The Gold Medal White Bread recipe is one of the easiest and most reliable sandwich bread recipes I can think of. It makes a fluffy, very high rising yeast bread and with a golden brown crust. It's perfect for sandwiches of all types. I like this one because it's pretty straightforward, doesn't require any milk or starter (it's actually vegan!), and has a nice look to it.
My version is a halved version of the one from the Gold Medal flour bag, The original recipe from Gold Medal is double this. Update: checked the link and they moved the original version to the Betty Crocker site. They call it Classic White, but it's basically the same recipe, just double this.
Gold Medal White Bread Tips
- Using bread flour gives you a tighter crumbed yeast bread, but you can also make this bread with all-purpose flour. I always weigh the flour. 3 cups weighs about 420 grams. Or at least here it does! Who knows what that wacky flour will weigh on any given day.
- Shortening is the best choice for greasing pans, as it doesn't burn.
- Quick rising yeast does not need to be proofed. You can mix it directly with the dry ingredients.
- You can substitute honey for the sugar.
- I recently tried using olive oil in place of the shortening. It worked well.
- The high heat gives the bread a beautiful golden brown crust.
- Give the bread plenty of time to cool so it will be easy to slice. It's even easier to slice when cold, so you may want to refrigerate it.
- If you don't need the whole loaf at once you can cut it in half and freeze the rest.
If you would prefer a wheat bread recipe, here's a link to one for Wheat and Flax Bread. It's good too.
Recipe
Gold Medal White Bread
Ingredients
- 3 to 3 ½ cups Gold Medal bread flour (or any brand) (420 grams)
- 1 ½ tablespoons sugar (20 grams)
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon shortening (butter and olive oil work too) (12 grams)
- 2 ¼ teaspoons quick rising yeast
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons very warm water 120° to 130°F
Instructions
- Grease an 8 ½ by 4 ½ or a 9x5 inch pan with shortening and line with a strip of parchment paper if desired.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together 1 ¾ cup of the flour (about 240 grams), the sugar, salt, shortening and yeast. Add the water and beat with the paddle attachment until well blended, then add remaining flour about ¾ cup at a time until you have a dough that is just slightly sticky but no longer clings to the side of the pan when mixed.
- Attach dough hook and let the machine knead for about 8 minutes, adding a little extra flour as needed.
- Cover bowl and let rise for 45 minutes or until about doubled in bulk.
- On a pastry mat or large clean surface (use extra flour if your dough is sticky), roll or just pat the dough into a rectangle that is 9x18. Starting with the 9 inch side, roll into a cylinder, pinching down dough as you roll.
- Squash the dough a bit into a 9 inch log and plop it into the pan. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise for another hour or just until it is about 1 inch (in the middle) over the edge of the pan.
- Bake at 425 degrees F. for about 30 minutes. Alternatively, you can bake at 425 degrees f for the first 15 minutes, then lower the heat and bake at 375 for another 20 to 25. I like using the second method these days.
- Let cool, then carefully remove from pan and let cool completely before slicing.
Anna says
Good luck! I think this is a pretty good recipe to start with. I'll watch the comment section if you have any questions along the way.
Hilda H. Cheff says
This is the first time I am going to try to bake bread due to the increase prices at the local markets Wish me luck!
Anna says
Thanks Chris! I'll add a note about using active dry yeast and doubling the rise time.
Chris says
hi again,
Delicious - this came out great, thanks for the help!
with the active dry yeast and all purpose flour the rise times were about doubled.
Anna says
Good luck with the bread! My mixer with dough hook is in storage, so I'm having to knead dough by hand and getting different results. I also can't find bread flour anywhere, but all-purpose is working just fine for the most part.
Chris says
thanks! during my lockdown I'm trying new things!
Anna says
Yes, just dissolve it in warm water first. I've been using regular active (non-quick rising) too this week. Also, it should take longer to rise -- maybe up to 76 minutes depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
Chris says
Can active dry yeast be used instead? It's all I could get at the store this week....
Stephanie says
I also have a daughter heading to university but two more kids still at home. It's been an emotionally draining summer for me as I am excited and happy for her but also sad at the thought she won't be home all the time. It sounds as if you've had a crazy summer as well. Thanks for the bread recipe.
Anna says
Mary, I'm so happy to hear a lot of your tried and true recipes came from here. I hope I can give you some more in the future. And yes, Fuzz is all grown up. Boo hoo.
Mary Murphy says
Congratulations on your move! I can't believe Fuzz is off to college- I remember seeing her as a 7-9 year old when I first started following your blog! Almost all of "my" tried-and-true cookie recipes are yours- thank you- I can't wait to see your new culinary adventures
Meg says
Sounds like you have lots of excitement ahead!
Congratulations on this new adventure and good luck with the move. I look forward to hearing more about your baking once you're settled :).
Anna says
Rhonda, thanks for sharing that. We're hoping to have a little more freedom since we won't be stuck on the school schedule. Also, I'm glad that oatmeal cookie is one you and your family like.
Rhonda says
Being empty nesters has lots of pluses if you look for them.
I’ve baked your One Bowl Oatmeal Raisin cookie recipe many times. I baked them today for my brother, parents and 5 of my grands. One grandson came to me while he happily cookie eating and said “Grandma, I know what kind of job you should get, You should be a Chef”.
I’m glad he liked the cookies but I have zero plans to return to the workforce.
Thanks again for that great recipe.
Sonya says
That's all exciting! Thanks for sharing the news!
Anna says
It works really well for toasted BLTs. That's mostly what we used it for!
Sue says
It sounds like a lot is happening in your life!
Do you have any idea how this toasts? BLT season is just around the corner.