Amish White Bread

If I could give this recipe more stars I would! This is by far the best white bread recipe I have ever tried. Because it is a little sweet, I usually make one loaf of bread and do a round cake pan with cinnamon rolls with the other half of dough. Also, I always roll out my bread dough, whether I am making loaves or rolls to help get rid of excess air-bubbles, and this really helps. To make the cinnamon buns just roll out, spread generously with butter and then sprinkle, (generously again - c'mon folks, no point in counting calories if you're making cinnamon buns! ;-) ), roll up and, using the string method, cut into about 9 rounds. Also, when making this recipe I use my Kitchen Aid - just follow basic directions except don't add all the flour at first, just add about 2/3 of what the recipe calls for and with the dough hook beat for about 2 minutes on speed 2. Then continue adding flour, 1/2 cup at a time until mixture forms a ball on the hook and cleans the side of bowl. (about 2 more minutes.) Then, continuing on speed 2 beat for another 2 mintues. Turn into greased bowl and rise as directed in recipe. Ta-da! No kneading!

OMG this bread is WRONG. I want to marry it and have a million of its babies. It's not often I make something exactly according to the recipe (I usually follow tips from other reviewers), but I followed this one exactly, and holy heck, I cannot stop eating it. And neither can my husband. Somebody go ahead and tape this bread to my rear end because that is exactly where it is going, and I don't even care because it is THAT GOOD.

I HAVE TWO WORDS TO DESCRIBE THIS BREAD... SIMPLY DELICIOUS. THIS IS THE BEST BREAD I HAVE EVER TASTED. I'VE BEEN BAKING BREAD FOR 8 YEARS NOW AND NONE OF THE BREADS I'VE MADE EVEN COMPARE TO THIS BREAD. I READ MANY OF THE REVIEWS BEFORE BAKING THIS BREAD AND DECIDED TO CUT DOWN ON THE SUGAR AND I'M GLAD I DID BECAUSE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN TOO SWEET. I USED 1/3 OF A CUP OF SUGAR AND IT CAME OUT PERFECTLY. I CAN'T WAIT TO GIVE THIS BREAD AWAY AS GIFTS, THANKS SO MUCH PEG. ALSO THIS BREAD CAME OUT JUST FINE WITH ALL PURPOSE FLOUR.

Arguably the best white bread recipe on the entire planet, and I should know. I've probably tried every last one! No faint praise, as I've been making bread for more than 35 years. I have made it exactly as written, and although it's very tasty with the full measure of sugar, we prefer cutting it slightly. I cut the recipe in half for my bread machine, and instead of 1/3 cup of sugar, I use 1/4 (which is to say 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon less per loaf.) There's still a hint of sweetness, but it's perfect for sandwiches and for mopping up gravy with savory entrees. I could tell even before it was baked that this was something wonderful; the dough was absolutely perfectly silken and smooth. The crust is just right with a nice delicate crispiness and the inside is light and moist. As long as you know your yeast is active (purchased recently or stored in the freezer/fridge and used before expiration) there is no need to proof. People seem to think that proofing makes the bread better. There is no magic in proofing. It won't improve your product. That step merely provides "proof" that the yeast is active, so that you don't waste good ingredients by adding them to dead yeast. In days gone by, when refrigeration was not all that common (or delivered by the ice man) it was necessary. Not so if you know you've handled the product correctly by storing in the fridge or freezer. Kudos for this superlative recipe! Update: Have made this about 7 times so far. Consistently wonderful resul

SUPER EASY! This is my first time ever making bread and it came out perfect! And it is beautiful. The first loaf was almost all eaten at dinner tonight. (And there are just 2 adults and 2 young kids)Thank you, my family actually thinks I can cook. I may have to make this for Friday night dinner every week. ****Update - this is my staple recipe. I make this at least once a week. Sunday nithgt,I cook one and placde the other in the freezer before the second rise. Mid-week, when we need a second loaf, I take the frozen dough out of the freezer before I leave for work and let it thaw in the loaf pan. When I come home from work I just pop it in the oven and we have a hot loaf to eat with dinner!

This did not live up to the hype or my expectations. It was too dense and too sweet. Not a keeper.

I am a first time bread baker and I am walking on a cloud. This is totally easy to make and turned out absolutely perfect. I gave it an egg white wash before baking and it looked wonderful. Thanks so much for sharing Peg.

This is a fun recipe. My husband likes to make this bread and it usually turns out pretty good but needs to cook a little longer. We keep forgetting the suggestion to lower the sugar amount for a fluffier type bread. Hope that works. We'll see.

No wonder this is rates so highly. I made this last night and it turned out great! I live in high altitude and some recipes work without the tweaks and some don't and this one worked without any changes. I halved the recipe since I didn't want two wasted loaves if it didn't work out. Nice and tender dough and slightly dense which is like most of the orowheat or the like breads, not like webers or the cheaper stuff. Perfect consistancy for our tastes.This is a great recipe! UPDATE: Ok so since my first time making bread with this recipe I've come across some things that help. Different weather does different things to your dough so don't feel like you need to use the exact amount of flour listed, I've used more and some times slightly less; just depends on how dry the flour is and how humid it is outside. I've come to realize that the sugar content is what gives you the dark crust...lol...so if you use less the crust will be lighter, unless you use an egg wash. Ok so I love this bread and love fresh baked bread. To par-bake (finish baking when you want it) Just bake for 75% of the time or 22 min. Take out and remove from pan to cool completely. Wrap and freeze until wanted. Take out and bake from frozen at 350 for the remainder and sometimes 2 min longer. Pefect! Works for other bread recipes as well (Rolls...fresh for dinner without the work that day :) )

I'm already on my second batch in 3 days. Family loves it and so do I. Not too sweet for me, but that's just a personal preference. Rises nice and high... I don't think you can mess this one up. Suggestions to those of you who aren't getting the right rise- get yourself an instant read thermometer (doesn't have to be digital). Stick the thermometer into the water as it's coming out of the faucet- try to adjust your water until the thermometer reads 110-115 degrees. Dissolve the sugar in the water first (which also feeds the yeast and gets it going)then let it stand for 10 minutes. If it doesn't look foamy, throw it out and start over. Also, check the date on your yeast. Don't use old stuff. You work too hard to ruin your bread with outdated yeast. Anyway, thanks for the recipe. Can't wait to try it for rolls and raisin bread. It makes great bread pudding if it actually lasts long enough to dry out and become stale.

I have to make a comment about something breadguy said when using a KitchenAid for mixing this dough. He said to use the dough hook, mix on low speed then increase speed to medium for 5 minutes. On the KitchenAid there is 10 speeds. Everything written about using the dough hook says "do not use a speed higher than #2 when using the dough hook. Perhaps BreadGuy made a mistake here. This is a heavy dough and when I set the speed to #5 just to see, it threw this dough all over the place. I set the speed to #2 as per KA instructions and kneaded the dough for 4 minutes and it was fine. Also took 45 minutes to rise 1" above pan. Rose beautifully when cooking. I used Bread Flour as suggested. Much nicer, high rise. I used 1/3 cup of sugar as some had suggested. Only ate the crust so far but usually the crust isn't too great but this was. I often go by the weight of the finished product. If it feels heavy when I pick up the uncut loaf, it is usually a heavy bread. This feels nice and light to me. Thanks greatly to the poster. My 9th recipe try and so far my favourite.

This recipe turns out wonderful. Some Reviewers thought it was sweet, but I thought it was fine. I thought they were exaggerating. If I don't have bread flour, I substitute it with All Purpose Flour. I've made it a few times and will continue to do so. This is how I make it: 1) Get a large pot, heat the water to warm & let sugar dissolve. Once it's lukewarm, sprinkle in yeast & gently stir once. Let it get foamy for 13-15MIN (I turn on the oven @ 350 for 1MIN, turn it off, & then place the pot of yeast mixture inside to rest. That way it's in a warm environment). 2) Mix salt & oil into yeast. Mix in 3 cups of flour, stir, then add remaining flour. 3) Knead dough INSIDE the pot until smooth, about 6-8MIN. It's not difficult to knead in the pot. It's quick, easy, and less messy. My counter and laziness thanks me :) 4) Oil the pot, coat the dough, cover w/ plastic. 5) Turn on oven @ 350 for 1MIN to create a warm environment. Turn it off, and then place the pot of dough inside. Let rise for 1 HR as directions say. 6) After the 1st rise, punch down dough, turn on oven again @ 350 for 1MIN, turn it off, and place the loaves inside to rise for 30MIN as recipe states. Right before I bake them, I brush melted butter over the tops. I bake them exactly for 31MINS. I love this bread. Thank you so much for posting it. If I just need 1 loaf, I halve the recipe and do it the same way as I described. It's delicious. :)

This is my main bread recipe. I make this every Sunday. The trick I found to a nice, big loaf is to make the dough Sunday morning and let it rise when we're away at church for several hours. When we get home, I punch the dough down, knead and place in the loaf pans to allow it to rise again. I also allow another 1 and a half or so, but I like my breads to be fairly big so I let it rise for most of the day. The dough rises fairly quickly and the bread turns out fabulous! I also brush an egg white & water glaze to the crust before baking. The loaves come out wonderful and just the right brown color. Great texture and flavor. I do not change a thing.

I made this bread for the first time today. My kids were jumping up and down, begging for more. I'm sold. Anything that gets my picky little beggars to act like that gets my vote.

This bread was AMAZING. I've made bread in the past but had a hard time getting the heavier flours like wheat to rise as high as I'd like. This recipe was really easy to follow and a quick make (as far as bread goes). It's just slightly sweet and very tender with the crust being just on the brink of chewy. My only modification would be to only add about 5 cups of flour initially and reserve the 6th cup for while your kneading. I'm definitely keeping this in my recipe book from now on. Thank you!

Exceptionally good bread - a real 5-star recipe! I've been making bread for 35 years and this had the best flavor/texture combination of any recipe I've used. I cut the sugar to 1/3 cup, and the flavor was rich but not sweet. I will make the bread with the full 2/3 cups today since this recipe deserves a real taste-test. One note to novice bread bakers: never follow a bread recipe's instructions for the amount of flour. Add flour in increments until the dough can be easily handled and then stop. A lot depends on the type of flour you use and the weather. I used all-purpose flour for this recipe and needed a little less than 5 1/2 cups of flour instead of 6.

Delicious!! I live near Ohio's Amish country, and this bread tastes authentic. I mix mine in the bread machine on "dough" setting, place it in a greased bread pan, let raise 30 min, then bake at 350 for about a half hour, til browned on top. YUMMMMMM!

I love this recipe. I've made it a couple of times; most recently on Canadian Thanksgiving. Only this time, I cut the sugar in half and made two dozen rolls out of it. I let the rolls rise on a cookie sheet in the fridge over night, and they were soo full the next morning. I brushed them with a bit of eggwash, popped them in the oven for 20 minutes and they came out perfect. Everybody raved, and now my mom wants me to turn half the recipe into rolls every time I make this bread.

Love this!

This was a great recipe. If you want it a little richer, you can use 1 cup water and 1 cup lowfat milk. It makes the crumb finer and softer and the crust browner. Thanks. Update: I have been making this bread for a couple of years now. It is just so wonderful. If you like it sweet, keep the sugar as is. Less sweet, just reduce the sugar. I have also taken to adding an egg to the dough while mixing. It seems to make the bread even more tender. Sometimes I use my KitchenAid, but most times I just do it by hand. A good 10 minutes if by hand. 1 1/2 tbsp of yeast is a lot. My bread rises very high (I had to remove the rack above them...LOL). If your bread didn't rise, then either your yeast was dead or the water you used was too hot. This is virtually goof-proof. And I have become famous in my neighborhood since I usually give one of the loaves away to a neighbor (to prevent me from eating BOTH of them!!!). Who doesn't love a warm, fresh-from-the-oven loaf of bread? Make friends with this one!!! If you are new to baking bread, certainly try this recipe.

I'm still in awe that I can actually bake bread! I agree with everyone who has banned store bought bread from their kitchens! My loaves were lightly crunchy and slighty browned on the outside and wonderfully soft in the center!

We make this bread weekly, it is delicious - the best bread ever. The recipe is super easy too, even hubby can do it!

I have been using this recipe for years, and now that I am 13 I finally was able to sign up. I now have this recipe memorized! Although 6 cups is a good starting point of the flour measurement, I never measure the flour. Using my KitchenAid mixer, I simply add in the flour approximately 1-2 cups at a time, mixing well after each addition, until the dough forms a sticky ball around the bread hook attachment. I have found that this is a wonderful recipe for both dinner rolls and cinnamon rolls. Also, it adds a nice flavor and glossy top if you brush the loaves with melted butter after baking. Thank you for this no-fail recipe!

WOW! This was my very first time baking bread & It was EASY, FUN & came out PERFECT. I took some advise and used only 1/4 cup sugar. I also opted to use light olive oil in place of the vegetable oil. The best advice I took was to be patient and let the yeast foam up real good. Make sure the water for the yeast and sugar is warm enough, about as warm as you would make a baby bottle. Be patient with the yeast! If it looks foamy and smells like bread it is active. I also followed a great suggestion to help my dough rise by putting a pre-boiled, large pot of water in the oven (oven turned off) with the oven light on to make sure it had a good rise since it was pretty cold here in Wisconsin. I used a clean spray bottle with regular water to mist the loafs every 10 mins, this gave my bread a nice color and ensured no burning =) My kids and hubby loved it! MAKE THIS BREAD! even if it is your first time, it won't be your last. Good luck.

Wonderful bread! Converts well to bread machine. (I use the dough setting, divide and bake in two loaves.) I halved the sugar, substituted 2 cups of white flour with 2 cups of whole wheat for the family's taste. I found a website online that converts weight into cups (5 lbs bread flour = 16.333 cups, etc) and figured this bread costs 78 cents a loaf to make, not including electricity. Yes, I was bored that day...

My family really enjoys this bread recipe. When I first made it my family was really impressed with the great flavor from such simple ingredients. The key is to make sure that your yeast-sugar mixture is foamy. My sister and I found that the mixture is ready after about ten minutes and it also exudes an alcohol smell, due to fermentation. Also allow the bread plenty of time to rise. If you rush the rising time (i.e. don't let it rise for the full time) you'll have much less flavor in the end. Now two things that I have done differently with this recipe is to use all-purpose flour, instead of bread flour, and I also used rapid-rise yeast, as opposed to the regular yeast. No matter which you use, this bread is still quite delicious. My sister also wanted me to say that this makes good sandwiches as well. The key for this to be sandwich bread is to make sure it cools all the way. If not it will simply fall apart. This is another great recipe from this site to add to my recipe box. Thank you very much, Peg.

Wonderful, dense, slightly sweet bread - great for sandwiches.

I've read so many reviews on how great this bread is and I'm determined to make mine great but it just doesn't happen. I've tried making it 3 times and it always turns out heavy, wet, dense, small and has to be tossed. Don't know what I'm doing wrong.

I have been dying to try my hand at bread making and this recipe is exactly what I was looking for! Easy and delicious! I only used 1/4 cup of sugar and 5 cups of bread flour and it was exactly what I wanted! Mine didn't rise above the pans though and after reading more reviews I will be using 2 tbsp of yeast from now on. Love, love this recipe! My house smells amazing and my daughter couldn't stop eating it! Fluffy deliciousness! Thanks for sharing!

One of my first attempts at making bread - very easy to make, turned out fantastically, although I had to alter some things (rising and baking time) because I live in a very humid location. It was very popular at Thanksgiving dinner, and specifically requested by a friend for Christmas dinner. Very sweet, works best as a table-bread.

I'm not new at breadmaking, but I have to say this is the best recepie I've EVER seen for making bread. I'm going to try adding more yeast to the other recepies... maybe that's why the others turn out so heavy.... In any case, I've used both "best for bread" and "all purpose" flours, and they both turn out equally wonderful. I've taken to doubling the recepie and putting it into three, not four, loaf pans, and got taller bread, more like what you find in the store. This bread is a light, fluffy loaf similar to storebought bread, except that it's sweeter. I saw the review that said less sugar and more salt... I'll try that next time. It's great for people on a seriously tight budget too: flour, oil, yeast, sugar, salt... who doesn't have all those ingredients in their kitchen? And most food pantries will give mostly flour and sugar. Salt and oil are cheap, and I've found a cheap yeast that works wonderfully... it's called saf-instant. Alright, enough of my prattling... it's good! try it!

This bread was absolutely fantastic. I mixed the dough in my Kitchenaid stand mixer and let it knead in there for 3-4 minutes instead of kneading it by hand. Also, for the rising, I followed Alton Brown's suggestion of pouring boiling water into a shallow baking dish placed in the bottom of a cold oven, and placing the dough in the makeshift "proofing box". The bread came out with a wonderfully smooth and light texture, not at all dense and crumbly like typical homemade bread.

Lovely so so so soft bread. Reduced sugar to 1/4 cup to suit my taste. Going to make only this recipe and none other.

Bread flour? I didn't know what that was. So, I used All Purpose Flour. Followed the recipe, Tripled it. Gave out loaves to my neighbors, and co-workers. They all raved about it. One said he sliced 3 pieces, nuked it in the mircowave, and then added butter to it. He said it was so delicious. He wants the recipe to give to his mom.

This turned out very good...I made mine into one loaf of cinnamon/sugar bread and 8 large sandwich rolls. The rolls are pretty good (I think they'll be better when actually made into sandwiches) and the cinnamon/sugar bread is outstanding. I took half the dough after the first rise, rolled it out into a rectangle, sprinkled it with cinnamon and sugar, and rolled it up -- similar to if you were making cinnamon rolls, except I didn't roll the dough out that thin. Then I put the rolled up dough log in a loaf pan, brushed it with an eggwash and baked it. After it was done baking and cooled a bit, I made a glaze out of butter, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract, and drizzled it over the top of the loaf. It's exactly like a cinnamon swirl bread I used to get at a very good bakery in my hometown, which I haven't had in years so it was a very delicious treat with our dinner tonight.

Like most others, I found this recipe excellent. I wanted to experiment with freezing it in both loaf and roll forms, so I froze it, after the first rise and after shaping how I wanted, by putting it in the pan it would eventually bake in, covering with slightly oiled plastic wrap, put it in the freezer. After it was completely frozen, I removed it from the pan and wrapped it completely. I thawed it out overnight before the day I wanted to bake it, put it back in the original pan and let it rise for the second time. It did take a bit of extra time to rise, but - OH MY! - it turned out fantastic. I am going to make it in loaf and roll form and freeze it for Thanksgiving so I can have fresh yeast rolls on that day! Thanks for the great recipe!

The other day I was looking for a white bread mix to make cinnamon rolls. I found this recipe by mistake. I found this bread easy to make and wonderfully sweet and delicious for anything from regular white bread to cinnamon rolls. This bread also stays softer longer then other bread recepies I have tried in the past(even my mother's).

I'm not sure what happened. I followed the recipe to a "T" and found the bread to be too dense, tough and it hardly rose. Maybe I didn't let the yeast proof enough? Any hints?

this is a great bread !!! me and my husband love it because it's soft and a little little bit salty

This bread is wonderful and super easy to make even for a bread novice like myself. My loaves were a bit heavy but I attribute that to the chef...lol. My kids thought it was fantastic with my home-made cinnamon honey butter. Thanks for the recipe!

Absolutely wonderful! No 'special' or 'weird' ingredients, everything you would normally have on hand, easy to make, a no-brainer. Fantastic results- delicious!

Wow, what a great bread! This turned out absolutely wonderful! I too think it may be a little too sweet for most sammies, but my kids are loving the pb&j on it! It also tastes great all by itself! Thanks for the great recipe, I will definately make this again! *UPDATE* I have been making this so much and I have found that using only 1/3 cup sugar makes it perfect sandwich bread! Love this bread!

I have always been afraid to make bread, but this recipe was easy and fun. We are considered "high altitude" and I was wondering about adjustments to the recipe. It came out really nice, I am just not sure I am going to be able to slice it for sandwiches. I would suggest to anyone to let it cool COMPLETELY before cutting it, because the loaf gets really squashed if you try to eat it too fast. I made cinnamon bread with one of the loaves. I took half of the dough and cut it by half again. I rolled out each half and spread it with butter, cinnamon and brown sugar. I put one half on top of the other and rolled them together, shaping and rolling into one loaf. I let it rise in the loaf pan and cooked it the same way. It took a little longer to rise. UPDATE******A few more TIPS: *Make sure you let the bread rise completely. Mine took over an hour for the second rise. Just because bread is taking awhile to rise, doesn't mean anything is wrong and it actually gives it more flavor *The dough should be elastic when you are done kneading. *You don't have to beat the bread when you are punching it down, just deflate. (Just a couple things I have learned from making this bread :)

I'm not normally a white bread fan, but I LOVE this recipe. It's super easy and the bread turns out delicious. I rolled cinnamon/sugar and raisins in one loaf, and I will continue to experiment by rolling chocolate chips, pie filling, nuts and dried fruits, into the bread before the final rise. (Just flatten dough, sprinkle on topping of choice, roll up, and place in loaf pan as you normally would.) Great basic recipe.

As a yeast novice, I thought I screwed up several times and it still melted in my mouth. I mixed the sugar and two packets of yeast and added the water and let it set for 20 minutes. Mixed in the other wet ingredients, then the dry (used all-purpose flour) 1 C. at a time with my Kitchenaid stand mixer. The dough was uber-sticky so I scraped it into the oiled bowl. I'm not a kneady person so I barely did any after the first rise, yet it worked. Gotta love an easy, bulletproof and oh-so tasty recipe. UPDATE: I screwed up the second time around and only used 4 cups flour. I didn't add the rest until after the first rise and it STILL came out great.

I'm taking a food science class at my high school, and I decided to do extra credit, I found this recipe and decided to try it. It was my first time baking bread. It was SO easy, and it turned out delicious, my family loved it, and so did my dog apparentley, he ate one of the loaves!

I first made this bread about 6 weeks ago. I have not bought a loaf since. I cut the recipe in half as there is only 2 of us and always use 1/2 wheat flour and 1/2 white. Hubby loves it! I wanted to add a couple things to my review. First of all you can make this any way you want all white, part white/wheat, AP flour or bread flour. I do recommend bread flour for the white. I was having a problem getting this out of the pan. Especially if I let it rise a lot. Grease your pans with shortening not oil and you will be happier. If the bread has not risen to your liking walk away. You can't hurt it! Everyone loves it no matter how I make it! As recommended by other users I always brush the top with melted butter and I let it rise in my oven with the light on!

I cut the sugar to half as others suggested and it was still sweet and very tasty. I wanted to make bread to make sandwiches, but we ate the bread plain, it was so good! I definately recommend this recipe to anyone looking for a nice white bread, and I can't wait to try it with 1/2 wheat flour, too! Thanks for sharing this recipe.

Excellent homemade white bread recipe! Just like Butternut/Wonderbread (only better) as another reviewer said. I wanted to use my breadmaker to make it easier on me, so I just cut the recipe ingredients exactly in half so it would make one 2 lb. loaf. After that, disregard all of the steps in the recipe - just load the ingredients into your breadmaker pan in the usual required order: wet ingredients first, then dry ingredients, then yeast on top so it's not touching the wet. Set your machine to the White Bread 2 lb Loaf menu setting (I chose "Light" crust and it turned out great) and you're ready to go. So, so easy! Excellent as sandwich bread or as buttered toast!

I walk right past the bread isle at the grocery store! This is so easy and tastes better than any store brand. If you want it less dense, use just a touch less flour. I substitute sugar with honey and it makes it so much better. Somehow the honey works it's way into the crust and makes it look beautiful too. I have recently started adding a tbsp. of brown sugar to the dough as well. P.S. Remember to use UNbleached flour & keep your family safe & healthy! THANKS!

Great bread recipe! We will make this again.

I've been trying to make a good, fluffy white bread for the past 9 years. I finally gave up thinking I just didn't have the skill. Well, my husband wanted me to try again (we can't get good white bread here in Siberia). So, I thought I would try this one. The only change I made was that I used extra virgin olive oil instead of vegetable oil. After kneading for about 10 minutes I let it rise not once but 3 times. After about 45 minutes I punched it down and let it rise again for another hour. Then I put it in the pans and let it rise again for another hour. WOW! The most beautiful, fluffy white bread I've ever seen. Thank you.

I have been cooking for over 30 years and I am just going to say this Amish White Bread IS simply the BEST tasting, BEST texture, most simple and fail proof bread recipe I have ever made! It also makes great cloverleaf rolls as well as the BEST cinnamon roll dough ever!!

Loved it! Nice and soft/sweet inside. Perfect golden crunch on the outside. Used my bread machine for an easy tasty bread. The family loves it.

This is a simple recipe that is delicious to eat, with or without butter!! I grew up making and eatg this bread, not as a loaf bread, but rather as a sweet bread, roll it flat, pinch into little 2inch rolls, fill each with a pat of butter, a sprinkle each of brown sugar and cinnamon, bake until done, drizzle while still warm with icing, any kind is yummy. This is an easy enough recip for beginners and children, the wet towel is needed in the north and abslutely a must in the dry west, but if you are in the south, a dry towel will do, also, to let it rise, place in the oven, with the light on.

I used 1 cup warm water and 1 cup warm milk, and reduced the sugar to 1/3 cup and it was fabulous. A wonderful bread!

made 1/2 wheat, 1/2 white flour. mixed in herbs. Boys all liked alot

PERFECT for making cinnamon rolls, as well. I split the recipe in half, as directed, and made one large loaf of bread, and two nine inch round pans of cinnamon rolls (roll out dough, melt 1/2 stick real butter, spread on rolled dough, sprinkle with 1/2 C. cinnamon/sugar mixture, cut and bake for 20 mins.). My family said it was the best bread I ever made, and the moistest cinnamon rolls ever.

Soooo easy to make. Took it to work and it was a HUGE hit.

This is a fantastic recipe, especially good for beginners. It is reliable and turns out wonderfully time after time. I had my boyfriend, who has very little experience making bread, try making the recipe by himself and the bread came out great. It's also good to use half whole wheat flour and half white flour if you want a slightly healthier bread.

Making this bread was the 1st time I had ever made a bread that actually called for yeast. Let me tell you this turned out awesome. VERY easy to make and tasted absolutely wonderful. I looked at numerous bread recipes on this site before I came across this one. The other recipes seemed too complicated or took too long to make. This one was perfect though. Thank you for submitting it!

This bread is so simple to make and the results are beyond expectation. Everyone from my infant grandaughter to my eighty three year old mother loved it. The taste is great. The bread also stays fresh long.

yummmm. thanks

Just a few tips when making any kind of bread... Don't take out all of the sugar, because sugar is food for the yeast, and it will rise very slow if at all without it. Also, I find it in very good habit to not put any salt in direct contact with yeast. Salt hinders yeast activity, and can even kill the yeast before it even gets a chance to ferment. So for this recipe, I added the salt at the very end, after the flour. It's just a little insurance. Also, be sure that the dough is mixed long enough. The gluten formation is crucial to the dough, because if the gluten strands are too weak, the carbon dioxide that the yeast gives off will tear them and cause no air pockets, making the dough stay flat and very dense. Hope this helps when making any sort of bread! Happy baking!! -Kristy

Absolutely fabulous! I bake a lot of bread, and this is by far one of the best recipes I've found. I heeded the advice of others and cut the sugar - one heaping third of a cup. I also used the bread hook on my KitchenAid stand mixer to knead the dough and made half the recipe into rolls. To do this, pull off chunks of dough and roll into balls about 3 inches across. Pinch seams to bottom and place on a greased and floured cookie sheet. They require 5-10 minutes less cooking time this way, so keep your eye on them. My father raved over them, and he's a hard man to please when it comes to cooking.

We LOVE this recipe. It makes the best sandwiches.

Yummy!!!! The only adjustment was that I used 5 1/2 cups of flour instead of 6 cups. Turned out great!

This bread was really easy to make! Great hot with butter, and even better the next day. The ingredients were items I always have on hand.

I am a student living on my own for the first time. I have recently discovered the joys of cooking. Since I've been away, I have been trying various bread methods and recipes. Hands down... this is the best one. If a starving student can do it, anyone can. I read the suggestions beforehand and only used half of the sugar suggested. This was a fantastic idea. The bread turns out delivious and fluffy... A++. Give it a try.

Truly great recipe. My family has gotten spoiled by this bread. Here is a tip for the people who have trouble with it not rising right. My clothes dryer is in my kitchen so I just set the dough on top of the dryer with a tea towel draped over the top. Not only is it warm and humid, but I can do my laundry at the same time. When the timer goes off on the dryer, it is time to punch down the dough. Works every time.

Such a great recipe!! I have made contless loaves of it--my husband says no more store bought bread for him ever again! Also great with herbs OR cinnamon added!!! I love it!

This recipe is by far THE best recipe out there for bread. I use my Kitchenaid mixer on it but have also made this with very young family members to let them do karate chops and punches into the dough. I usually end up making it into cinnamon rolls where I roll it out and spread butter on it, coat it with brown sugar, sprinkle cinnamon and dash a touch of nutmeg on it. I then let it rise again and cook it at 375. I mix up some cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk and frost the tops of the rolls with it. I get rave reviews each time. This also works really well to make bread bowls or buns with it. Melt some butter, add some parmesan and garlic salt to it and coat the rolls/breadbowls with it, let it rise and bake it at 375 until golden brown. Such a GREAT recipe!

This recipe makes a fantastic white bread. I followed the tip from EDNKIRSTIN and reduced the sugar to 1/4 Cup. It turned out light fuffy and moist. I also put a pan of hot water in the oven while it was raising and when I baked it. It is by far the best white bread I have ever made.

This was the BEST bread. It was soooo easy, and had a wonderful flavor. Came out real soft, too. I loved it!! I will make it again and again.

This is a fabulous bread recipe! The crust is firm but not dry. The interior is smooth and soft with an even texture. I made the recipe with 1/3 C. sugar and it is great. I also used my Kitchen Aid mixer to mix the dough. Just keep it on level 1 until all of your flour is added, then kick it up to about level 4 for a minute, just until all of the flour is incorporated and the dough looks smooth and all together. For the second rise I put half in a bread pan and divided the other half into 12 dough balls and baked in a muffin tin for rolls. Perfect! If you are using the little yeast packets, use 2 of the 1/4 ounce packets (I used Fleischmann's). Thanks, Peg!

This is my kids' favorite bread for sandwiches! I make 4 mini-loaves instead of 2 standard-size loaves, and it makes the perfect size slices for small kids :)

This is the third time I have made bread, this recipe is very simple and easy to follow. Although it was way to sweet for my liking. I also used AP flour in place of bread flour and it turned out fine. If I make this again I would cut way back on the sugar. Thanks for the recipe!

This was my first time making bread. I made this last weekend, and even though I screwed up the whole thing the flavor was so good my teenaged son and one of my nephews liked it so much they wanted me to make it again. Last time I killed the yeast by using too hot water; the texture of the finished bread was like that of a bagel but the flavor was great. I'm making it again this weekend, right now as a matter of fact, and will update when it's done. If you don't have a thermometer at hand, use this tip I picked up from ehow-dot-com: "The water should feel like a pleasantly warm shower, or about the temperature you'd use for a baby's bottle. If it feels uncomfortably hot, it will probably kill the yeast."

Ok, after reading other reviews that suggested this would be a great cinnamon roll dough (of which I have been looking for a good one for years) I decided to give 'er a go. OHMYGOSH!! Finally I have found MY Cinnamon roll recipe. Followed recipe exactly using all the sugar, etc. When they were in the pan I let them really rise again. Then little trick. Cook them in a not preheated oven for the same amount of time and they will raise even more while cooking. Used another recipe on here "Clone of a Cinnabon" for the filling and icing. They were to die for and they stayed soft..not just out of the oven. THANK YOU Peg!! My search is now over. LOL

I gave this five stars b/c the bread itself is amazing and easy. however, if you are using regular active dry yeast and NOT a rapid rise kind, the rise time needs to to be increased. Otherwise you will get a denser bread. I've found 3 hrs for the first rise and 1 hr 15 min for the second. It is definitely worth the extra time!

EXCELLENT----MOIST WONDERFUL FLAVOR---EASY TO DO DEFINATE KEEPER!!!!

This was wonnnnnderful... I halved the recipe since I only have one loaf pan. It comes out looking exactly like the picture - fluffy, slightly dense texture. It was a little bit crumbly, but not so much that it fell apart. The bread is wonderful to eat by itself or with spreads/toppings. Next time, I'll decrease the sugar to 1/4 cup so it'll be good for sandwiches. This was my first time making bread and I was so excited that it came out! Thanks for a wonderful recipe!

I seem to be going backwards with this recipe. My bread all rises fine but it is mostly doughy inside... not sure what I am doing wrong? HELP :)

Let me start by saying I stink at baking...I ruin bread machine recipes, so I was warey trying this one. I used my Kitchenaid stand up mixer for all the mixing. No kidding, this is the greatest and easiest bread recipe ever. The loaves came out perfect...looked professionally baked..better than the stuff at the supermarket! My kids go wild for the bread which is soft, sweet, and perfect for everything! It is great for sandwhiches, toast, and dipping into hot soup. Now my kids want me to make this bread only and NEVER buy bread again.

Love, love, love this. I make this weekly, and when I serve it to someone who has never had it, they always RAVE over it. I usually have to let it rise a little longer than directed, but it's worth it. Sometimes I throw in a little wheat flour and this works well, too. Perfect bread!! EDIT: I wanted to try this in the breadmachine so that I could cut out one of the kneadings. I let the water, sugar, and yeast proof in the breadmachine (without starting it), added oil, salt, and flour, and then set the machine to the dough setting. After that is done, I pull the dough out, shape it into two loaves, and let it have it's second rising in loaf pans. Then I bake them in the oven as directed. My breadmachine does not make good shaped loaves, so I prefer the loaf pans in the oven, but the machine does a great job with all the mixing and kneading--really makes this recipe easier, if that's possible!

I made this bread today - I followed the recipe except I reduced the sugar to 1/4 cup as per suggestions by other raters. I followed breadguy's suggestions for using a kitchen aid mixer and the bread came out beautiful. A little crusty on the outside and soft and fragrent on the inside. As another rater said, this has real possibilities as cinnamon rolls. I'll try that next time. Thanks for the recipe Peg!

Super simple! I used 3 cups all-purpose flour and 3 cups whole wheat flour and decreased the sugar to just over 1/3 c. (reading other reviews) and it is delicious! Can't wait to make this again and do cinnamon bread or rolls. And this was only my third time making homemade bread and this is the best of them so far.

As I type this I am savoring a warm slice, fresh from the oven, of this bread. The other reviews were right - this is delicious! I did make a few changes that I want to note for others who might be health concious. I substituted "Splenda for Baking" instead of the sugar. This meant I only used 1/3 c. instead of the 2/3 listed in the recipe. I also used that new, "healthier" Enova oil instead of regular vegetable. These changes didn't seem to change the texture or the flavor of this wonderful bread. I will be making this one often! It's a definite keeper! THANKS!!!

I made this for the first time for Christmas dinner. It was the HIT of the dinner!!! I made it exactly as the recipe stated except I made four mini loaves instead of two regular sized loaves. It cooked for about 25 minutes instead of 30. It is very moist, fluffy, and just slightly sweet. My husband and children just raved and ate one whole mini-loaf between the three of them!! Definite keeper and do again! Thank you!!! Addendum - I made this a second time using 1/2 whole wheat flour and 1/2 white bread flour. It is (in my opinion) even BETTER! I didn't think that was possible! Absolutely delicious.

This is a fabulous recipe. We like whole wheat bread so I replace two cups of white flour with two cups of whole wheat flour. I sometimes have trouble proofing my yeast but I found a fool proof method. I set my large metal mixing bowl in a few inches of warm water in the sink and then I mix my warm water, sugar and yeast. In about ten min. I always get a perfect proof. I am new at this bread making and this recipe makes me a pro.

This bread was the first I ever made from scratch, and it is wonderful. I was nervous about trying it, but this recipe never fails. Normally I halve the recipe for just one loaf. It is a great base for all sorts of experiments. You can use wheat flour, add honey and cinnamon for a delicious toast, and I even make rolls out of it sometimes. Try it and impress your friends and family by saying, "it's homemade." :)

Fantastic recipe. Will definately sell my breadmaker as this recipe makes two good sized loaves and they are perfect! Also they have none of the "bad" ingredients of commercial bread. I found the bread perfect for every use I have including sandwiches (not crumbly at all). May I offer some suggestions to correct the problems other people have had. Did you convert the recipe to suit the measurements you use. eg I live in New Zealand and US measurements are quite different from ours here. We use metric.When cup measurements are converted into metric instead of imperial 6 cups of flour becomes 5 1/2 cups plus 1 tbsp and dsp. The sugar changes to 1/2 cup plus 3 dsps white sugar. The tsps and tbsp meaurements remain the same. Another important tip is that the flour MUST be added 1 cup at a time stirring with a wooden spoon between each addition. When the loaves come out of the oven spray them immediately with a butter mist (bought in a aerosol can over here). One last tip, at the stage that you punch down the bread the bread can be put into the fridge overnight (covered)for baking the next day. You will need to punch it down again and knead for 2 minutes then put into tins and let it rise for 30 minutes then bake it.

This is my "Go To" white bread recipe. I make 3 or 4 loaves a week for my family. I also roll the dough out to about 1/2" thick and spread melted butter, sugar and raisins, then roll it up. I've been baking bread for 40 years and this is the best basic bread recipe. So much you can do with this dough. Sometimes I add a little more salt and less sugar or honey. Sometimes I put the water, yeast, sugar or honey plus one cup of the flour in to the mixer and mix it, then leave it for 20-30 minutes until doubled. I will then add 1 tsp more yeast, the oil, salt and flour, mix and let it sit another 20 min. I take it out onto my counter and knead until smooth, then follow the rest of the directions.

very easy and very yummy

I use pretty much the same method as breadguy. But I add my salt later with the flour additions. Also, I use quick rise yeast and add 1 TB vital wheat gluten to the flour additions. (Vital wheat gluten helps improve the rise and texture of bread) Some tips for telling when your dough is kneaded sufficiently, is the dough should feel slightly tacky - like the back of a “Post-It-Note”, and forms “blisters” under the surface of the dough. With this recipe, I let it rise twice in the bowl. The extra dough rising allows the bread to develop flavor. Peg, this recipe is great! Thanks so much for sharing it!

Very easy to work with, but was a tad sweet for me. If I make this next time, I will use less sugar.

This bread is DELICIOUS. This is the first time I've gotten bread to work for me, and it was well worth it. I ended up having to throw the dough in the fridge for the first rise, as I had to run to a forgotten rehearsal. When I pulled it out about an hour and a half later, it was perfectly risen to just double it's bulk. I punched down, panned it, and let it rise for about an hour, and it rose again beautifully (which is always the downfall step for me). It is sweet, dense and wonderful! Not a sandwich bread, but utterly delicious! I think I will make french toast with it tomorrow morning!

Freaking AMAZING!!! I let my Kitchenaid mixer do all the work. I let the yeast activate in the bowl, then put the paddle attachment on and mixed in the rest of the ingredients (I used all 6 cups of flour). Once incorporated, I switched to the dough hook and let it work the dough until it formed a ball. It was so easy! I brushed the tops of the loaves with buttermilk and they came out golden brown and beautiful! My loaves baked 3 minutes shy of the total 30 minutes.

My rating scale (cause number of stars is subjective): 1-Didn't like it, 2-It's okay, 3-Liked it, 4-Loved it, 5-Can't get enough of it. After reading all the raving reviews I was very excited to try this bread. I made 1 loaf and 8 dinner rolls. I should have listened to the other reviewers and reduced the sugar but I like to try the recipe as written the first time. This bread was WAY to sweet... almost tastes like cake! I will try it again, but reduce the sugar to 1/4 cup. I gave it three stars because of it's ease to make but based soley on taste, I wouldn't give it more than 2. A couple of tips: - Reduce the sugar unless you really like sweet (really sweet) bread. - I only used 5 cups of flour, any more and it would have been to dense (the loaf is already a dense bread). - Bake a little longer than indicated or it will be a little raw on the inside (5 minutes did it for me). ******************************************Update --- I have been making this bread for the past little bit by using only 1/4 cup of sugar and the the items I've indicated above... We have stopped purchasing bread from the store because this is so easy, yummy, and sans-preservative :)... (When I say easy, I mean easy... I work full time and have my 2 year old son all evening to myself while my hubby is at work and I have time to make two loafs and clean up!) Enjoy!!