With step-by-step pictures, a full video tutorial, and plenty of helpful tips, learn how to make simple white sandwich bread using a few baking ingredients like flour, water, yeast, salt, and milk. Bread flour promises a super soft interior with an extra chewy crust. This recipe yields 1 loaf, so it’s perfect if you only have 1 loaf pan.
If you’re new to working with yeast, reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs. This recipe is brought to you in partnership with Red Star Yeast.
Let’s make homemade sandwich bread. This is a basic staple in any bread baker’s repertoire, but it’s also a recipe that shouldn’t be overlooked. There’s nothing on earth quite like homemade bread and my recipe is loaf perfectionโrising tall, tasting buttery-soft, and making the most epic sandwiches. It’s truthfully the best homemade bread I’ve ever tasted and it all comes from just 7 ingredients. And if you’re nervous to bake with yeast, I guarantee you will finally feel confident with this no-fuss recipe.
This Sandwich Bread Is:
- Soft white bread with an extra chewy exterior
- Crisp right out of the oven!
- Made from 7 easy ingredients
- Golden brown with a super impressive rise
- Extraordinary on its own or as the base of a sandwich
- Simple to make
- Easy to make ahead or freeze
Looking for a no yeast alternative? Here’s my no yeast bread.
Just 1 Loaf of Bread
Besides the simplicity of the process, you’ll appreciate that this sandwich bread recipe yields just 1 loaf. You don’t need a crazy amount of flour, multiple loaf pans, and you’re not left with 2-3 leftover loaves on your hands. (Which wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing.) Just 1 loaf to prepare, rise, shape, and bakeโconvenient, approachable, and straightforward. My recipes for multigrain bread, homemade cinnamon swirl bread, and honey oat bread both produce just 1 loaf as well.
Overview: How to Make Sandwich Bread
- Make the dough. Continue below to learn more about this dough recipe.
- Knead the dough. Reference my How to Knead Dough video tutorial for extra help with this step.
- Cover the dough and let it rise. The dough rises in about 1-2 hours in a relatively warm environment.
- Punch down the dough to release the air.
- Shape the dough into a large rectangle, then roll it into loaf.
- Let the loaf rise for about 1 hour.
- Bake for 30-34 minutes until golden brown.
As shown in the video tutorial below, the dough comes together with a mixer. You can use a paddle attachment or a dough hook. You can also make the dough by hand, but it requires a bit of arm muscle. After the dough comes together in the mixing bowl, itโs time to knead. You can continue beating the dough with the mixer for this step or you can knead the dough by hand. If youโre new to bread baking, my how to knead dough post and video can help with this step.
Sandwich Bread Ingredients
You need 7 ingredientsโpractically the same as my homemade cinnamon swirl bread but less sugar. Likewise, they’re basically the same ingredients as my soft dinner rolls too, but in order to bake a bread that rises tall and has legitimate structure, we’ll leave out some of the fat. Swap some of the milk for water and leave out the egg.
- Water: Liquid activates yeast. I use mostly water in this dough because we need a bread that has structure. Using all milk, like I do for my dinner rolls, would yield a flimsy bread without much texture.
- Milk: To make a soft bread, you need fat in the dough so make sure 1/4 cup of the liquid is milk. Low fat milk works too, but whole milk produces phenomenal texture.
- Yeast: You can use active dry yeast or instant yeast. If using active dry, the rise times will be a bit longer. I recommend Platinum Yeast from Red Star, which is an instant yeast blended with natural dough improvers. It’s my go-to for all bread.
- Sugar: Sugar feeds the yeast, increases its activity, and tenderizes the dough.
- Butter: Butter promises a flavorful loaf. I tested this recipe with melted butter, softened butter, and even olive oil. We liked the loaf made with softened butter the best because it had pronounced buttery flavor and a softer (yet still sturdy) interior.
- Salt: You canโt make flavorful bread without salt!
- Flour: You can use all-purpose flour or bread flour. All-purpose flour is convenient for most, but bread flour produces a chewier crust. There are no other changes to the recipe if you use bread flour. For best taste, I highly recommend bread flour. It’s what I always use when I make artisan bread. If you wish to use whole wheat flour, follow my recipe for whole wheat bread instead.
After you make and knead the dough, let it rise. Then, punch it down to release the air:
Roll it out into an 8×15-inch rectangle:
Roll it up tightly starting with the 8-inch side, so you have an 8-inch roll to fit into your 9×5-inch loaf pan. (Unlike cinnamon rolls where you roll up the dough starting with the larger side.) Let it rise until it’s 1 heaping inch above the rim of the pan:
Bake until golden brown, about 30-34 minutes.
Uses for Homemade Sandwich Bread
- Any sandwich. Like the Ross Geller’s Turkey Moist-Maker Sandwich ๐
- BLT or grilled cheese
- Avocado toast or bacon & egg sandwiches
- Soup dipper
- Make croutons
- French toast or Blueberry French Toast Casserole
- Or in savory recipes like Breakfast Casserole and Sausage & Herb Stuffing
But our favorite way is simply warm toast with regular butter or honey butter & jam. Honestly, toast made from mass-produced bread doesn’t even compare. You can actually taste the soft and buttery toasty crumbs here. Or make an easy turkey sandwichโstore-bought bread can’t make a sandwich taste as PERFECT as this.
I understand there’s a major convenience with store-bought bread and I’m not asking you to only make homemade bread for the rest of you life, but try it at least once. It takes a few hours one afternoon and most of the work is hands-off while the dough rises. Fresh-baked sandwich bread smells incredible, tastes even better, and I’m confident there’s no better baked good than this perfect loaf. You won’t regret trying this.
More Easy Bread Recipes
- Focaccia
- Multigrain Bread
- Artisan Bread
- Cheesy Breadsticks
- Pizza Crust
- Homemade Soft Pretzels
- Bread Bowls
- Homemade Breadsticks
- Olive Bread
- Cranberry Nut No-Knead Bread
Sandwich Bread
- Prep Time: 3 hours, 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 32 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
You only need 7 ingredients to make this simple sandwich bread. Soft and buttery with a chewy/crisp crust, this fresh loaf of bread will quickly become a staple in your kitchen. See recipe notes for freezing and overnight instructions. You can also reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.ย
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240ml) water, warmed to about 110ยฐF (43ยฐC)
- 1/4 cup (60ml) whole milk, warmed to about 110ยฐF (43ยฐC)
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons (7g) Platinum Yeast from Red Star instant yeast (1 standard packet)
- 2 Tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
- 4 Tablespoons (1/4 cup; 56g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 3 and 1/3 cups (about 420โ430g) all-purpose flour or bread flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: Whisk the warm water, warm milk, yeast, and sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
- Add the butter, salt, and 1 cup flour. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula, then add another cup of flour. Beat on medium speed until relatively incorporated (there may still be chunks of butter). Add the remaining flour and beat on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. *If you do not own a mixer, you can mix this dough with a large wooden spoon or silicone spatula. It will take a bit of arm muscle!*
- Knead the dough:ย Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 5โ8 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5โ8 full minutes. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need; you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your fingerโif it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading.
- 1st Rise: Lightly grease a large bowl with olive oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise in a relatively warm environment for 1-2 hours or until double in size. (I always let it rise on the counter. Takes about 2 hours. For a tiny reduction in rise time, see my answer to Where Should Dough Rise? in my Baking with Yeast Guide.)
- Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
- Shape the bread: When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Lightly flour a work surface, your hands, and a rolling pin. Roll the dough out into a large rectangle, about 8×15 inches. It does not have to be perfectโin fact, it will probably be rounded on the edges. That’s ok! Roll it up into an 8 inch log and place in the prepared loaf pan.
- 2nd Rise:ย Cover shaped loaf with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise until it’s about 1 inch above the top of the loaf pan, about 1 hour. (See video and photo above for a visual.)
- Adjust oven rack to a lower position and preheat oven to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). (It’s best to bake the bread towards the bottom of the oven so the top doesn’t burn.)
- Bake the bread: Bake for 32-36 minutes or until golden brown on top. If you notice the top browning too quickly, loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil. (I usually add aluminum foil over the loaf around the 20 minute mark.) To test for doneness, if you gently tap on the loaf, it should sound hollow. For a more accurate test, the bread is done when an instant-read thermometer reads the center of the loaf as 195โ200ยฐF (90โ93ยฐC).
- Remove from the oven and allow bread to cool for a few minutes in the pan on a cooling rack before removing the bread from the pan and slicing. Feel free to let it cool completely before slicing, too.
- Cover leftover bread tightly and store at room temperature for 6 days or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Prepare recipe through step 6. Place shaped loaf in a greased 9×5-inch loaf pan or disposable loaf pan, cover tightly, and freeze for up to 3 months. On the day you serve it, let the loaf thaw and rise for about 4-5 hours at room temperature. Bake as directed. You can also freeze the baked bread loaf. Allow the bread to cool completely, then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature, then reheat as desired.
- Overnight Instructions: Prepare the recipe through step 6. Cover the shaped bread tightly and refrigerate for up to about 15 hours. At least 3 hours before you need the bread the next day, removeย from the refrigerator, keep covered, and allow to rise on the counter for about 1-2 hours before baking. Alternatively, you can let the dough have its 1st rise in the refrigerator overnight. Cover the dough tightly and place in the refrigerator for up to 12 hours. Remove from the refrigerator and allow the dough to fully rise for 2 more hours. Continue with step 5.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Stand Mixer or Large Glass Mixing Bowl with Wooden Spoon / Silicone Spatula | 9×5-inch Loaf Pan | Rolling Pin
- Yeast: Platinum Yeast from Red Star is an instant yeast. Any instant yeast works. You can use active dry yeast instead. Rise times will be slightly longer using active dry yeast. Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
- Flour: You can use all-purpose flour or bread flour. All-purpose flour is convenient for most, but bread flour produces a chewier loaf of bread and I highly recommend it. The bread is still soft no matter which you use. Either flour is fine and there are no other changes to the recipe if you use one or the other. I don’t recommend whole wheat flour because it doesnโt have the same baking properties as white flour or bread flour (the gluten levels are different). If you wish to use whole wheat flour, try my recipe for whole wheat bread instead.ย
- Doubling this recipe: For best results, I recommend making two separate batches of dough. However, if you want to double the recipe all in 1 mixing bowl, double all of the ingredients except for the yeast and butter. Use 3 and 1/4 teaspoons yeast and 6 Tablespoons of butter.
- Bread Machine Questions: I don’t own a bread machine so I have not tested it, but some readers in the comments section have had success.
- Adapted from Homemade Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Reader Comments and Reviews
I’ve never made bread from scratch before and this turned out fantastic! I have a stand mixer, so that definitely made the process easier. I’m looking forward to trying your other bread recipes.
If I wanted to double this recipe to make two loaves do I need to double the yeast?
Hi Christina, for best results, we recommend making two separate batches of dough. However, if you want to double the recipe all in 1 mixing bowl, double all of the ingredients except for the yeast and butter. Use 3 and 1/4 teaspoons yeast and 6 Tablespoons of butter. We donโt recommend scaling any further than that. Hope this helps!
I have been baking bread for more than 60 years and I trained in baking in cooking school. This recipe is terrible.I knew when I started kneading it that it wasn’t going to be a good loaf.I could tell by the texture,the elasticity, it also had a very heavy feel to it . I used the same bread flour and yeast that i’ve used for years
Hello! I have made this bread 4 times and it turns out great every time! What Iโm having trouble with is when kneading the dough in my stand mixer it usually takes about 25-30 minutes on speed 2-3 (out of 10 speeds) to be ready. I usually only add about 1-2 teaspoons of flour while itโs kneading. The dough ends up being so sticky and tends to take a long time to pass the windowpane/poke test. I weigh all my ingredients and use 430gm of bread flour. What Iโm concerned about is that mixing the dough for such a long time puts a lot of strain on my mixer and Iโm afraid Iโll over knead it at some point. The recipe says to knead for about 8 minutes in the mixer and for me at 8 minutes the dough is super sticky. Iโm not sure what it is that Iโm doing thatโs causing that. Im fairly new to baking with yeast and have read your yeast beginners guide and was super helpful but I still tend to struggle with this dough in particular. I made your dinner rolls and cinnamon roll recipe and that dough came together in the time the recipe stated so I end up so confused as to why this one takes so long. Itโs a miracle that even though I struggle with the dough the loaf comes out great! Also I was wondering what causes bread to end up smelling overly โyeastyโ sometimes. Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Hi Kris! Our guide to kneading dough and baking with yeast guide should be helpful resources!
I know people are gunna do what they’re gonna do and are set in their ways, but kitchenaid itself says to never knead dough on any setting higher than 2. This site instructs to knead at medium speed and that’s inadvisable so just an fyi to anyone who might not know.
That aside I made this recipe and kneaded by hand and it came out delicious. Reminded me of croissants it was so tasty. And absolutely excellent as toast with runny eggs for breakfast
I use the lowest setting on my kitchen aid and it turns out perfect without wrecking my mixer.
I love all your recipes and your site is my first stop when I want to make something! I’ve made this recipe before and it turned out perfectly. Would it be possible to bake this in a Dutch oven?
Hi Christa! This dough really needs the walls of a loaf pan to bake up properly. We havenโt personally tested it in a Dutch oven to be certain, but we fear it will be very flat. You might enjoy this artisan bread instead, which bakes wonderfully in a Dutch oven.
Good morning! I’m interested in using this bread for Thanksgiving stuffing, and I was wondering if I could add seasoning to it (like with the artisan bread)? If so, how much could I add? I was thinking about a mix of thyme, sage, and garlic powder.
Thank you!
Hi Terry, you can definitely try adding some seasonings to the bread. We’d start with 1/2 teaspoon of each and then you can adjust further for future batches. Let us know what you try!
Hi Lexi! I ended up using 1/2 tsp each of dried thyme and garlic powder, and 1/4 top rubbed sage. It’s delicious! It’s now cut into cubes, getting ready for stuffing. Yummy! Thank you.
Do you happen to have the nutrition facts for this recipe?
We donโt usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Made this for the first time and it definitely wonโt be the last. SO GOOD!!! Followed the instructions exactly except I added a little egg wash before baking and it came out beautiful. Who knew making your own sandwich bread could be so easy and delicious. Thank you for the recipe and great instructions.
Made this a few times now, delicious every time!
I have a small problem though – the top isn’t browning as much as the rest of it. By 34 minutes, it reaches the prescribed 195-200F internal temp and the sides/bottom are a gorgeous golden brown, but the top is a few shades lighter.
Is there an easy fix for this?
Hi Ava, it may be a simple fix of baking the bread on a higher oven rack. Give that a try and let us know if that does the trick!
Excellent recipe! I am a decent baker, but bread has always been a challenge! This turned out perfect.
Hi! I was wondering if I can substitute honey for the sugar. Thank you!
Hi Therese, the same amount of honey should work without any changes. Let us know if you give it a try!
Hello:
I have made this bread two times, it’s fantastic. I am wondering if I let the dough rise too long on the 2nd rise. I put the dough in the oven with the light on for each rise. The bread sunk a little in the middle and went over the side of the 9×5 loaf pan.
Hi Carol! Yes, that does sound like the dough over-proofed. So glad you love this bread recipe!
Super easy to make and tastes great. Used KitchenAid mixer and organic unbleached flour.
You wouldnโt happen to know the nutrition info on this, would you?
Hi Meg, We donโt usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Love this recipe! Turns out great everytime. However when I double the recipe, it rises super fast. The first rise only takes 30 minutes. I only use 3 1/4 tsp yeast and 6 Tbs butterโฆ Iโm wondering what the issue could be? Should I not double the sugar since that can react with the yeast a lot? My kitchen isnโt extra warm, and everything I else I do is based on the recipe. Iโve doubled it a couple times and every time it rises super fast. It turns out fine but maybe a little doughy?
Hi Kate! Hi! So glad you love this recipe. When you double yeasted doughs, itโs actually very normal for the rise to happen faster. A larger mass of dough traps heat and builds momentum more quickly, so the yeast becomes more active, even when you’re using slightly less. You can try reducing the sugar down to 3 Tbsp instead of 1/4 cup for doubling. Always go by the look of the dough, not the clock. If it has doubled, move on, even if itโs only been 30 minutes. Hope this helps!
Made this kind of on a whim one night when I got smacked with a 3AM baking urge; I’ve made bread a couple times before, but that was more of a rustic crusty bread as opposed to your typical sandwich loaf. It came out of the oven looking beautifully dreamy and delicious on the first try and I was just so excited over how pretty it was, and when I made us our first snacks with it the next day it felt SO fulfilling to eat a PB&J with lovely, soft, luscious homemade bread. We talked about it afterwards and agreed that the next time I make it, we’re probably gonna toast the bread first since the sandwiches were a wee bit floppy and difficult to handle because of how soft and supple the bread was along with the slices being a bit larger than grocery store packaged loaves. 10/10, not would make again, but WILL be making again (as soon as I clean my stand mixer bowl, lol)
Can I substitute with King Arthur gluten free bread flour?
Hi Braxton, we havenโt tested this recipe with gluten free flour, so weโre unsure of the results. Let us know if you do give it a try.
My first loaf is baking now and I can already tell it will be as yummy as my grandma used to make! Question: she used to roll feta cheese into some of her loafs, would this recipe work for something like that?
That sounds delicious, Demi! We’re unsure of the results with this recipe but would love to hear how it goes if you give it a try.
Great bread recipe, I no longer need to buy store bread. I did add 1 cup of whole wheat bread flower and reduced the white flower one cup. It gave the bread a little heaver body. Excellent when toasted with butter and strawberry preserves.
Sorry about the misspelling, it was before my first coffee. Whole “wheat” bread flour is what I used.
Super easy simple directions! My Bread rose fine but the bottom appears a tad dense, and itโs not as fluffy and soft as I would like or see in the photos. I usually bake with a scale (as I did with this recipe) but my dough did seem a bit stickier than it was supposed to so I added more flour and ended up kneading in the mixer for longer, and it was still slightly sticky when I felt like I had been kneading for too long and had added enough flour. Could I have over kneaded if itโs not fluffy? Is it better to have stickier dough than not?
Hi Jillian, weโre so glad youโre enjoying this bread! Itโs possible the loaf just needs a few extra minutes in the oven to finish baking through if the bottom in particular seems dense. Otherwise, be careful not to over-proof or over-knead the dough, as it can cause the bread to bake up a bit dense. Hope this helps for your next loaf!
So easy and turned out great!
Amazing. The best bread recipe I have used. We made turkey, spinach and provolone sandwiches on a grill pan when it was fresh out of the oven. I also love your roll recipe. Tall pillowy soft rolls!
Hello! Iโve used this recipe multiple times and it comes out great. The only thing I am having an issue is when Iโm freezing the bread dough and having it thawed out and proof as instructed. For some reason it doesnโt double in size and Iโm not sure what Iโm doing wrong. Any advice?
Hi Saphire! It may just need more time to rise after thawing.
I love this recipe! The bread turns out delicious and very soft! However for some reason it keeps coming out with huge air pockets right below the top of the crust and I have been following the recipe to a T. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Emalee! Some gaps are normal with swirled breads, but the best way to eliminate or reduce the gaps is to poke a toothpick in a few places on top of the bread right before baking. This helps that steam escape (which is creating the gaps). Hope this helps!
Hi! I love your recipes and I am excited to try this one. I need to make quite a few loaves for a neighborhood food distribution. Any advice on scaling up the recipe? Thank you!
Hi Sarah, For best results, we recommend making two separate batches of dough. However, if you want to double the recipe all in 1 mixing bowl, double all of the ingredients except for the yeast and butter. Use 3 and 1/4 teaspoons yeast and 6 Tablespoons of butter. We don’t recommend scaling any further than that. Hope this helps!
That is very helpful! Thanks!
I made this last weekend. Absolutely wonderful recipe! i used bread flour and kneeded by hand. Believe it or not we have a little left over to make grilled cheese for dinner tonight. Question: i saw the cinnamon swirl recipe the ingredients are the same only different quantities, but could I use this recipe and just add a little more sugar to add more sweetness to the bread?
Hi Lulu, we’re so glad you enjoyed it! The cinnamon swirl bread recipe is very similar to this one, but a bit sweeter. We’d follow that recipe for best results.