Best White Bread Recipe Ever! (my mom's famous recipe!) (2024)

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Growing up in Utah, we never had store-bought bread. My mom always made bread and was a bit famous for it. (Yes, hometown friends, this is the white bread recipe.) Of course, I didn’t really appreciate the time and effort it took her to make bread every.single.Saturday. But church friends, family friends and neighbors gushed over the bread and sometimes conveniently stopped by on Saturdays around 3, right as it was coming out of the oven. (My mom has made the bread for her church’s sacrament for over 30 years!)

I’m not as amazing as my mom and don’t make bread every weekend. And when I do make bread, it’s usually my whole wheat flax bread because it’s so darn easy (not that this recipe is really hard). But sometimes, I gotta have mom’s white bread.

When I’m feeling homesick, I make this. It’s never tastes as good as my mom’s, but it reminds me of her and makes me feel close to her. As it bakes, the aroma takes me back to the hustle and bustle in my house on Saturdays, with brothers stopping by, nieces & nephews running around, my dad “puttering” around the yard/garden/sheds and my mom going from gardening to bread baking to lawn mowing to making sure everyone gets fed lunch. She’s incredible. And so is this bread. It’s the ultimate comfort food for me. My mom even packs a loaf in her carry-on and brings it to me when she visits me in North Carolina.

My Mom’s Famous White Bread Recipe

Alright, now that I’m all teary and dearly missing my mom (especially now that I’m a mom), let’s get to it, shall we? Like most homemade bread, it takes time, but like all homemade bread, it’s totally worth it.

This makes a GREAT gift for neighbors during the holidays and it’s obviously perfect to go with a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner!

Ingredients

Makes two loaves

1 1/12 tablespoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup white sugar
2.5 cups bread flour – Gold Medal or King Arthur Bread Flour
3 cups warm water
1/2 cup Canola or vegetable oil
1 1/2 tablespoons salt

Note: the recipe I’m sharing today is for half of the original recipe – pictured below! I still use this card when I make it!. My mom makes four loaves every weekend but I don’t need that many (and most people don’t!) so I’m sharing the recipe for just two loaves. But that’s why you see photos with more dough that you’ll have and of four finished loaves!

Instructions

Step 1

In the mixer, combine 1.5 tablespoon of yeast, 1/4 cup sugar, 2.5 cups of the bread flour, and 3 cups very warm water. Mix it for 2 minutes. It will be very runny.

Step 2

Next, add another 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup oil and 1.5 tablespoon salt and mix for 4 more minutes. It’s still runny after those additions.

Step 3

Now you’re going to add the bulk of theflour. Add 1 cup at a time.

Step 4

Keep adding flour, one cup at a time, until the dough pulls away from the sides and is stiff. Add the flour gradually, so that you don’t add too much and also so that the flour will incorporate more easily. If you add too much at once, you risk your dough just spinning on the flour instead of mixing in.

Step 5

You’ll add anywhere from 4 to 5 cups of flour(in addition to what you already added in the first two rounds of mixing). You need enough flour to get the dough to pull away from the sides and look like a dough;it should not be sticky.Mix for 5 minutes once you’ve added the flour.

Step 6

Spray nonstick spray on the counter top and then dump the dough out.

Step 7

Knead the dough for a couple of minutes until it forms a smooth ball. No matter how many times I make this, I can never get a truly smooth ball like she does. Mom, I need another lesson.

Put your smooth (or not-so-smooth) ball in a very large bowl that has been sprayed with Pam.

Step 8

Cover with a damp dishtowel and let rise until it doubles in size, usually 45-90 minutes, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.

Here’s a little trick to know if you’ve let your dough rise enough (since, let’s be honest, it’s hard to tell when something is “doubled in size”). Poke it with your finger. If it bounces back immediately, it needs to rise longer. If it stays indented, it’s ready.

Step 9

Dump dough onto a lightly sprayed surface and divide into two.

Step 10

At this point, you are going to form it into loaves. Like my mom, I do this in two ways. I roll the dough out to about…eh…1/4” thickness or so.

Then I just roll it up tightly, sealing the edge by pinching it with my fingers. Or, after you roll it out, cut it into thirds (don’t cut all the way through the top) and just braid it.

Braiding is my favorite option, mostly because it’s quintessential Becky bread to me in this shape. I’ve never seen anyone else shape their bread like that. Once it’s braided, kind of roll between your hands and the counter top to make it come all together.

Step 11

Whichever method you choose, you want to make sure you get the air bubbles out. The way I do this is karate chopping it. Seriously. Once it’s shaped, hold your hands straight, palms facing each other, and just quickly smack it up and down the length, using the outer edge of your hands. Just 5-10 times to get out any bubbles that may have formed during the shaping. (I should do a video for this…it’s hard to explain.)

If your loaf is too long for you pan, just cut off the end to make it fit and you can use the extra dough to fry a la Utah scones or toss it in a mini loaf pan (and cook for about 10 minutes less)

Step 12

Place the shaped loaves into greased pans (mine are 9×5) and cover with the same damp towel you used before. You may need to re-dampen it. Place in a warm place to rise. A sunny spot works nicely! Or place it in a slightly warm oven. Turn it on for about 5 minutes, then turn it OFF. The residual heat helps it to rise.

Let raise until it comes just about the tops of the pans.

Step 13

Once the dough is risen above the tops of the pans, remove towel and bake at 350 degrees or a bit lower. I set my temperature to 345. If you don’t have a digital temperature setting, nudge your knob just below 350 degrees. Bake for 33 minutes or until the tops are light golden brown.

You have to eat this warm. With butter. And maybe some honey.

Important things to note

Good quality bread flour

Do not substitute all-purpose flour. The gluten content is not the same and the result will not be nearly as good. I really like King Arthur bread flour or Gold Medal bread flour. For Utah County & Salt Lake County folks, my mom gets the Lehi Roller Mills “Turkey” bread flour. Get that if you can.

Gluten-free flour

This recipe will NOT work with gluten free flour!

Mixer

I use a Bosch Mixer, but any mixer with a dough hook should work. If you don’t have a mixer, you can do this by hand, but it will make your arm tired. Very very tired.

My mom’s nonstick Pam spray trick

This tip is a true game-changer. Instead of adding flour to your countertop in order to roll your dough, spray a little nonstick or Pam spray on the counter! This way you don’t have to add more flour, which can alter the texture of your bread. Brilliant!

My Mom’s Famous White Bread Recipe

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Note that the nutrition stats are approximate based on a 1/2″ slice and may vary significantly depending on the exact flour you use and the size of your bread slices!

Get the goods to make the bread!

I originally shared this recipe in January 2011, one of the first recipes on my blog! I’ve updated it to share the half measurements to suit most people’s needs and given the photos an upgrade. And, I’m so happy to have photos of my mom making it since it’s the famous Becky Bread!