Easy white bread

Easy white bread

A great recipe for an electric breadmaker - or do it the traditional way

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Makes 1 loaf

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 20 mins

Cook time

Cook 25 - 30 mins

Plus 2 hours proving
Freezable

Method

  1. Mix the flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre, then add the oil and water, and mix well. If the dough seems a little stiff, add 1-2 tbsp water, mix well then tip onto a lightly floured work surface and knead. Once the dough is satin-smooth, place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Leave to rise for 1 hour until doubled in size or place in the fridge overnight.
  2. Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Knock back the dough, then gently mould the dough into a ball. Place it on the baking parchment to prove for a further hour until doubled in size.
  3. Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Dust the loaf with flour and cut a cross about 6cm long into the top of the loaf with a sharp knife. Bake for 25-30 mins until golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath. Cool on a wire rack.
Try

Saving time

A dough's first rising can be done in the fridge overnight. This slows down the time it takes to rise to double its size, giving it a deeper flavour. It's also a great timesaver, as you can start it the night before, then finish it off the next day.

204 kcalories, protein 6g, carbohydrate 38g, fat 4 g, saturated fat 1g, fibre 2g, salt 1 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, October 2005.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 221-233

  • Binder photo LivLast

    20 January 2013

    LivLast rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Made this bread today and was really pleased with the results! I have tried to make other breads before which resembled house bricks! For this recipe I used 2/3 boiling water with 1/3 cold to make up the 300ml adding 1tsp of sugar to this mix, don't use all boiling water though or you will kill the yeast! Love this thank you!

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  • Binder photo crystaltips

    28 January 2013

    crystaltips rated and commented on this recipe

    2 stars

    Can anyone help. I made this bread today and it came out doughy in the middle. I followed the receipe to the letter but accidentally left out the olive oil. I proved it as per the time suggested and both times it appeared to double in size. I baked it for 30 minutes in my fan oven at 200c. I wonder if the oven was not hot enough or whether I did not bake it for long enough. I did tap the bottom and it did sound hollow. Any advice would be much appreciated as I would like to try it again.

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  • Binder photo Elle

    01 February 2013

    Elle rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Super easy! I made this recipe by hand but only used half the ingredients (the loaf turned out about the same size as my head which was plenty for me). I also added a spoon of sugar like the others mentioned. Also.... the only flour I could find was fortified cake flour! It turned out perfect and fluffy with a nice crust. Perhaps it doesn't matter what flour you use?!

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  • Binder photo lucy bows

    09 February 2013

    lucy bows rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    a really tasty loaf! i did not leave it overnight, still turned out delish!

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  • Binder photo anna x

    25 March 2013

    anna x rated this recipe

    3 stars

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  • Binder photo Raebear

    26 March 2013

    Raebear rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Made this today - turned out brilliantly. Fluffy soft bread, which I fashioned into rolls rather than a loaf. And I did what Paul Hollywood said and used cold water. Apparently having to use warm water to activate the yeast is a total myth! And he was right! Highly recommended to anyone.

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  • Binder photo Frank

    07 April 2013

    Frank rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I am so glad my bread machine broke as I just love making bread and this one is easy and is eaten quite quickly while a bought loaf lasts for ages and is given to the chicken, now they don't even get the crust. I use 400g of strong white flour and a 100g of seeded wholemeal flour with just a pinch of ginger. I could leave the ginger out as the loaf only lasts the day its made.

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  • Binder photo Surinder85

    08 April 2013

    Surinder85 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Love this recipe, fairly easy - need to find a bigger loaf tin though!

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  • Binder photo Jord

    11 April 2013

    Jord rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Just making this, there are no specific instructions as to use cold or tepid water and if to cover the bowl and leave it in a warm place. I used lukewarm water and I've covered the bowl with 2 food bags as I've run out of clingfilm... I googled a video of knocking back the bread and mine looked nothing like it does in the video? I used my stand alone mixer with the dough hook attachment too... It's currently on it's second proving so will see how it shapes up after it's done and cooked. Hopefully it'll turn out right!!

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  • Binder photo carole

    12 April 2013

    carole commented on this recipe

    I've made this loaf twice now and it's been perfect each time.

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  • Binder photo Sue H

    29 April 2013

    Sue H rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This was the best bread I have ever made! (And I've been trying to bake a good bread for over 40 years!)

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  • Binder photo MdC BC

    02 May 2013

    MdC BC rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    so easy to make! :)

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  • Binder photo Pascal

    21 May 2013

    Pascal rated this recipe

    5 stars

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Makes 1 loaf

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 20 mins

Cook time

Cook 25 - 30 mins

Plus 2 hours proving
Freezable

Can't go wrong recipe

Ingredients

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Add to your binder

204 kcalories, protein 6g, carbohydrate 38g, fat 4 g, saturated fat 1g, fibre 2g, salt 1 g

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