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These bread machine recipes are the ones that keep my bread maker on the worktop instead of in the back of a cupboard: a soft sandwich loaf, rich brioche, a cheesy jalapeno bread, three sweet breakfast loaves, dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls and a Friday night pizza dough. All nine come from my own kitchen, so every link below takes you to a recipe I have tested, photographed and happily eaten.
I have grouped them by how the machine is used, because that is what really matters on a busy day. First come the loaves that bake start to finish in the pan, then the sweet breads, then the dough cycle bakes that you shape and finish in the oven. After that you will find a cycle and timing chart, my best tips and the questions readers ask me most.
Quick Breakdown
Everyday Bread Machine Recipes for Sandwich Loaves
These three bake completely in the machine, so you add the ingredients, choose the cycle and walk away. In fact, they are the best place to start if your bread maker is brand new.
1. Bread Machine White Bread
If you only ever make one loaf, make this one. Six cupboard ingredients go into the pan, you press start, and a few hours later there is a soft, even sandwich loaf that slices cleanly for toast and packed lunches. Honestly, it is the loaf that made me stop buying sliced bread for the week.
Get the Bread Machine White Bread recipe →
2. Bread Machine Brioche
Brioche sounds fancy, yet the machine does all the hard kneading that makes it such a workout by hand. Three eggs and plenty of butter give a rich, golden crumb that tears like a cloud. It makes the best french toast I know, and a slice with jam on a Sunday morning feels like a proper treat.
Get the Bread Machine Brioche recipe →
3. Bread Machine Jalapeno Cheddar Bread
This is the savoury loaf my family asks for with chilli and soup. Sharp cheddar and chopped jalapenos go in at the add-in beep, so they stay as little pockets of melted cheese and gentle heat instead of vanishing into the dough. Toasted and buttered, it is dangerously moreish.
Get the Bread Machine Jalapeno Cheddar Bread recipe →
For neat sandwich slices, let the loaf cool fully and use a long serrated bread knife, which saws through the crust without squashing the soft crumb.
Sweet Loaves for Breakfast and Teatime
Next come the sweet bread machine recipes. Two use yeast and one is a quick bread, but all three make the kitchen smell wonderful, and every one of them is lovely toasted.
4. Bread Machine Cinnamon Bread
That swirl is the reason this one is first in my sweet group. The machine makes the dough, then I roll it out, brush it with egg white, scatter on cinnamon sugar and roll it up tight before it goes back in the pan to bake. Every slice has a perfect spiral, and it toasts beautifully.
Get the Bread Machine Cinnamon Bread recipe →
5. Bread Machine Cinnamon Raisin Bread
For a lazier cinnamon loaf, this is the one. The spice goes straight in with the flour, a full cup of raisins joins at the beep, and the machine handles everything else. It smells like a bakery while it bakes, and a thick slice toasted with salted butter is my favourite breakfast in autumn.
Get the Bread Machine Cinnamon Raisin Bread recipe →
6. Bread Machine Banana Bread
Yes, your machine can make cake-style quick breads too. This loaf uses baking soda and baking powder rather than yeast, so it runs on the quick bread or cake programme and the oven never goes on. It is a brilliant home for those freckly bananas in the fruit bowl, and the kids never leave any.
Get the Bread Machine Banana Bread recipe →
Dough Cycle Bakes: Rolls, Buns and Pizza
Finally, my favourite bread machine recipes of all. The dough cycle mixes, kneads and gives the first rise, then you shape the dough and bake it in the oven, so you get a proper crust and any shape you like.
7. Soft Dinner Rolls
These are the rolls I make for every roast dinner and every holiday table. The machine kneads a soft milk and butter dough, then I shape twelve balls, let them puff up and bake them in the oven so they pull apart in tender, buttery pieces. Brush them with butter while hot and watch them disappear.
Get the Soft Dinner Rolls recipe →
8. Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls
Proper bakery-style cinnamon rolls without kneading a thing. The dough cycle does the work, so all you do is roll, spread with butter and cinnamon sugar, slice and let them rise in the dish. Then the vanilla glaze goes on while they are still warm. Weekend breakfasts do not get better than this.
Get the Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls recipe →
9. Bread Machine Pizza Dough
Friday night pizza became a habit in our house thanks to this dough. Load the pan after school, and by the time everyone is hungry there is a soft, stretchy ball ready to shape. A very hot oven gives a puffy, blistered crust that rivals our local takeaway, and the kids love choosing toppings.
Get the Bread Machine Pizza Dough recipe →
Bread Machine Recipes at a Glance: Cycles and Timings
Because every machine labels its programmes slightly differently, here is the cycle each recipe uses and roughly how long it takes from start to finish, according to the recipe cards.
| Recipe | Cycle | Hands-on | Total time | Makes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White bread | Basic | 5 min | About 3 hours | 12 slices |
| Brioche | Basic or Sweet | 10 min | About 3 hours 10 min | 12 slices |
| Jalapeno cheddar bread | Basic, light crust | 10 min | About 3 hours 10 min | 12 slices |
| Cinnamon swirl bread | Dough, then Bake Only | 10 min | About 3 hours 10 min | 12 slices |
| Cinnamon raisin bread | Basic | 5 min | About 3 hours | 12 slices |
| Banana bread | Quick bread or Cake | 10 min | About 1 hour 50 min | 12 slices |
| Dinner rolls | Dough, then oven | 20 min | About 2 hours 40 min | 12 rolls |
| Cinnamon rolls | Dough, then oven | 20 min | About 2 hours | 12 rolls |
| Pizza dough | Dough, then oven | 10 min | About 1 hour 30 min | One 12-inch pizza |
So, on a weekday I lean on the basic cycle loaves and the banana bread, while the rolls and pizza dough are weekend projects. If your machine has a delay timer, the white bread is the one I set overnight, because it is made with water and has no egg, milk or cheese sitting in the pan for hours.
Tips for Better Bread Machine Recipes
- Load in the right order. For yeast loaves, liquids go in first, then flour, then the yeast in a little well on top, away from the salt. However, the banana bread flips this, with wet ingredients first and dry on top.
- Check the dough after five minutes. Lift the lid and look. It should be a soft, slightly tacky ball. If it looks wet, add flour a teaspoon at a time; if it is dry and ragged, add water the same way.
- Use warm, not hot, liquid. Ohio State University Extension explains how hot water kills yeast and why bread flour helps dough rise, which is exactly why I use strong white bread flour in almost every loaf here.
- Add extras at the beep. Raisins, cheese and peppers go in at the add-in signal or through the dispenser, so they stay whole instead of being pulverised.
- Check doneness with a thermometer. ThermoWorks shares how to take the temperature of a loaf and the targets for lean and rich doughs. As a result, I never cut into a raw middle any more.
- Be patient before slicing. Most of these loaves need at least 45 minutes on a rack, because cutting them hot squashes the crumb.
Common Bread Machine Problems and How to Fix Them
Even the best bread machine recipes can misbehave now and then, and nearly every problem has a simple cause.
- Short, dense loaf. Usually old yeast, liquid that was too hot, or yeast touching the salt. Check the date on your yeast first.
- Sunken top. Too much liquid or yeast, so the dough over-rises and collapses. Weigh your flour if you can, and measure liquids at eye level.
- Pale or very dark crust. Change the crust setting. Sweet, eggy loaves like brioche brown fast, so a light crust suits them best.
- Raisins or cheese at the bottom. They went in too early. Next time, add them at the beep.
Between bakes, a homemade loaf keeps its crust far better in a bread box than in a plastic bag, which softens it overnight.
Frequently Asked Questions
Choosing Bread Machine Recipes
What is the best bread recipe for a bread machine?
Of all these bread machine recipes, I would start with the white bread. It has only six ingredients, uses the basic cycle and shows you how your machine behaves. After that, the cinnamon raisin loaf is just as easy, while the brioche and swirl bread are lovely next steps.
What else can you cook in a bread maker?
Plenty more than sandwich bread. The dough cycle makes dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls and pizza bases, and many machines have a quick bread or cake programme for banana bread. Some even have jam settings, although I have not tested those here.
Can you put any bread recipe into a bread machine?
Not quite. A machine pan holds a set amount of flour, usually around 3 to 4 cups for a 2 lb loaf, so larger recipes need scaling down. Still, most standard loaves convert well if you keep the flour within that range and add the yeast last.
Machines, Storage and Troubleshooting
Why are bread makers less popular than they used to be?
Many ended up in cupboards because people only used them for one style of loaf. That is a shame, because using the dough cycle for rolls, buns and pizza is where a machine really earns its space. Honestly, mine gets used more now than when I bought it.
Should I bake in the machine or in the oven?
Both work. Basic cycle bread machine recipes are designed to bake in the pan, which is wonderfully hands-off. On the other hand, shaping dough cycle bakes and finishing them in the oven gives you rolls, buns and a crisper crust.
How should I store homemade bread?
Once completely cool, keep it wrapped at room temperature for a couple of days. Homemade bread has no preservatives, so for longer storage I slice the loaf, freeze it in a bag and toast slices straight from frozen.
