Bread machine white bread — fully automated

Set it and forget it. Load the ingredients, press start, and the bread machine handles mixing, kneading, rising, and baking automatically. The result is a soft sandwich-style loaf in about 3 hours with only 5 minutes of hands-on work.

Yield: 1 loaf (1.5 lb) | Prep: 5 min | Machine cycle: 3 hrs

Ingredients (add in this order)

• 240ml (1 cup) warm water (110F)
• 28g (2 tbsp) softened or melted butter
• 25g (2 tbsp) sugar
• 7g (1 1/4 tsp) salt
• 360g (3 cups) bread flour
• 16g (2 tbsp) dry milk powder (optional, for softer texture)
• 4.5g (1 1/2 tsp) instant yeast (added last, in a well on top of flour)

Instructions

1. Load ingredients into the bread machine pan in the order listed. Liquids first, dry ingredients next, yeast last in a small well in the flour.
2. Select Basic/White bread cycle, 1.5 lb size, medium crust.
3. Check at 10 minutes: Open the lid and verify the dough forms a smooth, slightly tacky ball. Adjust with flour or water 1 tablespoon at a time.
4. Remove promptly when the cycle finishes. Cool on a wire rack.

Tips

• Use bread flour (12-14% protein), not all-purpose — it produces better gluten structure and a taller loaf
• The ingredient order matters: liquids first prevents yeast from activating prematurely
• Measure flour by weight — too much flour is the number-one cause of dense bread machine loaves
• Remove the loaf immediately when done to avoid condensation sogging the crust
• Top machines: Zojirushi Virtuoso Plus ($350-400, best overall), Breville Custom Loaf ($300-350, collapsible paddle = no hole), Cuisinart CBK-200 ($100-130, best budget)