Classic Easy Homemade Amish White Bread

24 servings
45 min

The smell of homemade bread is reason enough to dive into the world of baking it. And, because this recipe for Classic Amish White Bread is so easy, you just might give up buying store-bought white bread forever.


And when it's coming from your own oven in your own kitchen, made from dough you yourself mixed from scratch, it smells and tastes even better.


Homemade bread can be intimidating, I can't lie. There are definitely bread recipes out there that I can't even look at because they give me anxiety just thinking about attempting them, but this recipe is certainly not one of them.


Go ahead, dive in! The water's warm over here in the deep end of the Amish white bread-making pool. You'll never look back down that grocery store bread aisle again.

Classic Easy Homemade Amish White Bread
Recipe details
  • 24  servings
  • Prep time: 15 Minutes Cook time: 30 Minutes Total time: 45 min
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Ingredients

  • 2 cups warm water 110ºF / 43ºC
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 6 cups bread flour
Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the sugar in the warm water, stirring with a whisk to ensure the sugar is fully dissolved.
Sprinkle the yeast on top of sugar water and give a quick stir.
Leave the yeast to proof in the sugar water until bubbly foam forms on top, approximately 5-10 minutes.
Turn the mixer on low and with the paddle attachment, mix in the salt and oil.
While the mixer is running on low, add flour one cup at a time just until incorporated. Do not over mix
Turn dough out onto clean work surface dusted with flour and knead for 2-3 minutes until smooth.
Brush a large clean bowl with vegetable oil, place dough in bowl and turn to coat lightly in oil on all sides.
Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rise in a warm spot (see 2nd note below for creating a good proofing environment for your dough) until doubled in size, approximately 1 hour.
With a silicone brush, oil two 9x5 inch loaf pans with vegetable oil. Set aside
Once dough has doubled in size, remove damp cloth and punch dough down to remove air bubbles.
Turn out onto a clean work surface very lightly dusted with flour and knead again for a few minutes.
With a bench scraper or very sharp knife, divide in half (does not have to be exact).
Working with one half at a time, flatten slightly into an oval shape.
Fold top third of the dough down to the middle of the dough (like you’re folding a letter) and with the palm of your hand, gently press the seam down to close.
Turn the dough 180 degrees so the folded portion is now closest to you and fold top third down to the middle of the dough, pressing the seam gently with your palm to close.
Fold dough in half by taking the top half and folding it over the bottom half and use your palm to press seam together (for video on how to do this, click here).
Place each loaf into its own oiled loaf pan.
Cover both loaf pans with damp cloth and place in warm spot to rise for 30-60 minutes, or until dough has risen 1 inch above pans.
When dough has about 15 minutes left in its second rise, preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Once fully risen, bake for 30 minutes.
Allow to cool in pans for about an hour then remove and allow to fully cool on cooling rack.
Slice, slather with whipped butter, and enjoy!
Tips
  • Be sure your water is warm otherwise the sugar will not dissolve fully - To proof the dough, set your oven to 350 degrees F for one minute (no longer!), turn the oven off, and stick the covered dough inside with the oven light on. This creates a great environment in which to proof your dough
  • Here's a great tutorial on shaping the dough into loaves
  • Remove your proofed loaves from the oven about 10 minutes before they've fully risen so that you may preheat the oven for baking
Kim | kickassbaker.com
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Comments
  • Gayle Gayle on Aug 11, 2022

    Anyone who thinks they’re going to do this in 15 minutes lives in dreamland. There is 20 steps and the dough has to rise twice for about an hour each time before it even goes into the oven to bake.

  • Daina Steilberg Flowers Daina Steilberg Flowers on Aug 11, 2022

    How do you mix if you don’t have a stand mixer? The Amish don’t have stand mixers…???

    • See 8 previous
    • Gene Gene on Aug 30, 2023

      Amish do not have electricity. Mennonites look like old order Amish and DO have electricity. How do you think your great grandmother made bread without electricity? Elbow grease!!!

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