Classic white loaf

Classic white loaf

Once you've mastered this basic loaf, the bread-making world's your oyster

Difficulty and servings

Easy

16 slices

Easily doubled

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 20 mins

Cook time

Cook 45 mins

, plus rising and proving
Vegetarian Freezable

Vegetarian, Vegan, Egg-free, Low-fat, Dairy-free, Nut-free

Can be frozen for one month

Method

  1. Make the dough by tipping the flour, yeast and salt into a large bowl and making a well in the middle. Pour in most of the water and use your fingers or a wooden spoon to mix the flour and water together until combined to a slightly wet, pillowy, workable dough - add a splash more water if necessary. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for at least 10 mins until smooth and elastic. This can also be done in a tabletop mixer with a dough hook. Place the dough in a clean oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave to rise until doubled in size.
  2. Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Knock back the dough by tipping it back onto a floured surface and pushing the air out. Mould the dough into a rugby ball shape that will fit a 900g loaf tin and place in the tin. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to prove for 30 mins. Dust the top of the loaf with a little more flour and slash the top with a sharp knife if you want. Bake the bread for 15 mins, then reduce the heat to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5 and continue to bake for 30 mins until the loaf sounds hollow when removed from the tin and tapped on the base. Leave the bread on a wire rack to cool completely. The loaf will stay fresh in an airtight container for 3 days or can be frozen for 1 month.
Try

In a bread machine...

All machines differ - follow manufacturer's instructions for a basic white loaf.

Per serving

111 kcalories, protein 4.0g, carbohydrate 24.0g, fat 1.0 g, saturated fat 0.0g, fibre 0.0g, sugar 1.0g, salt 0.31 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, October 2008.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 1-20

  • Binder photo jane

    27 September 2008

    jane rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I have been so pleased with this basic recipe that I have gone out & bought a bread machine so that I can make it on a regular basis. I have also made pizza from the basic dough and it came out really well.

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  • Binder photo sheila w

    15 October 2008

    sheila w commented on this recipe

    I made this bread today using only 1tsp quick yeast as well as adding 1tsp sugar (as far as I know yeast needs sugar) and only using 275ml water. Also, at the point the oven was turned down, I put a piece of tin foil over the top so that the crust didn't overbake. Perfect! I slice the bread before freezing, so that I can then take out only what I need.

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  • Binder photo pj1515

    08 February 2009

    pj1515 commented on this recipe

    could someone tell me how long it takes to 'leave to rise until doubled'??are we talking mins/hours/days??i've only made soda bread before so bit nervous about using yeast and all the leaving of things to rise!

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  • Binder photo jojo01

    10 February 2009

    jojo01 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Fabulous. First time I've made bread since I was at school (many moons ago) and it turned out great (although slightly lopsided!). I'll certainly be making this again, perhaps as rolls.

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  • Binder photo Alessandra

    20 April 2009

    Alessandra commented on this recipe

    I'm going to make this very soon..maybe this evening! @pj1515: it depends on the room temperature (higher is the temperature, faster it rises), usually needs about 1 hour and half, but if you want to speed up a little bit the process you can leave the dough in a warm place like the oven (preheated at very very low temperature and then turned off).

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  • Binder photo Baltar

    09 September 2009

    Baltar commented on this recipe

    pj1515 -- it takes approximately 1.5 hrs for the dough to rise (but you can check it beforehand and if it's doubled in size then that's fine).

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  • Binder photo JackieWoolnough

    06 April 2010

    JackieWoolnough commented on this recipe

    Lovely, lovely, lovely! This is the best bread I have ever made. I really like the fact it had no sugar, it tasted much nicer. It was gone within an hour of serving, so everyone else seemed to like it too!

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  • Binder photo moey

    20 May 2010

    moey commented on this recipe

    help, i have just been given a bread making machine and cant wait to use it but i have a problem as i dont have any manufacturers instructions. i need info on times and ingrediants. i am sure someone out there can help. many thanks

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  • Binder photo ZeTallGerman

    30 June 2010

    ZeTallGerman commented on this recipe

    Am planning to try this recipe... I always watched my gran baking bread and she always put a small dish with water in the bottom of her oven. The steam is supposed to help form a nice crust. I've baked bread rolls before and sprayed them with water to make a nice crust... any experience on this from anyone?

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  • Binder photo sharon bonnell

    06 October 2010

    sharon bonnell commented on this recipe

    I made this classic white loaf in the bread maker over night. with just a few adjustments to the ingredients. added 1tbsp of sugar and change the water content to 320 ml making the liquid up to 350 ml by adding olive oil, aprox 2 tbsp. result a fantastic moist tasty loaf, best white bread I have tasted for a long time. Tasted as the label said a "classic white Loaf". Can't wait to make rolls with the dough next time....

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  • Binder photo sharon bonnell

    06 October 2010

    sharon bonnell rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Faye not in Muscat anymor

    09 December 2010

    Faye not in Muscat anymor rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    I found the dough was too sticky.... I had to add fair bit of extra flour before getting the dough to the right consistency.....

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  • Binder photo wibble

    22 December 2010

    wibble rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Great basic loaf. Have also tried it with just over a level teaspoon of sugar and found the finished loaf was too sweet. Will stick to the basic recipe!

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  • Binder photo crazii_c

    05 January 2011

    crazii_c commented on this recipe

    ive just tried this recipe. ive never made a classic loaf before. i used 50/50 of white and wholemeal flour and am very pleased with the end product. theres nothing like eating a slice of homemade bread while its still warm!

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  • Binder photo SeedyH

    17 January 2011

    SeedyH rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Used this recipe and made my first loaf of bread ever. Really simple but tasty..

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  • Binder photo sandalwood

    14 February 2011

    sandalwood rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    An excellent recipe for a basic bread loaf. I made the recipe into two small loaves instead of one large loaf. The bread tasted lovely especially straight out of the oven. It had a good crust on the top. I froze one of my loaves and it was still excellent after it was defrosted. I shall try to make some bread rolls next time using the same recipe.

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  • Binder photo Ninapuss

    28 March 2011

    Ninapuss commented on this recipe

    Great recipe... followed to the letter. It's been so hard to find bread in the stores since the earthquake with people panic buying and stockpiling. It's good to feel self-reliant in at least one thing!

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  • Binder photo Ludfic

    03 April 2011

    Ludfic commented on this recipe

    I used fresh yeast and a bit of olive oil. The result was an amazing rustic loaf.

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  • Binder photo Margaret

    03 June 2011

    Margaret commented on this recipe

    I make this bread 2 or 3 times a week in my kenwood chef (easier than kneading by hand). I usually add small amounts of sugar and olive oil. Rarely buy bread now. Fabulous.

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  • Binder photo Peter

    03 September 2011

    Peter rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    I followed the recipe to the letter but the bread just didn't rise once in the oven. I ended up with a very tasty but dense loaf. I'm not sure if it has anything to do with the fast yeast I used which said the 7g sachet was for 2 x 500g loaves, but the recipe says to use the whole sachet.

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

16 slices

Easily doubled

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 20 mins

Cook time

Cook 45 mins

, plus rising and proving
Vegetarian Freezable

Vegetarian, Vegan, Egg-free, Low-fat, Dairy-free, Nut-free

Can be frozen for one month

Instead of using a loaf tin, you could shape this into individual rolls.

Ingredients

  • 500g strong white flour , plus extra for dusting
  • 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast
  • 1 tsp salt
  • up to 350ml lukewarm water
  • a little sunflower oil , for greasing
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Per serving

111 kcalories, protein 4.0g, carbohydrate 24.0g, fat 1.0 g, saturated fat 0.0g, fibre 0.0g, sugar 1.0g, salt 0.31 g

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