Simple Homemade White Bread

This simple homemade white bread dough is easy and a great starter for bread, rolls, breadsticks, and scones!

Good bread is a staple in our house. You never know when you are going to want a piece of toast or a sandwich! And who doesn’t love a good breadstick with pizza or a fried scone with honey butter or jam?

This simple homemade white bread dough recipe is a great one if you are a beginner with bread making. It doesn’t use a lot of ingredients, it rises quickly, and makes the house smell delicious!

Let’s make some dough!

You will need warm water, sugar (or honey or molasses), yeast, salt, oil, and flour. I like to gather all of my ingredients and have them sitting on the counter and ready to go. No, I am not one of those people who measures everything out before and has it looking all pretty in separate bowls. And sorry, no picture of the ingredients this time, but I’m sure you can figure it out!

Pour 2 cups very warm water in a large mixing bowl. My tap water gets hot enough for this. You want it to be quite warm, but not so hot that it kills the yeast! So, warm to the touch!

Sprinkle in 2 tablespoons of sugar as well as 2 tablespoons of yeast and mix.

Let it rest for 5-10 minutes or until the yeast starts to soften and bubble. If it doesn’t start to get all bubbly on top, then your yeast might not be active. Or your water might have been too hot.

Check out my pic below of the yeast at the top of the bowl:

Next, add in 2 teaspoons of salt and 2 tablespoons of oil (I usually use vegetable or canola). Mix well and then add in 3 cups of flour.

Mix again.

Add 1-2 more cups of flour and mix well.

Turn onto counter and get ready to knead the dough!

To knead, you want to gather the dough in a ball and firmly press the palms of your hands into the center of the dough. This will cause the dough to start to flatten and lengthen. Bring the edges of the dough toward the center and press your palms in again. You will repeat this process of pushing in and gathering to the center over and over again, sprinkling on more flour if the dough becomes sticky. You will probably knead in about 1-2 more cups of flour until the dough becomes smooth and firm to the touch. When you push your finger onto it slightly, it will leave an indent and then return to place.

Carefully place the ball of dough into a greased bowl, cover with a towel, and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Or until it has doubled in size! Depending on the temperature of your kitchen, it may be slower or faster. Compare the difference:

Okay, so here you have to decide what you are making. For these picture, I was making balls of dough that would be used for scones.

Bread

After first rise, punch down the dough. Cut in half, form into loaf shape and put into greased bread pans. Let rise again about 35-45 minutes or until dough is almost to the top of the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Immediately remove from pans and allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.

Rolls

After first rise, punch down the dough. Cut into 24 pieces and form into little balls by pulling the edges of the dough toward the center and tucking underneath. Place seam side down on greased cookie sheet or baking pans. Let rise about 35-45 minutes or until dough is nearly doubled. Brush with melted butter if desired. Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Breadsticks

After the first rise, punch down the dough. Cut into 12-24 pieces, depending on the size of breadstick you want. Roll out into a 6-12 inch rope and place on greased baking sheets. Let rise about 35-45 minutes or until dough is nearly doubled. Brush with melted butter and your choice of seasonings. We like garlic powder, parsely, and parmesan cheese! Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. This time will differ depending on the size of your breadsticks so watch carefully!

Scones

After the first rise, punch down the dough. Cut into 24 pieces and form into roll shape. Place on greased tray. Heat oil in frypan. You do not need to wait for a second rise. They rise slightly while you wait for the oil to heat up. Fry scones. For a more detailed instructions on frying scones, click here.

Enjoy the smell in your house while it bakes and then enjoy your own yummy homemade white bread, rolls, breadsticks or scones!

~ Rachel