Simple Dairy Free White Bread

Name: Simple Dairy Free White Bread
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 165 min
Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups flour (all-purpose or bread); 2 1/4 tsp yeast (one packet); 1 1/2 tsp salt; 1 cup water; 3 tbsp vegetable or olive oil; 2 tbsp sugar or honey

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If you’re looking for a soft and chewy white bread that’s perfect for sandwiches, toast, and snacking- this recipe is it! Best part? It’s completely dairy free (and technically vegan too!)

a sliced loaf of white bread on a dark wood cutting board

Dairy Free Sandwich Bread

There’s nothing that I don’t love about making homemade white bread. The smell of the yeast dough proofing and baking, all the way up to seeing that gorgeous golden top crust and slicing through to reveal the soft fluffy crumb inside.

This white bread recipe is easy, simple, and PERFECT for beginner bread makers. Speaking of bread makers, I’ve included steps below and on the recipe card explaining how to make dairy free white bread in the bread machine if you don’t wish to make it by hand.

a loaf of golden crusted white bread on a cooling rack

Milk free bread ingredients

Flour: You can use all-purpose flour or bread flour depending on what you have on hand. Both are great, but bread flour has more protein and will give you a slightly chewier texture and stronger bread flavor.

Yeast: You can use any dry active or instant yeast. We will not be proofing the yeast beforehand, so make sure the expiration date on your yeast packet is still good.

Salt: This will help to enahnce the flavors and make the bread taste great.

Water: We will use water to bring the dough together and give it the moisture needed for baking. Room tempertautre water (or slightly warmed) is best.

Oil: You can use either vegetable oil, canola oil, or even olive oil depending on what you have on hand.

Sugar: To feed the yeast we need to add in a little granulated sugar. You could use honey or agave if desired.

What you’ll need to make this recipe

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an upclose view of sliced homemade white bread

Tips for making bread without dairy

If you’ve never made bread before there’s a thing you should note. When bread immediately comes out of the oven, the crust should be hard and sound hollow when tapped. As the loaf cools, the bread crust softens. Similar to how some pancakes feel firm when finished but as they sit on a plate they become flexible and soft.

Now then, when your bread has finished baking it will sound hollow to the tap and if you stick a toothpick inside it will come out clean. An instant read thermometer will read the internal temp at being close to 200 degrees as well. These are all great signs that the bread has finished baking.

I like to brush the top of my bread with butter as soon as it comes out of the oven to give me a nice shine and help add moisture into the crust.

Speaking of moisture in the crust, those little crackles you see on the crust of the bread as it cools are a GOOD THING. So are tiny white spots if your crust develops them. These are tell-tale signs that the crust has a good amount of moisture inside, making the bread nice and soft.

If desired, just before baking your bread loaf, you can score the top of the proofed dough with a sharp knife. This will help to keep your bread from going lopsided as it bakes and gives it somewhere to expand. Of course, bread does have a mind of its own, so it’s more like a helpful suggestion from you to the dough to do what you want. It can still choose to surprise you.

Make sure you wait at least an hour (if not more) before slicing into the bread with a serrated knife after it cools. This time is important for the bread to soften, retain moisture locked inside, and become that fluffy white sandwich bread that rivals that of storebought.

a sliced loaf of white bread next to pads of butter and a jar of jelly with used knife

FAQ’s about dairy free white bread

Can homemade bread be frozen?

Yes. You can freeze the dough just beofre the second rise or you can freeze the loaf after it has completely cooled. For best result make sure its well wrapped and covered so it wont get freezerburnt or lose flavor/dry out.

How long will homemade bread last?

Once baked homemade bread should last about 3-5 days if stored in an airtight container at room temperature. It doesn’t last as long as storebought loaves due to the lack of preservatives.

How to tell when homemade bread is done

Your bread should have an internal temperature close to 200 degrees F on an instant read thermometer and should have a golden brown top crust. When tapped, the sound should be hollow and if the pan is shaken, the bread should not be wiggly like an unset pudding.

Can I make sandwich bread in advance?

Yes, you can make the dough and let it do it’s first round of proofing in the bowl as directed. Then when you go to place in the the loaf pan for the second rise, simply cover it well in plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge for up to 8-10 hours or in the freezer. Once frozen solid, place in an airtight conainter for up to 3 months. Thaw the bread overnight in the fridge (in the pan) and once morning has arrived preheat the oven and for either method (fridge or freezer) let the loaf rest on the counter for about an hour to come to room temp. Bake as directed.

a collage showing how to make dairy free white bread

How to make dairy free bread

Whisk together the flour, yeast, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
Make a well in the center and add in the sugar, oil, and water.
Stir the dough to combine.
Turn the sticky dough out onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Feed it more flour as you knead, until the dough is no longer sticky. The total amount of flour needed to feed it should be about 1/2-1 cup but can vary.
Place dough into a large mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in size.
Roll the dough back out onto a floured surface and shape into a log a little longer than your bread pan.
Place the log of dough into a greased bread pan, tucking the edges underneath so that it’s pretty.
Cover the top of the dough again and wait about an hour until doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and bake bread for 30-35 minutes.
Cool the bread for at least one hour before slicing.

Bread machine option

Place the dough ingredients into your bread machine in the order specified by the owner’s manual. Mine goes from wets to dry with yeast being added last.
Close the lid and set the machine to “dough cycle” and wait for the beep at the end.
Take your dough and turn it onto a lightly floured surface. Knead about a minute and then shape into a log.
Place the log into the greased bread pan, tucking under the ends.
Cover and let rise 1 hour until doubled.
Bake 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees F until golden brown.
Let cool an hour before slicing.

jelly being spread onto a slice of white bread with open jelly jar and sliced bread to the sides

More great dairy free recipes to try

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5 from 6 votes