Best White Bread Recipe For The Bread Machine (2024)

FAQs

What is the best flour to use in a bread machine? ›

Bread flours tend to have more gluten—the stuff that makes flour stick together—so breads made with it will rise better and be chewier. All-purpose flour works fine, although you'll need to adjust your ratios slightly (King Arthur Flour recommends 2 1/2 to 3 cups flour to 1 1/4 cups liquid if you're using all-purpose).

Adding Ingredients to the Bread Machine

Manufacturers usually recommend adding the liquids first, followed by dry ingredients, with the yeast going in last. This keeps the yeast away from the liquid ingredients until kneading begins.

All it takes is a small amount of dough enhancer per loaf to create a much lighter and fluffier result. Using a dough enhancer like Vital Wheat Gluten works to improve the texture and elasticity of the dough and elongate the strands of gluten. Doing so allows more room for the gas in the dough to develop and rise.

Too much heat or humidity might lead to a too-quick rise and a crevice near the center of your bread. Conditions that are too cold might delay proofing or rising, resulting in a super-dense loaf.

While bread flour is more than adequate for everyday breads, some professional bakers use high-gluten flour with a 14% protein content to provide extra strength to dense, chewy doughs like bagels and pizza dough. High-gluten bread flour gives milk bread it's taut structure and compact (but tender) crumb.

Bread machine yeast and rapid-rise yeast are specially formulated for the bread machine and become active more quickly than active dry yeast. You can use active dry yeast in your bread machine, but it should be dissolved in water before being used.

So called "bread machine" yeast might be a little faster acting, but I think you'll be just as successful using "regular" yeast. As per your edit, you may have better luck if you proof the yeast. Heat a small amount (1/4 cup or so) of the liquid to just warm (~105F, ~40.5C) and stir in the yeast.

bread machine will probably be happy with a ratio of 2 cups flour to 1 teaspoon each yeast, sugar and salt, and 2/3 cup liquid. Let's say the bread recipe you want to use calls for 6 cups of flour (a typical two-loaf recipe).

There may be several reasons for a dense, cake like texture in bread. It may indicate the kneading wasn't enough for the gluten to develop properly, or the dough was proved for too short a time or the dough may have been too dry. It is also worth checking the flour you used.

There's something magical about the bread you get at your local bakeries - they're always sooo soft and fluffy. Many of these breads, especially packaged ones, are made with a ton of chemical additives such as calcium propionate, amylase, and chlorine dioxide which help keep them soft, light, and fluffy for days.

What makes bread light and airy and fluffy? ›

Sugar: When yeast is mixed with sugar it consumes the sugar and produces carbon dioxide gas, which causes the bread dough to rise and become light and airy. Instant Yeast: Instant dry yeast can be added directly to the flour mixture without needing to be activated first.

Too much yeast could cause the dough to go flat by releasing gas before the flour is ready to expand. If you let the dough rise too long, it will start having a yeast or beer smell and taste and ultimately deflate or rise poorly in the oven and have a light crust.

Some attribute the demise of the bread machine to the fact that cooks were just disappointed by their results. Lara Pizzorno, the author of Bread Machine Baking, chalked it up to food snobs who regarded the machine as “the electric equivalent of The Bridges of Madison County” in a 1996 article in The New York Times.

Condensation can build up in a bread machine if it is not opened at the end of the baking program. If a loaf is left in the machine after baking it can absorb the moisture from the condensation and become soggy. For future bakes, remove the loaf at the end of the baking cycle.

- Use bread flour, not regular all-purpose flour for all bread machine recipes. Bread flour contains a higher percentage of gluten than regular all-purpose flour. Using bread flour will produce taller, less dense loaves.

King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour is perfect for bread machines. Its relatively high protein level (11.7%), and the quality of that protein, allows you to use it in recipes calling for either bread flour or all-purpose flour.

Whole-Wheat Flour

Whole-wheat flour is much heartier than all-purpose flour and produces denser baked goods with a more robust flavor. Milled from wheat berries with the nutritious bran and germ still intact, whole-wheat flour is rich in fiber and essential micronutrients like iron, magnesium and vitamin B6.

Can I Use Bread Flour Instead Of All-Purpose. Bread flour has a higher protein content than all-purpose flour, but it can be used in place of all-purpose flour and vice versa. However, keep in mind that the higher protein content of bread flour may result in a dry dough or batter, so you may need to add water.

So yes, you should use bread flour in the recipe. It has higher protein than all-purpose flour and will help your bread rise better and hold its shape.