Basic bread dough
A soft, easy white dough for loaves, rolls and flatbreads, using just flour, yeast, salt, oil and water.
Make this once, then cook it into 24 different dishes.
- Time3 hr
- LevelEasy
- Costabout £0.35 a head
- Makesabout 1.28 kg of dough, enough for two 500 g loaves, 16 rolls or 10 flatbreads
- Oven220°C (200°C fan)
Cost is worked out from Aldi and Tesco shelf prices in October 2026. Your shop and brands will differ.
Ingredients
Tick what you need to buy. It goes on your shopping list.
Method
- 1
Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the yeast on the opposite side from the salt, since direct contact with salt slows yeast.
- 2
Add the oil and most of the lukewarm water and mix with your hand. Add the rest of the water if there are dry patches. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky.
- 3
Knead on a lightly oiled worktop for 10 minutes by hand (or 6 to 8 minutes in a mixer with a dough hook) until smooth and stretchy. A small piece should stretch thin enough to see light through without tearing.
10 min - 4
Put the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave somewhere warm for 1 to 1 hour 30 minutes until doubled in size.
90 min - 5
Tip out and knock back by gently pressing out the air. Divide into 2 pieces of about 640 g for loaves, and shape to fit two 900 g loaf tins, or divide into 16 pieces for rolls.
- 6
Cover and leave to prove for 45 minutes until puffy. Bake loaves at 220°C (200°C fan) for 30 to 35 minutes until golden and hollow sounding when tapped underneath, and rolls for 15 to 18 minutes. For flatbreads, roll out thinly and cook in a hot dry frying pan for 2 minutes each side.
35 min
About basic bread dough
Basic bread dough is a plain white yeasted dough made from strong bread flour, water, salt, yeast and a little olive oil, used to make loaves, rolls, flatbreads and buns. It is the starting point for most everyday bread baking, and needs no special equipment.
This batch makes about 1.28 kg, enough for two 500 g loaves in tins, around 16 soft rolls or 10 pan cooked flatbreads. At about 65 per cent hydration the dough is soft and slightly tacky, which gives an open, tender crumb without being hard to handle.
Good bread depends on three things: enough kneading to build gluten, a proper rise until the dough has roughly doubled, and a hot oven. Strong bread flour has more protein than plain flour, so the dough holds the gas from the yeast and bakes tall and chewy. It is vegan, dairy free and egg free as written.
Tips
- Use lukewarm water at about 35 C, like a warm bath. Hot water above about 45 C damages yeast and the dough will not rise.
- Do not add more flour while kneading unless the dough is truly unmanageable. A slightly sticky dough gives softer bread.
- For a deeper flavour, put the dough in the fridge after kneading for 8 to 12 hours, then shape and prove at room temperature.
- For a wholemeal loaf, swap up to 300 g of the white flour for wholemeal bread flour and add about 30 ml extra water.
- Gluten free bread cannot be made by swapping the flour one for one. Use a recipe designed for a gluten free bread flour blend, usually with psyllium husk and a very wet dough.
- Steam makes a better crust: put a roasting tin of boiling water on the bottom shelf when you put the loaves in.
Storing and freezing
Baked bread keeps for 2 to 3 days in a bread bin. Slice and freeze it for up to 3 months. Shaped, unbaked dough can be frozen for up to 1 month, then thawed in the fridge overnight and proved before baking. Raw dough keeps in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
Dishes you can make with basic bread dough
Butter Chicken Kathi Rolls
EFNFKare Pan (Japanese Curry Bread Buns)
DFNFWarm Pitta Mezze with Hummus, Olives and Cucumber
VGVDFBifteki Stuffed Pitta with Tzatziki
EFNFMeatball Marinara Subs with Melted Mozzarella
NFPepperoni and Pepper Stromboli
EFNFPane Cunzato (Sicilian Dressed Bread)
EFNFFocaccia Genovese with Sea Salt and Brine
VGVDFPizza Montanara (Neapolitan Fried Pizza)
EFNFPav Bhaji (Mumbai Street Vegetable Mash with Buttery Rolls)
VGVEFTawa Flatbreads with Tarka Dal
VGVDFKarepan (Japanese Curry Bread)
VGVDFQuestions
Can I let bread dough rise slowly in the fridge?
Yes. After kneading, cover the dough and chill it for 8 to 12 hours, or up to 24 hours. Then shape it, prove at room temperature until puffy and bake. The slow rise gives better flavour.
Can I freeze bread dough?
Yes. Shape the dough, freeze it on a tray and then bag it for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the fridge, let it prove at room temperature until puffy and bake as normal. Baked and sliced bread freezes for up to 3 months.
Why has my bread not risen?
Common causes are water that was too hot (above about 45 C), out of date yeast, too much salt touching the yeast, or a cold room. Warm dough rises faster, so give a cool room extra time before deciding it has failed.
Is this bread dough vegan, dairy free and egg free?
Yes. It contains flour, water, salt, yeast and olive oil only, so it is vegan, dairy free, egg free and nut free. It contains wheat gluten, so it is not suitable for coeliacs.
Can I use plain flour instead of strong bread flour?
You can, but the bread will be softer and flatter with a less chewy crumb. Reduce the water by about 30 ml, because plain flour absorbs less. Strong bread flour is the better choice.
Can I use fresh or active dried yeast instead of fast action?
Yes. Use about 15 g of fresh yeast crumbled into the water, or 7 g of active dried yeast activated in the warm water for 10 minutes first. Rising may take a little longer than with fast action yeast.
More base recipes
Double check before you cook. Recipes can contain mistakes. Any diet labels come from the ingredients as written in this recipe and are a guide, not a guarantee. Always check every ingredient and the packet label for allergens and cross contamination, and ask your doctor or dietitian what is right for you, especially with coeliac disease, diabetes or a serious allergy. This is not medical advice.