Homemade Bread - White Cob Loaf

A simple easy to follow recipe, to make the best homemade bread - white cob loaf.

Traditional British farmhouse style bread, cheap to produce from basic store cupboard ingredients, strong white flour, dried instant yeast, salt, sugar and olive oil.

Make this crusty white loaf by hand or with a stand mixer and bake the round bread loaf in the oven or in a pressure cooker!

How to make homemade bread from scratch?

We show you how to make your own farmhouse style bread at home, check out our quick video below.

Then check out all our extra top tips, to make the best cob loaf bread on this page.

Or jump straight to the recipe card now!

Jump to Recipe

Ingredients for white bread

The basic ingredients for a medium-sized white loaf are strong white flour, dried instant yeast, salt, sugar and olive oil.

Mix the ingredients by hand or for a quicker and less strenuous and less messy task use a stand mixer fitted with a kneading hook.

How to knead by hand & how long?

Kneading by hand will take 10 minutes of tender loving care, the technique to knead is:

Fold dough in half, then push with the heal of your hand.

Twist the dough ¼ turn clockwise and repeat the push & twist action a few times. Before starting back with another fold.

Continue this motion until bread dough is smooth and has a nice stretch.

How to knead bread using stand mixer?

Using a stand mixer to mix and knead your bread is a quick, easy and mess free way of making homemade dough.

Its best to put the wet ingredients in first.

Use a kneading hook on a low speed to incorporate the bread dough ingredients together.

Scrape any remaining flour off the sides and bottom.

Then continue using the kneading hook for 2-4 minutes. The dough should be stretchy and smooth when ready.

Once the dough has been kneaded, form into a rounded ball shape.

Transfer kneaded dough to a well-oiled round cake tin to proof before oven cooking.

What size cake tin?

We use a 18 cm / 7 inch round cake tin, for a tall medium round cob.

If you use a larger cake tin it will still work but will give you wider slices.

If you wanted a square or rectangular loaf simply use a relevant tin!

How long to proof white bread?

Cover tin loosely with cling film and leave for 1-3 hours to proof, until it has doubled in size.

If it hasn't risen enough, simply leave it for longer.

Oven Cooking method

Preheat oven to 200°C Fan / 220°C , Gas 7, 425°F. Remove cling film and place tin on the middle shelf in the oven.

Bake the white cob loaf for 30 minutes.

Remove from tin and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Pressure cooker method

Check the recipe card for how to cook homemade bread in the pressure cooker and how to speed up the proof time using yoghurt mode.

Farmhouse style bread

To give your white bread a farmhouse style, sprinkle some flour on top of the cooled bread.

This round crusty loaf of bread super easy, quick and cheap too. We hope you enjoy it. Nothing better than the smell of fresh-baked bread in the house!

Homemade bread is much better for you than store-bought bread, with minimal salt added and no preservatives in it.

You may need to make a double batch if you have a big family.

Homemade white bread served toasted with jam, perfect for a delicious breakfast

Or serve fried as part of an English breakfast.

In doorstep cut slices for a lunchtime sandwich.

Serve slices of soft white bread with dinner recipes, such as our Beef and Red Wine Stew and Dumplings, great way to soak up all the leftover juices from the plate.

How long does homemade bread last?

Store your homemade bread at room temperature in a dry place. Keep it soft by covering and sealing in a food bag or an airtight container once cool, will keep for 3-4 days.

It is best to only slice what you need to help keep it fresher for longer!

Ingredients are given in UK and US measurements, however it is always best to use weighing scales when measuring ingredients for making bread.

When measuring flour in cups we used Gill from 'this old gal' blog technique to measure the flour.

Do not scoop cups from the bag. Instead, use a spoon to sprinkle the flour into the cup, then use a knife to run across the top removing excess flour off the top for a level cup.

Based on this method each cup should weigh 125 grams meaning you will need 4 level cups.

Serving Suggestions

Serve slices of bread with our air fryer garlic mushrooms on top, or dip freshly baked bread into our haddock and clams with white wine sauce. Check out some other ideas here.

📖 Step by Step Recipe

This post was originally published on 14/10/2019 and has been modified on 11/04/2021 with updated step by steps, photos, a new video for creating the best farmhouse white bread cob loaf.

Hope you enjoyed this Homemade bread - white cob loaf we have plenty other bread recipes for you to try, like our Olive & Herb Focaccia Bread or our fun Spider Bread.