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This homemade bread is always a family favorite and can be done so easily with this perfect recipe my grandma handed down to me. Making bread is easier than you think!
My miracle no knead bread is another one of my favorite bread to make, but it is also just as easy as this homemade bread. Bread is so rewarding to make and tastes even better than store-bought!
Grandma’s Perfect Bread Recipe
I am so excited to be sharing my Grandma’s perfect bread recipe with you! She was the best baker and although I love her homemade pancakes and her no fail pie crust, you just can’t beat her bread recipe. So many memories came to me as the bread was baking, and the wonderful fresh smell filled my house. I remember her fresh warm bread was always ready for us when we went to visit. It was gone as fast as she would slice it up.
My grandma’s homemade bread recipe is a must-try for anyone seeking a simple bread recipe. With just a handful of ingredients, you can create a loaf of bread that will make you never want to buy bread at the store again!
Homemade Bread Ingredients
With these simple ingredients that you already have at home, this bread comes together quickly and easily. Check out the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all of the exact measurements.
- Warm Water: The temperature should be around 105-115 degrees Fahrenheit. Don’t make it too hot or it will kill the yeast.
- Sugar: The sugar sweetens up the bread.
- Salt: Just a pinch of salt will enhance all of the ingredients.
- Yeast: Make sure your yeast is active and fresh.
- Flour: All-purpose flour works best, but you can also use whole wheat flour too.
- Oil: I used olive oil, but vegetable oil will also work.
How to Make Homemade Bread
Only six ingredients to make a simple homemade bread that is delicious in every way. It is a tried and true favorite that my grandma was so generous to pass down to me. I love this bread so much and love the texture and flavor that it has to offer. The dough is made in a stand mixer but can be done by hand as well. Kneading the dough in between each rise of the dough helps form the dough but also gets out any air bubbles.
- Make the dough: In a stand mixer, add the warm water, sugar, salt, and yeast. Let the yeast proof until it bubbles for about 5 minutes. Using the dough hook, start adding the flour one cup at a time until the dough combines and forms a soft dough.
- Knead the dough: On a floured surface, knead the dough until smooth and elastic and form a ball. Add the oil to the large bowl, add the dough to the bowl, and cover. Let rise for about 1-1 1/2 hours or until it has doubled.
- Form loaves: Grease and flour two 9×5 inch pans. Punch the dough to release the air. Lay the dough onto a flat surface and cut it into two loaves. Roll each loaf up and place it into the loaf pans. Let rise for about 1-1 1/2 hours or until it has doubled again.
- Prep: While the dough rises for the second time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Bake dough: Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown on the tops. Remove from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before slicing.
Tips for Making Homemade Bread
- Proof the yeast: Add the yeast to the warm water. In about 10 minutes, the combination will have tiny bubbles and the smell of yeast. This indicates that the yeast is still good.
- Knead dough: For the first rise, it is best to knead the dough for about 5 minutes. This will help flavor and texture. After the first rise, you only need to knead the dough for 1-2 minutes.
- Seasonings: Add your favorite bread seasonings to the dough for added flavor. I love using Italian seasoning!
- Room Temperature: The warmer the room temperature is in your home, the quicker the bread will rise.
- The Weather: Did you know that the weather has an effect on cooking bread? Usually, places that are more moist will need to add 1/4 cup of flour more. While making the dough, if you notice the dough is not pulling away from the sides of the bowl easily after the first rise, this will be the time to add in a little extra flour.
- How to know if the bread is fully cooked: To know if your bread is fully baked, use a food thermometer. A fully baked loaf will be about 190 degrees Fahrenheit. The top of the bread should be a light golden brown color.
Jams and Butters to Serve with Bread
Homemade bread is warm and delicious! Comforting and tasty side dish or have it fresh out of the oven as a snack. Enjoy this bread with a simple layer of butter over top or with my homemade strawberry jam.
Storing Homemade Bread
Usually our baked bread does not last long enough to even store it or keep out longer than that day. Now though is a great time to have some on hand and be prepared when my family does need bread. With growing boys and a bigger family, all together we are needing more groceries and bread is one of them.
- At Room Temperature: Place the loaf of bread or sliced bread in a ziplock bag or airtight container. Make sure to seal it tightly, close it off from the air getting into the bag, and drying it out. Keeping the bread unsliced until you are ready to eat is best. The bread should last about 5-7 days.
- In the Refrigerator: Storing the bread in an airtight container in the fridge will last about 7-9 days.
- In the Freezer: My grandma’s bread freezes well so I always make an extra loaf or two! Store it in an airtight container in the freezer and it will last about 2-3 months. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge before serving.
More Delicious Bread Recipes
Homemade bread is the absolute best! It pairs perfectly with any meal and there are so many different flavors and ways to make it! Here are some more delicious and easy bread recipes for you to try.
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Grandma’s Perfect Homemade Bread
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cup warm water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon yeast
- 5 cups all purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons oil I used olive oil
Instructions
- In a stand mixer add the warm water, sugar, salt and yeast. Let the yeast proof until it bubbles for about 5 minutes. Using the dough hook start adding the flour one cup at a time until the dough combines and forms a soft dough.
- On a floured surface knead the dough until smooth and elastic and form a ball. Add the oil to the large bowl and add the dough to the bowl and cover. Let rise until it has doubled 1- 1 1/2 hours.
- Grease and flour 2 9×5 inch pans. Punch the dough to release the air. Lay the dough onto a flat surface and cut into two loaves. Roll each loaf up and place into the loaf pans. Let rise until it doubles another 1-1 1/2 hours.
- Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown on the tops. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before slicing.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I don’t know what you all are doing wrong…..I made it after the first rise I added a little flour to the bottom and top and needed it. Same on the second, it was not sticky by the time I put them in the pans. Proofed them, baked them, they rose and baked perfectly!! It’s a delicious bread!!!!!
way to much water for the amount of flour I added another cup after the first mix just to be able to kneed it a bit and after the first rise the dough was too sticky to kneed properly so my loves look like garbage. ill go ahead and bake it to see if the flavor is there. I’d suggest you actually make a recipe before adding it and then you would know it doesn’t work
Can you and fresh chopped garlic to bread on 2nd rise?
Comments and myself wondering about how sticky, I didn’t care to see a video, there were no images or details up whilst you’re reading along. I stirred it more than the goop the video showed. Somehow her goop wasn’t as sticky when she handled it. Seems like I info is missing. I have more questions than answers right now. 1x is TWO loaves. Sorry- first time making bread.. good thing I didn’t do 2x then.
Turns out this has too much yeast per ratio of flour.
It triggered my allergy and asthma, yikes.
I tried this for the first time today, and it worked out great- other than the fact that after I mixed in the flour it was so sticky I had to keep adding more flour just to be able to handle it. I’m almost positive I did the correct amount of water, and I was worried I would mess up the bread by adding too much additional flour. Has this happened to anyone else- or did I possibly do something wrong?
This just happened to me. Added an extra up of flour just to be able to handle it. Hope it turns out
Same thing happened to me. It looks like 2 cups is all you need for water and just add a little in afterward, if needed. I had to add the better part of a cup to get it to the right consistency using 2.5 cups.
I tried this recipe tonight and it was perfect! Definitely going to be my go to from now on!
Finally. A good bread recipe. Tastes good. Soft and fluffy. Browns up nicely. So good.
Kind of bland if you ask me
I am looking for a potato bread recipe that calls where you rice the potatoes. When my grandma made potato bread she would rice the potatoes but I can’t find a recipe like that. Grandma’s potato bread was absolutely delicious.
2.5 cups water to 5 cups flour? OMG, what a mess on my floured top. Can’t knead soup. Trying to save it by adding more flour, but OMG.
I mixed it longer than her video shows. Wasn’t a problem for me.
I habe been trying to make bread for months!!! My biggest problem is that the yeast won’t proof! I have bought new yeast making sure it is fresh. I have measured my warm to 110. I just put in another yeast beast! With this recipe. If this doesn’t work I am literally throwing away all the yeast, the flour, everything and I am done! No idea what I am doing wrong. So expensive having nothing work.
Lord have mercy! This worked like a.miracle!!! Thank you!! I cannot believe it. Yay! No more grocery store bread.
Hi Theresa, I’m so happy the recipe worked out for you!
Water should be 100 degrees. Any hotter then 101 degrees will kill the yeast process. Give it another try. This is my second batch I use fast acting yeast and the expiration date April 2023 and still works. Leave the flour to the side that comes after your yeast activates.
My dough when I was kneading was very very sticky I had to keep putting flour on my hands and counter is that normal? I followed the recipe like it said!
Hi Chandra! Yes, that’s normal. How did your bread turn out?
I have been making this bread for a year now! We completely stopped buying our bread we love it!
I do keep having the problem they when I roll the dough to go in the bread pan then when it’s cooked it’s like the rolled pieces don’t stick together and the bread then can fall apart from the crust. Totally still edible but makes sandwiches difficult sometimes, any tips??
Hi Stacey! Thanks for trying this recipe!
I would say the bread just needs to proof a little bit more. So form the loaf, place it in your bread pan, and then let it proof for another 45 minutes to an hour. If it’s ready to bake, when you poke the dough it should leave a slight indentation. If it bounces back it’s not ready.
Your directions for making this bread is a bit confusing. It says the dough will be soft, but your pics show the dough to much firmer on the dough hook. If I followed your directions the dough will be very drippy? I then watched your video and the dough in the video looks drippy. I actually added Xtra flour to make the dough look more like your picture. I hope it comes out right? Please clarify for me.
my own grandma made the best bread and I had her recipe in my book for years. Somehow I lost my book and have been looking for a recipe to match hers, When I was about 8 she let me do it all by myself and I made bread for many years. When we moved to Oregon 4 months ago from Az we were watching for the book but it has not shown up.
Today I was browsing and found your grandmas recipe and sure enough it is almost exactly the same. I copied it and will be trying it in our new home. Nothing better then home made bread and sitting by our woodstove when it gets chilly. Thank you for sharing….I already know its going to be great for us.
I would like to suggest trying this recipe with warmed pineapple juice instead of water. Pineapple juice is the secret ingredient in that “Hawaiian” bread everyone finds so tasty.
I’m not clear on this, please clarify. “On a floured surface knead the dough until smooth and elastic and form a ball. Add the oil to the large bowl and add the dough to the bowl and cover. Let rise until it has doubled 1- 1 ½ hours.”
Do you just dump the oil in the bowl and put the dough on top? It seems like 2 Tbsp of oil is a lot for the dough to be sitting in. Or do you coat the bowl with the oil? I’m not sure what sitting in oil will do for the dough.