How to make homemade egg bread
This has popped up on my menu plan a few times here and there and lots of you have asked for the recipe. But it's taken me FOREVER to get around to posting it.
Sorry 'bout that!
This is a soft, slightly sweet white bread. It's got a more tender crumb than regular white sandwich bread, partly because it's made with milk, not water, and partly because it has more fat in it, in the form of eggs.
It's a bit like the dough you'd use to make cinnamon swirl bread, and it's pretty darn delicious.
I often use it to make panini because it's firm enough to hold up to the grill pan but also soft enough to compress the way a panini should.
But it's also delicious as-is, and it makes delightful toast.
To start, combine flour and yeast in your mixer bowl.
Heat your butter, milk, salt, and sugar to 120°F, at which point the butter should be pretty soft.
Add the warm milk mixture to the mixer bowl, and beat until combined.
The add in the eggs.
Beat for 3 minutes on medium speed, then stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough.
(IMPORTANT NOTE: Add only enough flour to make the dough soft. The amount of flour necessary will vary depending on the type of flour you use, how you measure your flour, the humidity of your home, and so on. Go by touch, not by the cups of flour.)
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead for 2-3 minutes (alternatively, you can finish kneading in the mixer.)
When you're done kneading, your dough should be a nice cohesive ball, but it should not be stiff.
See how this kind of flattens out a bit on my counter in the photo below?
It should not be firm enough to hold its shape (way softer than cookie dough, for instance.)
If your dough is too hard, it's not going to rise well and you'll end up with a dense loaf.
We're going for a nice, soft dough here, people! Again, add flour based on feel, not so much on the cup measurements.
Put your dough into the bowl, cover it with a wet tea towel, and let it rise for an hour.
After it rises, turn it out onto a floured surface and divide it into three pieces.
Note: you can make four loaves out of this dough if you don't want super tall loaves.
But I like my loaves pretty tall, and besides, three loaf pans fit in my oven better than four.
So three loaves it is for me!
Roll one piece out into an oblong shape, then roll it up, starting at the short end.
Place the loaf into a greased 4x8-inch loaf pan, and repeat with remaining pieces of dough.
(I use Williams-Sonoma Goldtouch loaf pans.)
Cover the loaves and let them rise for about 30 minutes, or until they're doubled in size.
(I am not the awesomest at dividing dough evenly. And I am also too lazy to weigh my dough!)
Before the loaves are done rising, turn your oven on to 350°F.
You want it to be nice and hot by the time your dough is done rising because loaves that go into a hot oven will rise better and brown better than loaves that go into a cold oven.
Bake the loaves for 25-30 minutes, or until they're nicely browned.
Remove the loaves from the pans and let them cool on a wire rack.
These are the cooling racks I own.
They are so, so, so much better than the rickety ones I use to own, and I love that the cross-hatch design on these means that baked goods don't sag down between the bars.
So.
That's how I make egg bread. Go make some for yourself!
(By the way, if you've been having trouble with your yeast bread and you need some help figuring out what went wrong, read this post all about troubleshooting common yeast bread problems.)
This soft, slightly sweet bread is lovely on its own but also makes great sandwiches. You can make shorter loaves by using larger loaf pans. Or you can halve the recipe and make two loaves in the 8x4 inch loaf pans.
Homemade Egg Bread
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
I should try my hand at making bread - this looks really good and my peeps would likely love getting fresh bread from the oven!
Gina, I just started baking my own bread the past few years and I love it. The reason I never did before was due to the steps..mix, let rise, wait, punch down, let rise, wait, blah..blah. However, once I tried it I began to learn to work it in between my other household chores. My family loves it fresh out of the oven with honey and butter, so delicious. Always make a few loaves at time no matter what recipe you choose to use. It's as easy to make a few loaves as it is to make one and you can chunk them in the freezer. One thing I have learned the hard way is that fresh baked bread molds quicker than bread from the store so if you don't use it within 2 to 3 days put it in the freezer.
I started making bread years ago following your French bread recipe. Now, thanks to health issues, we're gluten free, so no more bread making. I so miss it, especially when I see posts like this!
Oh, that's hard! and there are gluten-free bread recipes from ATK but they are definitely not quite the same.
Melissa, have you tried the GF recipes from King Arthur Flour? I haven't myself, but most KAF recipes that I have tried have been keepers.
Here's a link to GF recipes on their website:
https://search.kingarthurflour.com/search?p=Q&lbc=kingarthurflour&uid=994624365&ts=custom&w=Gluten%20Free%20Recipes&method=and&view=grid&af=type:recipes
Kristen, 3 loaves is a lot for us, but I love fresh baked bread. Where in the process do you think I could freeze the extra 2 dough balls before baking?
I would personally do 4 loaves so your pieces wouldn't be huge. 🙂 Then wrap tightly in saran wrap & put either in a saved bread bag or another gallon size bag. Anytime we buy bread we always save the bags for future use. It should be good for a couple months this way.
This sounds like a good recipe
opps didn't catch freezing the dough balls that I don't know 🙂
I don't know the answer to your question, but I have a whole wheat bread recipe that makes three loaves...I bake all three and freeze two for later. It always comes out of the freezer tasting delicious. Obviously you don't get the "fresh out of the oven" yumminess, but still, delicious bread! 🙂
I'd actually just halve the recipe and make two smaller loaves. Then you could freeze one while you eat the other one fresh.
You could try freezing the dough after you knead it, then let it thaw in the fridge until it's completely unfrozen, and then shape it into a loaf, but I'm not positive how the results would be. I usually just bake all the loaves and then freeze the extra loaves.
Ooooh thank you for this recipe! There are some weeks where I have way too many eggs and this would be a fantastic way to use them up.
Mr. Picky Pincher is extremely Picky about his sandwich bread. I've been looking for a homemade bread that meets his specifications, so I'm hoping this recipe will be light and fluffy enough to pass the test. 🙂
This looks like the dinner roll dough that my mother used to use, and passed on to me. I know the rolls are delicious, so I'll bet the bread is fabulous. The recipe looks easy to divide in half -- my mixer won't take that much flour at once, or at least, the manual says not to put in that much, so I think I might try halving that and making one or two loaves out of it.
I admit I had to chuckle at the uneven sizes -- I can't divide my dough equally either, and I've even weighed it and still got unevenly sized loaves. Don't sweat the small stuff, right?
Sounds delish. I promise that I am not a nit-picky reader about spelling errors, but I did get a smile out of your recipe--did you know that you wrote "party" for "partly"? I think more fat in a recipe calls for a party, so it seems appropriate to me. 🙂
Oh, haha, whoops! That's kind of a funny typo.
I fixed it now.
This looks marvelous. Thanks so much for sharing! I'll have to try to make the recipe this weekend.
Just to clarify..... This calls for 2 pkgs of yeast which would be 2 1/4 tsp EACH, right? So 4.5 tsp yeast total? I buy my yeast by the pound (therefore not in the convenient packages) so I wanted to clarify.
I haven't bought store-bought bread in years. I always make 3 loaves at a time and freeze 2. They are delicious from the freezer. This recipe sounds easy and delicious!
Yep, 2 1/4 teaspoons for each package. I'll edit to make that clear. Thanks for pointing it out!
Made this today! Delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
Woohoo!
P.S. I just noticed in the comments that it should have been 4 1/2 tsp. of yeast. I made it before reading that comet and it turned out fine.
I am wondering how to change the recipe if I want to use white whole wheat flour? Any ideas?
Thanks.
Looks delicious! I'll have to try your recipe sometime.
Could almond milk be used in place of the milk? If not, does the type of milk make a difference skim, 1%, whole etc.?
Yep, you can substitute other milks. A lower fat percentage product will make your bread a little less soft, but it'll still work fine. I use 2% when I bake, since that's what we always have in the house.
I'm sorry to leave this comment here, but wasn't sure if you'd see it if I posted on an old blog entry. I believe you're recommended TING Wireless in the past. My hubby and I are considering getting cell phones and eliminating our land line. I have a couple of questions....does TING have it own network? Or are they using towers from other carriers? Have you ever had a problem where you couldn't make a call? Also, my hubby and I are not techno savvy in anyway....what do you use DATA minutes for? Is that for accessing your emails? Or going to GOOGLE? Or anything else you would go to the internet for???
Ting operates on the Sprint network and also on one other network. They have a coverage map on their site to help you figure out if you will get good coverage where you live.
The data is for accessing the internet...so yep, emails, social media, a web browser, etc.
Use this link to get a discount on your first month if you sign up: https://thefrugalgirl.ting.com
Let me know if you have other questions!
thx so much!! I missed the data map when I was browsing, so went back and looked. The only reason we are looking at TING is because of your recommendation and I will definitely say that if they ask where I found them. Thanks so much...I don't comment much, but read and like ALL of your posts!
What make/brand of cooling racks are pictured in your post?
It's this one, which I got from Amazon: https://amzn.to/2llSiVb
I LOVE these cooling racks! The cross hatches really prevent any sagging of the baked goods while they're cooling.
I first made egg bread in the 60s(my first bread). I put yellow food coloring in it.(egg rolls are yellow). My daughter wanted me to make it every week. She wouldn’t eat it without the coloring. I made for a friends daughters girl scout’t bake sale, 9 loaves sold out in 1/2 hr. I lost and forgot the receipe. Found it through you. It is a little different. Calls for cake yeast. I saw that the amount of yeast was typed incorrectly. Maybe that is why it didn’t rise very well and was heavy? Will find out if that is why, hopefully, this week. Someone told me is still good. A favorite of mine. Also how can I find a receipe for lady locks with spry shortening and butter? A true favorite. I’d make them just to make them. And freeze them (goofy)? I made dozens for weddings for a friend’s daughters and Christmas, coloring them red and green alternating batches.also made them for bake sales at work and for people I worked with. People would always ask me to make them. I really want to find it. Thank you very much. God Bless. I found that if I slowly mixed the milk in it was easier mixing together. You have great write ups. Found over good receipts through you.
I've never heard of lady locks! But I googled, and there are quite a few recipes out there. Here's one: https://inspiredbycharm.com/cream-horn-cookies/
I appreciate how you informed to carefully with taking the cream horns off the clothespins. Takes time and patience working with it. But it is truly worth it.
Could I make this for my bread machine? I had. Recipe like this that I always used, but I lost it! The ingredient list is the same. Help, please.
As long as the cups of flour seem to match up with what your bread machine can handle, then yes, I think it would work.
The only other issue I can think of is the heat of the liquids, since you're adding it all at once. Do your other bread machine recipes have a typical temperature for the liquids? I'd default to that temp to be safe.
Just wanted to let you know I tried this recipe today and it turned out fantastic even though I added my little twists. It's delicious!! Thank you for the recipe.
Yay! I am so glad.
Hello the recepi looks easy but it seems too much for me I have a small oven, can I make half of it? Would it work? Should i just divide all ingredients on half?
Yep, you can divide it in half and just make two smaller loaves from that dough.
Thanks
can i use my bread flour for this? if so do i use more or less
Yep, bread flour will work fine; no need for other modifications.
Hi, I just broke up with my last bread recipe because it was abusive. It clearly didn't like me. I gave it 3 chances to change its ways and be nice to me but it refused, so I ended it. (One tablespoon of salt is clearly cruel and unusual punishment.)
When I met this egg bread recipe, I felt giddy with hope. Maybe this one is THE ONE. So I spent the evening making it. Here's the thing: Is it normal to end up using only 8 cups of flour?
I was afraid of making it too stiff and not floppy enough. Not necessarily a bad think in normal relationships, but this is not a normal relationship. It's bread.
I have the loaves in the pans on their last rise, but they're looking a bit puny. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure this time the problem is ME and not the bread.
Will I ever get a baking relationship right?
Thanks!
Hmm. Usually if you make your dough too stiff, then yeah, it will resist rising.
The amount of flour you use will depend on the humidity of your area, and also on the type of flour. I find that store brand, bleached flour makes dough get stiffer way faster. I like to use Gold Medal unbleached, and that's what my recipes are based on.
How did your loaves turn out in the end?
I completely agree with this NO MORE then 8 cups of flour.....9-1/2 to 10 1/2 cups, you're in for rock bread. flour details should be advised. my first attempt using this was a total disappointment bc my bread be came so hard and I only used the 9/12 cups.
i think it depends on weather and elevation but i halved the recipe and used 5 cups which seemed a lot, my bread came out beautifully - i am so happy i found this recipe!
I don't have three bread pans. Could I make rolls out of that third loaf?
Yep, you could! Or you can cut the recipe in half and you'll just end up with two smaller loaves.
Don't usually gush over internet recipes a lot, but this isn't even out of the oven and I know it's great.
I used half bread flour as I ran out of AP during the recipe.
I am not a Baker, but a chef... and this turned out as advertised.
Can't wait to make some killer club sando's with this bread.
Thanks
Yay! I'm so glad it worked out well for you.
Excellent recipe. I also used half bread flour. 3 good sized loaves. Perfect texture. Not as yellow as I had hoped-maybe next time I'll use organic or farm fresh eggs with those deeper yellow/orange yolks. Thanks for this recipe.
Absolutely delicious! I will be making this again. Thanks!
Well, ladies, it is CORVID-19, and flour is very difficult to come by as you may or may not know. So I had 4 cups of all-purpose flour and 5 cups of cake flour. It is rising in the laundry room and it is laundry day so it is rising fast. I can't wait. I will follow up.
I cut this recipe in half and use 5 cups of flour. I utilize my bread machine on the dough cycle, then do the rest myself. It turns out delicious. This is a great recipe! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Thanks for sharing the bread machine tips!
Kristen,
My mom always started her yeast in a 1/2 cup of warm water? Then let cool and add to wet mixture before adding to flour. Frugal seys to add to cold flour ???
My mom always scalded the milk ?? Let cool then add to combined wet ingredients..Which of these do I not need to do?
As I understand it, modern milk does not need to be scalded before use in a bread recipe. I see that all the time in my old bread cookbooks too, but I don't ever scald mine; I just heat it to the temperature specified in the recipe (that's because warm dough will encourage the yeast to grow.)
Modern yeast also does not require a head start in warm water. You can certainly do it that way if you want; no harm, no foul. But it's not necessary. 🙂
these days milk is pasteurised. In years gone by it was not, hence scalding milk before use in old recipes (to pasteurise it).
wonderful recipe- i halved it and did it on the dough setting in my bread machine - got two loaves. also used maple syrup instead of sugar. makes a really nice loaf
Maple syrup sounds like a great idea! May I ask if you used 6 tsp as well? Thanks
I’ve been trying to make bread for my fam for the past month, using different recipes, without success! This is the first, and my last, recipe that I’ve tried that I can say is the one!!! I need no other! The bread came out just amazing on the first try! My family just loves it! I only subbed honey for the sugar. Thank you so much!!!!
Oh, wonderful! I'm so glad it worked out well for you.
And yes, honey is great in bread doughs.
Have you ever tried this using a cup or so of wheat flour?
I haven't, but I think that would work out just fine. That's a nice conservative amount to start with!
This bread taste and reminds me of the bread that my grandmother “a baker” used to make 60 years ago. Ever since March, I bake once every two weeks and have been using this recipe. It is super delicious and easy to make. I also make it flat for focaccia with topping of garlic, onion, oregano and olive oil or sometimes plain. I just made 3 loafs and 2 focaccia, I freeze the focaccia and make pizza for a quick lunch. Too bad that I can not upload a picture. Thanks for this awesome and super recipe!
Is it possible to substitute the butter for olive oil due to the high content of saturated fat in the butter?
Yep! It'll change the flavor of the bread a little, but it will work just fine.
Holy cow. Made the egg bread today. It didnt proof very well. But. Its delicious. Absolutely delicious.
I've made this three times now! AMAZING AND AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS! My question is: I thought you said this makes 3 loaves. Then somewhere I thought you commented to someone about making 4 loaves. My 3 loaves come out huge!!! Which is nice, but do you make 3 or 4 loaves using the smaller pans! My loaves are boarderline too tall...
This is now my go to recipe, thank you so much for the detailed information!
It's really a matter of preference; like, how tall do you like your loaves? If your loaves are too tall for your liking, then try dividing the dough into four loaves and see how you like that.
I'm so glad the recipe is working out well for you!
I made this bread it was delicious and do easy to make ! My bread is still not as light as my Mom's was but it doesn't weigh like a brick ! Ha ha. This is my go to recipe from now on ! Thank you
Oh, I am so glad it worked well for you!
My bread was yummy yummy I really enjoyed it thanx for the recipe
This is the best bread I have ever eaten AND it's so easy! I have made 3 loaves almost every week since I found your recipe. We raise chickens, and I use the fresh eggs to make it, so this bread has such a nice golden color after baking. Thank you so much for sharing! I can't go back to store-bought bread again.
I was looking for a simple recipe to adapt to making dinner rolls and I found this page. The recipe is straightforward and easy! I am not a professional baker, but I used Red Star Yeast and All Trumps flour( nothing to do with the prez). It’s a great flour for all sorts of baking, I love it for bread though! I halved the recipe for a test run, divided the risen dough to 1.5 oz pieces and used a greased muffin pan to let them rise again, then baked at 350 for 12-15 minutes. They came out delicious and fluffy! Everyone loved them, I really like this recipe, next time I will do loaves!!
I think I added a bit too much flour. Should I let it rise for 2 or 3 hours?
Could you try sprinkling the dough with some water and then kneading it to add a little moisture?
It will probably take longer to rise if you added too much flour; you can try letting it rise longer, but more moisture would be the optimal solution. If the dough is too stiff, the yeast bubbles just have a lot of trouble trying to lift it up, if that makes sense.
There is noooo way this takes that much flour with only 2 cups of fluid and eggs!!! No way!!! Has to be a printing error
I use 7 1/4 total cups of flour and it's perfect
I would like to know if I can freeze part of the dough? I live alone and 2 or 3 loaves is just to much for me.
Yes, you can! But what's even easier is to make the loaves and then freeze them. That's usually what I do.
I made this today. I was out of bread and didn't want to go to the store. I halved the heck of and cooked it in a 9 x 4 bread pan. Absolutely will make this again. I have made bread for more years thank i care to say but this will be my new go to recipe
So glad to hear this!
You are so detailed! I will try this recipe. Just got chickens and I've been trying to figure out what to do with the eggs! This will do for now.! Thanks so much.
I have a question on the proof time. I made this once and it was amazing. Can I let it proof over night? Also, I am wanting taller loafs, would letting it proof longer produce a taller loaf or am I better off making two loaves instead of three? This is my first bread and it was delicious and so much easier than I thought it would be.
So glad this turned out well for you! Overnight proofing would give you way over-risen dough with this recipe; I wouldn't try it. However, you COULD let the loaves rise overnight in the fridge. Just let the loaves come to room temp before baking.
And if you want taller loaves then yes, I'd do two loaves instead of three.
I hope it goes well for you!
Thank you for posting this recipe - I was looking for an eggy, more savory, loaf for grilled cheese and this turned out perfectly. I cut in 1/2 and put a loaf in my two 1.5 loaf pans. They puffed perfectly during the second rise and rose like crazy in the oven. I tried 2 different shaping techniques (oblong/roll/roll and stretch/fold/pinch) and the latter actually made for a much higher loaf that was browner on the top - go figure?!
For anyone in higher elevations looking around the interwebz for weights, here’s what I did: 4 cups (480 grams) APF + 4 tablespoons during the machine knead. After the initial mix of flour and milk, butter, sugar, salt, I kneaded for 4 minutes, let it rest for 3 and kneaded again for 2 at Speed 4 with the dough hook on my Kitchenaid. This made for a perfect loose dough that had no trouble rising. It was oddly humid here - New Mexico - today (33% vs the normal 7 or 8) but I still think the combo would work. Follow the directions for butter/milk/etc..
At any rate, I’ve bookmarked this goodie. Thanks again. As soon as they cool, slices are going into a cast iron pan with cheese. Yummy yum!
Thank you so much for sharing the high altitude tips!
I looked but no one seemed to comment on this. You list active dry yeast, but the treatment and water temp correlates to what other websites say for using rapid rise/instant yeast in place of active dry. I have TONS of rapid rise because in 2020 during covid that's all I could find, and had to find it online. I'm going to try this recipe as the instructions say, but use rapid rise. Hope it works! My bread tummy is starving!
As I understand it, rapid rise is different than instant yeast. I use instant yeast interchangeably with active dry, but I don't use rapid rise.
Hope that helps!
I didn't have the exact ingredients I used coconut oil, coconut sugar and whole wheat flour. But it turned out fabulous!!!!
I made this recipe. Hands down the softest, best bread I have ever made. It turned out beautifully.
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Made this bread this eve, 3 good sized loaves, looks and smells very good, anxious to try a slice after it cools
Just dropping by to say we tried this recipe for sandwich/hamburger buns and were so happy with it. I cut the recipe in half, which it does well with, and used bread flour and 1 cup freshly milled hard red wheat. My family loved them and I feel confident that it will be our go to recipe for buns now. They make great breakfast sandwiches! Thank you!
Hi there...so anxious to try this but have a question. Recipe calls for 9 1/2 to 10 1/2 cups flour. Then it instructs to use 4 cups of the flour initially and then gradually add the remaining flour (all 5 1/2 cups? really?) until achieving the right consistency. Is all of this correct? Seems like an awful lot of flour. I'm really a newbie so I really have little or no confidence in my ability to understand when I'm right or wrong in anything that has to do with baking bread. Not challenging the instructions...just want to be sure I understand correctly. Thanks so much.
I know it feels like a lot of flour, but trust the process. It is correct! And once you make bread multiple times, you will get a good feel for what the right dough consistency is.