I love this super fast bread recipe for last-minute bread. Sometimes it's 4 pm and suddenly I decide I want fresh bread for dinner!
If you are new to baking bread, this easy bread recipe is for you. I've had TONS of reviews from people all over the world who have never made bread before but could make this bread perfectly the first time.
What ingredients do you need to make bread fast
** Check the notes at the bottom of the recipe card below for recipe alternatives and substitutions**
A lot of people are intimidated by making homemade bread. You don't need any special bread machines or even a mixer (although having one will save you some elbow grease).
You only need these ingredients to make a fast bread recipe in 60 minutes
- Bread Flour (or all-purpose flour)
- Milk (or water)
- Sugar
- Instant Yeast (you can use regular active dry yeast, see notes at the bottom of the recipe card)
- Salt
- Egg wash
The secret to fast bread is using Instant yeast. I'm using saf-instant yeast. You can usually find instant yeast right next to the regular yeast at the grocery store.
You don't have to use saf-instant yeast, any brand that says instant will work. Red Star Instant yeast is another popular brand.
Instant yeast is like regular yeast on steroids. You don't need to mix it with the milk and sugar to bloom it. Just mix it in with the flour, add in the liquid and mix! Using instant yeast makes this bread recipe extra easy because you don't have to bloom the yeast, just mix it in with the flour, sugar, and milk.
Instant yeast rises much faster than active dry yeast which makes this fast bread recipe so great.
How do you make easy homemade bread fast?
Combine your flour, yeast, sugar and warm (110ºF) milk in the bowl of your stand mixer and combine for one minute at low speed.
Don't add in your salt and butter right away, it can get in the way of the yeast activating.
After one minute, add in the salt and butter. If your dough is too slippery from the butter, sprinkle in ¼ cup of flour to soak up the butter and is kneading properly in the bowl and not just spinning round and round. If the dough is still not sticking to the sides of the bowl, add a couple of tablespoons of water.
Let the dough mix on medium speed for 5 minutes.
How do you know when the bread dough is done mixing?
Mixing is the MOST important step in making homemade bread. Developing that gluten is key.
Poke your dough, does it bounce back? That's a sign it's ready.
Roll a piece of dough in your hand, is it smooth and silky? If so, then it's ready. If it's sticky and lumpy, it needs more mixing.
You can test to see if your bread has developed enough gluten by doing the windowpane test. Start by pulling off some of the dough and carefully stretching it between your fingers to make a little window.
If you can make it super thin without it breaking, then you're good to go.
If the dough isn't ready, keep mixing for another 2 minutes on medium speed or until the gluten test can be performed successfully. Don't worry about over-mixing.
You can do all of this by hand but it will take longer. Probably about 10-15 minutes of kneading. Don't worry, it's basically impossible to over-knead dough by hand.
How do you proof bread fast?
Time to let this dough rise! Place it into a lightly oiled bowl and cover it with a tea towel to keep in the moisture.
Place your dough in a warm area to rise for 25 minutes. That's it! Super easy! (If you're using active dry yeast instead of instant, let the dough rise 90 minutes)
I put mine next to an open oven set to 170F. Don't put your dough IN the oven or the hot temperature will kill your yeast.
How do you make easy bread loaves fast?
The best part about this bread other than how fast it is, you don't need any special loaf pans.
Just shape your loaves into two (or three or four depending on how many loaves you want). I've even made hamburger buns and hotdog buns with this recipe.
Tuck all the rough edges underneath to form a nice smooth skin on top. This will make your bread look really lovely after it's baked.
Place your two loaves onto a pan with some parchment paper. Make sure they have a good 8" between them so they don't end up touching as they bake.
Let them rest on the pan for 20 minutes. (If you're using active dry yeast, let the bread rise for 30 minutes)
Brush the surface of your loaves with some egg wash to promote browning.
Then make 3 or 4 slices on top of the loaf with a sharp knife at a 30º angle about ¼" deep. (wow that is super specific I know).
These slices help the bread rise evenly and keep it from tearing.
Bake your bread for 25-30 minutes at 375ºF. I rotated my loaves halfway through baking to prevent uneven browning.
And that is how you make the MOST amazing, super easy fast bread recipe in only 60 minutes.
How long does this homemade bread last?
We devoured one whole loaf with dinner and saved the other loaf for tomorrow. The great thing about this fast bread recipe is you can make more bread easily whenever you need it.
Wrap your loaf in plastic wrap to seal in moisture and leave it on the countertop.
You can reheat slices or the whole loaf either in the microwave for 10 seconds or in the oven for 2-3 minutes.
Need more bread recipes? Check these out
Easy Soft Dinner Rolls
Easy Focaccia Bread
Master Sweet Dough Recipe
Recipe
Equipment
- Stand mixer with dough hook
Ingredients
- 28 ounces bread flour or all purpose (about 5 ½ cups, spooned and leveled)
- 10 grams instant yeast needs to be instant (about 3 teaspoons)
- 2 ounces sugar 4 Tablespoons
- 16 ounces warm milk (110ºF) or water (two cups)
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 ounces melted unsalted butter ¼ cup
Instructions
- Heat milk to 110ºF-115ºF
- Combine flour, instant yeast, sugar, and milk in the bowl of your stand mixer with the dough hook attached and mix for one minute
- Add in salt and melted butter
- Add in a ¼ cup more flour if the dough is not sticking to the bowl because of the butter. If the dough is still not sticking to the bowl, add in 1-2 Tablespoons of water.
- Mix for 5 minutes on speed 2
- After 5 minutes, take a piece of dough and stretch it between your fingers. If you can make a very thin "window" that does not tear then you have developed enough gluten and you can shape your dough.
- If the window tears, then mix for 2 more minutes.
- Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 4-5 turns until you can form a smooth ball
- Coat a large bowl in a little olive oil
- Place the dough top side down into the bowl to get the top of the dough covered in oil then flip it over. Cover with a cloth and place in a warm area for 25 minutes to rise until the dough doubles in size *see notes*
- Preheat your oven to 375ºF
- Divide your dough into two loaves (or more if you want to make hoagie's or rolls)
- Let your loaves rest for 20 minutes
- Brush your loaves with egg wash to promote a nice golden brown color
- Use a sharp knife to make three slashes at a 30º angle in the top of the loaf, about ¼" deep. These slashes make the loaves look nice and also keeps the crust from tearing while it bakes in the oven.
- Bake your loaves for about 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. You can also use a thermometer to check the center of your bread. If the temperature reads 190º - 200º your bread is done.
Video
Notes
1. Let your dough proof for 90 minutes or until it doubles in size
2. Divide the dough, shape, brush with egg wash, make cuts with the knife and let rest for 30 minutes before baking. ** Egg wash - crack one egg and whisk with 1 Tablespoon of water. Use a soft pastry brush to brush it onto the loaves. If you don't use egg wash your bread will be very pale. You can also use milk instead of egg for the wash. ** You can use oil instead of butter ** You can use water or almond milk in place of milk ** You can replace white flour with wheat flour (use 24 oz instead 28 oz because wheat flour is denser than white flour)
Jean says
Very simple recipe. Turned out fantastic.
Hermione says
I loved it, please make recipe like that!!!
Jess Jarvis says
Has anyone tried a cinnamon brown sugar version of this bread?
joseph says
this was the best bred I have ever made
Joyce says
Dough was very tight, had to finish kneading by hand. Came out nearly perfect. Maybe a tad underproved, but perfectly delicious. Followed instructions exactly and proofed in oven with the light on intermittently for extra warmth. I was Impressed by how much the loaves grew in the oven! So glad it made two…I can put one in the freezer.
Fathima says
This is my regular bread now I make everytime my family loves it I stopped buying bread outside now.Thanks a lot!!
terri toner says
Came out wonderfully. My go to recipe now.
Pam says
I used to make bread 35 years ago using the regular yeast, so when I wanted to make it using the instant yeast, I came across this recipe. It is delicious. My grandkids couldn't get enough, and all they would eat before was store bought white bread.
Gabriela says
This recipe was easy and delicious. The most perfect recipe for bread. I loved this one.
Janio says
WOW! Hello Liz, this bread turned out amazing. I didn't have instant so l used active
dry yeast and froth it in warm milk a few minutes. Also
increased the rise time to 75
minutes. What type of bread would you categorize it? It slices up incredibly well and is delicious. Thank you so much for sharing. We will be baking this often.
Elizabeth Marek says
This is a rich dough. Im so glad you liked it and it worked well for you!
CDB-Rock says
Turned out perfect and was a great compliment to our pasta dinner.
Becky says
I’ve been intimidated to make bread after a big fail several years ago. And, I even looked over the whole recipe before I started. I followed each step. The only thing is that I messed up on the milk. I was thinking it said 2cups of milk. I only had 11/4 so I filled the rest of the 2cups with water. The bread still came out nice. A little dense, but soft, like the bread loaf at Spaghetti Factory. Will try again later with 1cup milk.
Sally says
Love this recipe!! It's become my go to.
Making hamburger rolls today.
Thank you and I don't change a thing.
Elizabeth Marek says
Thank you so much!
Laura J says
This bread recipe in incredible, probably the best bread I’ve ever made and so easy to make.
I had to mix with the dough hook for much longer than 5 minutes (my mixer is on its last legs) but despite that the bread still turned out super soft and fluffy.
I used water instead of milk and it turned out amazing. Got two good sized loafs out of this recipe. Have stored one in the fridge and is still going strong a couple of days later.
This will be my new go to bread recipe!
Elisa says
I’m much more familiar with sourdough, so I was nervous how this would turn out but even with my kitchen aid down, still came out beautifully brown and soft!