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.
If you want to take your bread baking further, my brioche bread recipe gives you that buttery, croissant-like richness with the same satisfying process.
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)
Andria Morrow says
Love this bread recipe! Super easy, especially using the instant. Made white and wheat, both are delicious ?. I gave some away to my family. Thank you Liz for sharing all your recipes
The Sugar Geek Show says
Thank you so much!
Kathys says
I’ve made 8 loaves to give to family and friends and it was quick and delicious and they were so appreciative! Thanks for such a great recipe! ❤️
Stacy says
This is the best bread recipe ever. It’s nearly impossible to mess up. I’ve done instant yeast and sour dough instant yeast and they were both delicious. If I can do it I promise, anyone can.
Christine K says
This recipe is easy and delicious! This is the first time I made bread from scratch without using my bread machine. The bread was so good, I made it again the next night to share with family and friends! Thanks for the detailed instructions and video. They really helped with making the breads.
JSB says
I halfed the recipe and baked in a loaf pan! This is my first time baking bread loaf! It’s so good!!! Thanks so much!
Traci says
Never made bread before. Turned out amazing and tastes great. Thanks for another awesome recipe!
Rita Marra says
I made a batch of this delicious bread and it was so good that I went ahead and made a couple more to give to friends during quarantine! So yummy and easy to make!
Nicole Yacktman says
This bread was super easy to make and was delicious!! My entire family ate it super fast. I make lots of different kinds of bread and this is our favorite! Thank you so much!!
Sabrina says
I have made 6 loaves of bread with this recipe in two days! My kids devoured it and we drove around and gave a loaf to four of our friends to bring them joy. It was easy and delicious and I highly recommend this recipe.
Sara Weber says
I'm an experienced baker but yeast bread intimidates me plus it takes so long and I never have time to wait on it to rise. This recipe is PERFECT because it is so easy to follow (no intimidation) plus the video helps you clarify any questions plus the instant yeast means this bread is ready to bake in less then 45 min from start to rise to putting it in the oven. I baked 15 loaves to give away and it only took me about 3.5 hours from start to finish. I didn't have enough milk for all the batches so I switched to canned evaporated milk and even added some water to make sure we had enough ingredients to finish all the loaves and they turned out perfectly. Seems like it would be hard to mess this one up- we even tried to mess one up by kneading it a little too much after it had already risen an it wasn't pretty (bumpy and lumpy) but it baked up beautifully and still tasted just as delicious as all our other loaves. This is pretty much a no-fail, no-fuss recipe that tastes like heaven.
The Sugar Geek Show says
Thank you so much for your feedback Sara, and congratulations on making so much bread for your community. That is amazing.
Amrita says
Thank you so much Liz for sharing such fabulous recipes?I’ve always been intimidated in making breads and it’s always ended up in a disaster. But your recipe is truly foolproof, so easy to follow and I love your tips. My daughters (8 year old and 2 year old ) loved it too! We actually devoured 1 1/2 loaves already in a day. Looking forward to making more breads all thanks to you??
The Sugar Geek Show says
Thank you so much Amrita! I appreciate that so much
Melanie says
Pretty easy and delicious! My family loved it!
Krissy Krueger says
I love Liz's recipes, and like the others this one did not disappoint. I used active dry yeast so i rose myndough for 90 minutes and then 30 minutes after scoring. I also used 26 oz flour bc i subbed about 1/4 for whole wheat bread flour (just because i like the flecks) and my boys love it! I used half one of loaf to make croutons, and they ate the other half loaf for dinner lol!
This will definitely be in our rotation, i cant wait to try hamburger and hoagie rolls! Thanks liz! <3
The Sugar Geek Show says
Thank you so much Krissy! Im so happy you loved this recipe <3
Linda says
This bread is awesome! This was my first time making bread and it's such an easy recipe to follow. I've probably made like 10 loaves by now, it's been such a life saver during the quarantine. Thank you Liz!!
Bettyann Dupuis says
Since I have had great success with your bread recipe,I would like very much to make your cinnamon rolls. Where can I find the recipe.? Thank you in advance.
The Sugar Geek Show says
Here you are 🙂 you can also do a search for "cinnamon rolls" on my blog in the search box and they will pop up https://sugargeekshow.com/homemade-cinnamon-rolls-recipe/