You may have heard this called milk bread. Make this by hand or in a bread machine - both instructions are included. It freezes well, too!
Be sure to read to the end where I'll be sharing my best tips for getting yeast dough to rise! More Bread Recipes here.
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Ingredients
If you are looking for the homemade equivalent of Wonder Bread you'll definitely want to try this classic Amish white bread! It is somewhat sweet — and when I say somewhat I mean like those fabulous, hot dinner rolls they have at Logan's Roadhouse or Hawaiian rolls.
If you want a real treat try it with a spoonful of this apricot pineapple jam!
- whole milk
- sugar
- yeast
- salt
- light vegetable oil or coconut oil (or melted butter)
- bread flour ( or all-purpose)
- butter
- two 9 by 5 inch loaf pans (measured from outside edge to outside edge. 1- ½ quart)
- instant read thermometer.
You can find a list of tools and helpful information on the Essentials page.
Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The full instructions are in the green recipe card below.
- Mix the yeast, sugar, and warm water.
- Let it get foamy.
- Mix in the flour and knead until it is soft and elastic - it will feel like your earlobe when you squeeze a bit between your thumb and forefinger. Weird but true.
- Place in an oiled bowl and cover.
- Let rise until doubled.
- Check by pushing your finger in. If the indent stays it has doubled.
- Punch down.
- Shape and place in greased loaf pan - let rise.
- Bake.
Bread flour or all-purpose
This recipe works best with bread flour but you can also use all-purpose if you like. Just be aware that the texture may be a little more dense and your loaf will not rise as high.
If you are using all-purpose flour and you happen to have some wheat gluten around you can replace 1 tablespoon of flour with 1 tablespoon of gluten for every cup.
That will give it the rise and fluffiness you're looking for in this sweet white bread.
Storage
Let the finished bread cool completely then wrap in plastic wrap, use an airtight container, or use a bread bag. Homemade bread gets stale more quickly than commercial breads so plan on eating or freezing within 2 days.
To freeze just wrap in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months.
I like to slice the bread before freezing and place parchment paper between the slices so I can thaw just one or two pieces at a time.
Tips
If you've had trouble with homemade bread recipes before be sure to read these posts on troubleshooting and tips:
- If you want something less sweet you can cut the sugar in half. It will change the texture a bit but will still be great.
- This is one recipe I don't often use butter in. I use organic extra-virgin coconut oil because it adds just a little flavor to the bread. A light vegetable oil will work, too. Try it with coconut oil, light vegetable oil, or melted butter and just see what you like best. Make sure whatever you use is melted and cooled to 100F before adding.
Leftover angel chicken warmed up and served over a thick slice of this homemade bread is one of my favorite quick and easy meals. Try it!
Variations
Amish white bread is a basic loaf with lots of different possible variations. Here are some of my favorite variations.
- Dinner rolls
- Cinnamon rolls
- Sweet rolls
- Hamburger buns
- Cinnamon swirl loaf
- Add 2 cups raisins
- Add 2 cups chocolate chips
- Add 2 cups chopped nuts
Since this recipe freezes so well you can make several batches to have on hand when you need them.
Amish white bread is one of the main breads on my list of homemade pantry staples because it's so easy!
Equipment
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I use a Bosch to make bread with. I love my Kitchenaid but it just doesn't handle heavy doughs as well as I'd like. If you plan on making bread often I'd recommend saving up for a Bosch. It lasts forever. You won't regret it.
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Help it rise!
There are definitely a lot of ways to get yeast doughs to rise - such as keeping it in the oven with the light on, etc.
My favorite is to use a natural dough enhancer like one of these-
- Ground ginger helps to activate the yeast and really get it going.
- Potato water strengthens the structure of the dough allowing it to rise higher.
Click through to 5 Ingredients to Help Your Bread Rise (updated for 2020) to find more great ideas including a recipe for a natural dough enhancer -
Many people have asked me if you "have" to use bread flour. The bread will rise higher and lighter if you do but you can substitute all-purpose flour .
Amish White Bread
Print Pin Recipe SaveEquipment Needed
Ingredients
- 1 cup water, 110F
- 1 cup milk, 110F
- ⅔ cup sugar, (you can use less)
- 1 ½ tablespoons active dry yeast
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ¼ cup vegetable oil, -- coconut oil works really well here (melt it first and let it cool to 100F)! OR use melted butter
- 5-½ cups bread flour, you may need a little more or a little less
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
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Instructions
Conventional method
- Dissolve the sugar in the warm water and milk in a large bowl.
- Whisk in the yeast.
- Set aside for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the yeast mixture gets foamy.
- Stir in 1 cup of the flour.
- Whisk in the salt and oil.
- With the mixer running add the remaining flour, one cup at a time, until the dough pulls away from the bowl.
- Knead by machine about 5 minutes.
Hand kneading
- If you are hand kneading mix in the flour until you have a sticky dough, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic - adding flour as needed.
Rising and shaping
- Oil a large bowl and place the ball of dough in it.
- Oil the top of the dough and then cover with a damp cloth.
- Allow it to rise until it has doubled in bulk. This will take about an hour.
- Punch the dough down.
- Knead for three minutes or so and divide in half.
- Let rest for five minutes.
- Shape into loaves and then place in greased 9x5-inch loaf pans.
- Brush the tops with the melted butter.
- Let rise for 30 minutes, or until the dough has risen an inch or so above the pans.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes, or until loaves sound hollow when tapped.
For a soft crust
- For a soft crust butter the tops and place a clean tea towel over the baked loaves as soon as you take them out of the oven. Let them cool for about 5 minutes and then take them out of the pans to finish cooling, covering them back up with the tea towel.
Bread machine instructions
- Add ingredients to your bread machine in the order the manufacturer recommends.
- Select white bread cycle.
- Press "start".
- When the dough has risen once and second cycle of kneading begins, turn the machine off. Press "start" again to reset the machine.
- The dough will rise a second time before it bakes.
Notes
- If you want something less sweet you can cut the sugar in half. It will change the texture a bit but will still be great.
- This is one recipe I don't often use butter in. I use organic extra-virgin coconut oil because it adds just a little flavor to the bread. A light vegetable oil will work, too. Try it with coconut oil, light vegetable oil, or melted butter and just see what you like best. Make sure whatever you use is melted and cooled to 100F before adding.
- Ground ginger helps to activate the yeast and really get it going.
- Potato water strengthens the structure of the dough allowing it to rise higher.
- Click through to 5 Ingredients to Help Your Bread Rise (updated for 2020) to find more great ideas including a recipe for a natural dough enhancer -
Nutrition Facts
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Diba
I’m trying this again! It tasted amazing but didn’t rise like it should yesterday. When using a stand up mixer, do you use the mixing attachment to mix in the flour and then switch to the dough hook for the 5 minutes of kneading?
Marye
I use the paddle until it's ready to knead. 🙂
Melissa
How much potato water should I add? Do I swap it for something else in the recipe?
Marye
Swap it for any water in the recipe.
Melissa
If I'm pinched for time, can I let it rise in the fridge then punch down for a second rise after work? If so let me know what to do or change? And for how long?
Marye
Yep! So Spray plastic wrap with no stick spray and cover your dough bowl. Refrigerate for no more than 24 hours then proceed according to instructions. Your second rising time may take a bit longer because of the cold.
Rose
Hey there Marye can you please give us your measurements in grams and the liquids in ml's thanks ,i'am sure your cup,spoon and glass are different sizes to us here in australia
Marye
No, I don't work with grams and mls so I wouldn't be comfortable changing from one to the other. There are calculators online that will figure it out for you, though. 🙂
Heather
How do you go about making cinnamon rolls from this recipe?
Marye
Use this recipe ... and then these instructions -https://www.restlesschipotle.com/humongous-pecan-cinnamon-rolls-with-kicked-up-cinnabon-icing/
Linda
I am not a cook of any sort. I love this recepie. I was so excited it turned out so well. Now my husbañd wants only this bread. Fantastic. !
Marye
Im so glad you like it!
Toni
I don't have a stand mixer. Will I still be able to make this?
Marye
You'll have to knead it by hand. I did all my bread by hand for years - it takes a little longer but it's a great workout.
Carol Larson
I have used this recipe for quite awhile. Actually, I put all the ingredients in my bread machine and use the dough function. Then I put the dough in the respective two bread pans …. Wonderful!!!
Kristine vega
on my second rise it didnt rise like stated 1/2 inch over pan what did i do wrong what can i try next time to make it rise over pan?
Marye
There are a lot of possibilities depending on where you live, humidity, and even whether there's a thunderstorm. If it doesn't rise over the pans leave it for a bit longer - maybe 15 or 20 minutes. If it still doesn't rise as high as you'd like just put it in the oven anyway. It will continue to rise as it bakes.
Diba
My bread didn’t rise much above even after an additional 15 minutes. It’s now in the oven and 20 minutes in it hasn’t risen much more and is very brown on top. What did I do wrong? I had such high hopes.
Marye
It's really hard to say. Did you test the water temperature with a insta-read thermometer? Was the yeast fresh? Was it kneaded enough? There are many variables and it's hard to say which it was.
Sherrie
Can you use instant dry yeast and if so how would you incorporate this in the recipe. Thank you
Marye
Use the same amount of instant yeast as active yeast but add it in with the dry ingredients.
Marie
YUM. Until recently I had exactly 0 experience with baking bread. Just a few months ago I started with no-knead Dutch oven artisanal loaves, and I finally wanted to attempt sandwich bread, which seemed more challenging to me. I’m so glad I found this recipe. This bread is SO GOOD. My husband & I can’t stop eating it, and I’ll definitely be pulling this out again & again!!
McKinley
How long is a loaf good for? Or how quickly should you use it before freezing?
Marye
Homemade bread lasts about 2 days. I slice it, stick parchment between the slices and freeze it that way.
Ashley
How many loaves does one batch make?
Marye
Two.
Jess
Can I freeze the dough or do I need to make the loaf before freezing it?
Marye
you can freeze the dough. Add about a 1/4 teaspoon more yeast to the recipe.
Cam
This was so good! I'm new at making bread and the last recipe I tried was not very great.. this one came out delicious and the kids really enjoyed it.
Mary Ann
Do you have to use bread flour?
Marye
It's best but no.
Yolanda Matlock
Tried it! Loved it! The hubs too so how would you turn it into the dinner rolls and cinnamon rolls
Marye
Just shape the dough into rolls before baking - and bake for 15-20 minutes.
Marcia L.
Very easy to let bread machine do the hard work on dough cycle them follow directions starting with 3 minutes knead, rest, shape dough, rise in pans 30 minutes, then bake. Perfect bread!
MAMANICKEL
I love your recipe. I wanted to experiment using bacon grease and it was fantastic. Didn’t actually notice that much flavor difference though. The bread was so tender. Thanks so much!
Marye
It's a great idea to use bacon grease! I do have a bacon bread recipe here - https://www.restlesschipotle.com/bacon-bread/
Kim
I have never actually reviewed a recipe before, but this one is worth it. Literally THE BEST bread recipe I have ever tried. Very versatile and easy to make. I like my bread to be fluffy and have lots of flavor, and this is perfect! My most requested rolls (I have had to make over 1,000 of them so far) is this recipe; I just add slightly less sugar, throw in some cheddar cheese when I’m kneading it, and then smother them with garlic butter fresh out of the oven. This is also the perfect bread recipe to use for cinnamon rolls!