Amish Bread Recipe

A loaf of Amish white bread on a black wire cooling rack.

4.95 from 36 votes

This easy Amish White Bread recipe makes a slightly sweet, soft & tender loaf that so much much better and fresher than picking up a loaf of bread at the store. It's the perfect homemade bread for sandwiches, toast, or just eaten piping hot from the oven slathered with butter and honey or jam!

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Additional Time1 30

Total Time2 15

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 241kcal

Author: Amy Nash

Ingredients

2 cups warm water (around 110°F)
⅓ cup granulated sugar (67g)
2 Tablespoons honey
1 ½ Tablespoons active dry yeast
¼ cup vegetable or canola oil
1 ½ teaspoons salt
5 ½ to 6 cups bread flour, scooped & leveled (846g)
2 Tablespoons salted butter, for brushing or rubbing on top of the finished loaves

Instructions

In a large bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, add the warm water, sugar, honey and yeast and stir to combine. Allow the yeast to proof until foamy, about 5-10 minutes.
Once the yeast is bubbly, add the soil, salt, and 2 cups of flour and mix well. Continue adding flour, one cup at a time, kneading with the dough hook on medium speed until the dough is smooth, about 5 minutes. This can also be done by hand for 7-8 minutes instead if you don't have a mixer with a dough hook attachment.
Transfer the smooth, elastic dough to a large greased bowl, turning the bread dough to coat it lightly in the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Once the dough has risen, punch it down (literally just make a fist and push it once or twice right in the center of the risen dough). Divide the dough in half and shape into loaves by forming two oblong logs and placing each loaf into two oiled 9x5-inch bread pans. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a clean cloth and allow the loaves to rise for another 30-45 minutes, or until dough has risen about 1 inch above pans.
When the dough is close to being ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake for 28-30 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. The loaves should have a hollow sound when you thump them and register 190°F on a digital thermometer stuck into the center of each loaf.
Rub the top of each hot loaf of bread with a cold stick of butter or brush with melted butter (whichever approach is easiest for you), then turn the loaves out onto a clean cloth or cooling rack. Slice and use for sandwiches, toast, or just slathered with butter, honey, or jam.

Notes

Storage: Wrap your warm loaves in a clean tea towel or dish cloth until they have cooled completely to keep them soft, then store in an airtight container for 4-5 days.
Freezing: You can certainly freeze a loaf to half on hand. Just let it cool completely, then wrap in a couple of layers of plastic wrap and stick the bread in a gallon-size Ziploc freezer bag for 2-3 months. Thaw before using.
Measuring flour: I calculated the grams using the scoop & level approach to measuring flour, which I think is the most common approach for the majority of home bakers.
Soft, buttery tops: Rubbing the top of each loaf with a cold stick of butter right when they come out of the oven makes it so, so good and keeps the crust nice and tender.
Rise in a warm spot: I like to let my bread dough rise in a sunny window or on the counter by the stove where it's warm. But I have heard of using your instant pot on the yogurt setting to rise the bread in half the time. And if your house is really cold, you could set an empty oven to 200°F for 10 minutes, then turn it off and set your bread in there to rise. Just don't forget it's in there and start preheating the oven for something else.
Utah scones (aka fry bread): Before punching down the dough, this recipe works well for making fry bread or Utah scones by pinching off small chunks of dough (a little larger than golf ball size), and flattening and stretching them by hand into patties. Cut a small slit in the middle of each dough patty so that it will cook through evenly, then fry in a thin layer of hot oil in a frying pan, turning to brown each side. Serve hot with honey, jam, or powdered sugar and a glass of cold milk.

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