The most amazing homemade white bread recipe that DOESN'T fall apart! (2024)

5 from 5 votes

By: Melissa Griffiths

Prep: 20 minutes mins

Cook: 20 minutes mins

Total: 40 minutes mins

Servings: 2 loaves

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• ▢ 2 ¼ cups warm water
• ▢ 4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• ▢ ¼ cup sugar
• ▢ 2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
• ▢ 2 teaspoons salt
• ▢ ¼ cup nonfat dry milk
• ▢ 3 tablespoons butter or oil
• ▢ ½ cup potato flakes
• ▢ 5-6 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ stick of butter to butter the tops of the bread

• Add water, yeast, sugar, wheat gluten, salt, dry milk, oil, potato flakes, and 4 cups of flour to the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment.

• Mix on low for 10-12 minutes (this is machine kneading).

• After the mixing time, add additional flour, 1/4 cup at a time. The dough is ready when it isn’t too sticky and can be handled. Give the dough time to work the flour in before adding more.

• If it is gooey, add flour and mix after each addition, until the dough can be worked with your hands without sticking to them. I generally add 5.5 to the full 6 cups total flour for this recipe. It will depend some on your kitchen conditions and flour.

• Form the dough into a smooth bowl and add it back to your mixing bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap.

• Let dough rise for 1 hour.

• Remove it from the bowl.

• Divide the dough into two even pieces and form each piece into a loaf.

• Place the dough in 2 greased loaf pan and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until the dough is about 1 inch above the rim of the bread pan.

• Bake at 375℉ for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and sounds hollow when lightly tapped.

• Remove from the oven and grease the tops of the loaf with a little bit of butter.

• Remove the bread from the pans and allow to cool on a wire rack before slicing (you can slice warm but the texture is best once it has cooled and the bread has set).

• Once the bread has completely cooled, store leftovers in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the fridge for up to 5 days, and in the freezer for up to 3 months.

• Non-fat dry milk can be found near the canned evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk. You can also find it near specialty flours (sometimes it’s called baking milk blend). It’s a dry milk product and it has a great shelf life. This is the only recipe I use it for and it keeps great.
• I just use normal old potato flakes, like the kind you would make instant mashed potatoes with, for this recipe. Nothing special there and again, they are very shelf stable.
• Vital wheat gluten will be near the specialty flours or just in the baking isle. Again, you might need to collect up these “specialty” ingredients but they won’t spoil quickly and you’ll make this bread often enough to use them up!