White Bread
A plain white loaf made with strong flour, yeast, water and a little oil, baked in a tin. Makes 12 slices in 1 hour plus proving.
Photograph credit: Weißbrot-1 (image of white bread on Wikidata Q1501889) by Rainer Zenz · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · this resized copy is shared under the same licence
Storing and Planning Ahead
Keeps in a bread bin for up to 3 days. Freezes sliced for up to 2 months.
How to Make White Bread
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Mix the flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add the oil and water and mix to a soft dough.
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Knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Put in an oiled bowl, cover and prove for 1 hour until doubled.
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Knock back, shape into a loaf and put in a greased 900 g tin. Cover and prove for 30 minutes until it rises above the rim.
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Heat the oven to 220°C / 430°F (200°C / 390°F fan). Bake for 35 minutes until deep golden and hollow when tapped underneath. Cool on a rack.
A Few Pointers
- Use strong bread flour for a better rise.
- Judge the proving by size, not by the clock.
- Cool fully before cutting.
Why the Method Is What It Is
A good white loaf is flour, yeast, salt and water, and the difference between a poor and a good one is time. A long, slow rise gives more flavour than a quick one.
Use strong bread flour, which has more gluten than plain, and so makes a springier crumb. Measure the water carefully: too much makes a slack, flat loaf.
Knead for 10 minutes. It is tiring by hand, but the dough changes from sticky and rough to smooth and elastic, and you can feel the moment it does.
Prove until doubled, not for a set time. A warm kitchen takes 45 minutes; a cold one, nearly 2 hours. Poke it gently: if the dent springs back slowly, it is ready. Bake until the base sounds hollow when tapped. A plain loaf is among the cheapest things to bake, as a bag of flour and a sachet of yeast make several. Once the method is familiar, the loaf needs only a few minutes of work and long stretches of waiting.
Good Alongside
Butter · Soup · Cheese · Jam
Questions About White Bread
How long does White Bread take to make?
About 1 hour of hands-on work — 25 minutes of preparation and 35 minutes of cooking — plus 1 hour 30 minutes of proving, so allow 2 hours 30 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 12.
What are the key tips for making White Bread?
Use strong bread flour for a better rise. Judge the proving by size, not by the clock. Cool fully before cutting.
What should I serve with White Bread?
Butter; Soup; Cheese; Jam.
Can White Bread be made ahead or frozen?
Keeps in a bread bin for up to 3 days. Freezes sliced for up to 2 months.
Is White Bread suitable for a special diet?
This recipe is vegetarian and no added sugar. Those labels are checked against the ingredient list, so a dish is only marked when nothing in it contradicts the claim.
How many calories are in White Bread?
About 156 kcal per serving, with 5 g protein, 25 g carbohydrate and 4 g fat. The figures are calculated from the ingredient list and are an estimate.
Nutrition per Serving
Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list. Treat these as an estimate — brands and cuts vary.
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Written and tested by Turab
One person, one kitchen — no test kitchen, no team. How every recipe on this site is checked before it goes up.
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