allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, rosemary, sesame seeds, garlic, and even ginger to give your bread a unique taste.

Be as creative as you want with your bread but make sure to adjust the ingredients, timing, measurements, and procedure. 

Want more bread recipes? Try these:

• Air Fryer Bread
• Braided Bread
• No-Oven Soft Bread

Recommended Tools

• Oven: Cook the bread in the oven for the best results.
• Loaf pan: this is necessary to give structure and support to the bread
• Stand mixer or hand mixer: A mixer with multiple attachments can come in handy for dough making because you can use its attachments to mix the ingredients and effortlessly knead the dough.
• Pastry brush: Use this brush to grease your loaf or baking pan with oil or butter.
• Whisk: If you don’t have access to a mixer, manually combine the ingredients using a whisk. 
• Measuring cups and spoons: measurements are crucial for baking, so if you don’t have a digital kitchen scale, carefully use these measuring tools. 
• Small glass bowls: For organized baking, prepare your ingredients in glass bowls. 
• Dough cutter: use this tool to separate the dough into your desired portions
• Rolling pin: roll out the dough using a rolling pin for soft bread.

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How to Serve Bread

There are numerous ways how you can serve homemade bread. You can spread butter, mayonnaise, melted chocolate, strawberry jam, peanut butter, cashew butter, or any preferred bread stuffing. It can also be served with a bowl of creamy soup on a cold and rainy day.

You can also make sandwiches of different kinds with protein variants, cheese, vegetables, and sauce. For instance, you can make any of the following recipes:

• Breakfast Sandwich
• French Toast
• Bread Pizza
• Egg Omelet Toast

The leftover bread to make bread pudding, salad croutons, or bread crumbs for other dishes. For beverage options, you can pair it with the following:

• Turmeric Tea
• Peanut Butter Banana Milkshake
• Iced Coffee
• Fruit Smoothie
• Almond Milk

Storage Tips

• At room temperature: Place the bread in a resealable bag and keep it in a cool and dry place in your house to last two to three days.

To thaw frozen bread, put it in a toaster with medium to high heat. Or you can let it defrost on your countertop overnight. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the four main ingredients in bread?

The four main ingredients in bread include flour, yeast, salt, and water. These will ensure the structure of the bread, and you can customize the flavor with your preferred seasoning.

What is the secret to making good bread?

According to Baking Mad, the key to preparing good bread is to keep the salt, sugar, and yeast separate in the mixing bowl. Sugar and salt are known to have reduced the effectivity of yeast if combined immediately.

What makes bread so soft and fluffy?

Get soft and fluffy quality homemade bread by incorporating yeast. It leaves the bread to add air and height to the recipe. You should also add powdered milk because it is responsible for sustaining the rise and containing the moisture in the pastry.