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 perfection—rising 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 bake—convenient, 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, it’s time to knead. You can continue beating the dough with the mixer for this step or you can knead the dough by hand. If you’re new to bread baking, my how to knead dough post and video can help with this step.
Sandwich Bread Ingredients
You need 7 ingredients—practically 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 can’t 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 🙂
- 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 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 sandwich—store-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
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.Â
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240ml) water, warmed to about 110°F (43°C)
- 1/4 cup (60ml) whole milk, warmed to about 110°F (43°C)
- 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 420–430g) 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 or paddle 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: Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 5–8 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5–8 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 finger—if 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 perfect—in 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:Â 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 350°F (177°C). (It’s best to bake the bread towards the bottom of the oven so the top doesn’t burn.)
- Bake the bread: Bake for 30-34 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 195–200°F (90–93°C).
- 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, remove 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 doesn’t 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.Â
- 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
Made this bread and it was gone before the day was over with a request for more. I think we will now make this at least 2 times a week. It is fantastic. I followed the recipe to the letter as I do with all those I have never made before.
HO.LY. COW. This bread was great! It’s good enough as is, but when toasted and spread with a little butter??? Best ever! So crisp, but fresh! Despite a lot of kneading, I could never get the dough to the point of really activated gluten, but it didn’t seem to matter in the end. The bread was great. Thank you! I’ll be making this every week!
I’m reviewing this for the second time because I’ve made it again and after reading some recent reviews wanted to comment. Unlike the first time, after my 2 minutes of kneading the dough was still very wet and sticky. I added 1/4 cup more flour, mixed more, then finally took it out and increased in a good 1/4 cup more. Dough needs to be the right consistency or its not going to turn out right. Made mine with all purpose flour and I used a few tablespoons of powdered milk with 1/4 cup more water. I used the bread proofing feature on my oven that stays at 95 degrees and the fist rise took under an hour and a half. The second took about half an hour. This is a great recipe! I highly recommend it.
I made this bread today and it was my first time making bread. I did not a brown layer on top of the bread. It’s only slightly brown.
This turned out amazingly, I couldn’t be happier!
I made this using the overnight method after it was shaped in the tin. After 4 hours out of the fridge, it did not rise as high as the pictures, but I think my kitchen might have been too cold. It also was not as toasty on top because I took the recipe tip too literally and put the rack on the lowest rung.
Even with my slight mistakes, the bread tasted amazing and had incredible texture! I shared with family and they also raved about it. I will definitely be making this over and over again!
Light, fluffy loaf and kitchen smells good for the whole day!! I have made this recipe before , so I felt confident to double up today and… it is a success.
Thanks Sally !
My first time making bread in ages — was perfect and more delicious than I could’ve hoped. I needed more flour, but otherwise A+!
Thank you so much for this amazing bread recipe. I have struggled so much over the last year trying to make a loaf that doesn’t weigh 20 pounds and could be considered a lethal weapon if thrown and this recipe is amazing. I have made 2 loaves now and both have turned out light fluffy delicious and so easy!! I cant wait to try all of your bread recipes soon. Thank you so much!!
This recipe is DELICIOUS. I’ve made it twice now, in 3 days! My suggestion to others is to go by RISE not by TIME. The recipe specifies to do the second rise *COVERED* and to let it go until it’s 1″ above the pan. Do THAT, versus setting a timer for 2 hours and not checking it 🙂 My first loaf was mega over risen, and still deeply delicious, cut as thick slices with a hearty dinner, but it wouldn’t have worked well for sandwich bread. Today, I used plastic wrap and only let it go 45 minutes until is it was about 1.5″ above the pan. I was able to slice it and it’s going to make the most flavorful, cloudlike sandwich bread. YUM.
I’m never buying bread again! I made this today, because I didn’t want to go to the store, and am so impressed with how easy it was. Not only that, it turned out beautifully! So soft and delicious!
I used 1 cup of whole wheat flour, and regular all-purpose for the rest. I didn’t have instant yeast, so I used Red Star active dry yeast and the rise times were the same as stated in the recipe.
Prepared a super soft and super fluffy bread. Made two batches with this recipe, one was regular sandwich bread and second batch I added a little bit of basil pesto and both turned out awesomely delicious. Thank you for this lovely and simple recipe.
My first loaf is in the oven as we speak. I just wanted to know if next time I could add half whole wheat flour to this recipe without drying it out? I can’t wait to try this and I am committed at this moment to waiting until it has fully cooled.
Hi Mary, We don’t recommend whole wheat flour because it doesn’t have the same baking properties as white flour or bread flour (the gluten levels are different). It’s best to stick with bread flour, but you can try half whole wheat flour and half bread flour (or all-purpose flour). The texture and taste will be different. Or you can try our whole wheat dinner rolls.
How do I keep air pockets from forming in my loaf of bread?
Hi Maureen, Make sure you roll it up into a very tight 8-inch log in step 6. The tighter the layers/swirls, the less chance of an air bubble. Also, don’t over-proof the dough in either rise. (Don’t let it rise too long past necessary.)
Hi Sally,
If I were to use salted butter instead of unsalted, by how much should I reduce the salt?
Looking forward to trying the recipe!
Also can I use granary bread flour rather than normal bread flour, would it still work? Or should I use all-purpose instead?
Hi Jay, we haven’t tested this recipe with granary bread flour so we’re unsure of the exact results. For best results, we recommend sticking with regular bread flour or all-purpose flour.
Hi Jay, you can use salted butter with no other changes to the recipe needed. The slight flavor of salt in the 4 Tbsp of salted butter won’t make a difference in the baked bread. Enjoy!
I tried it with granary bread. It was very sticky at first but that usually happens whenever I make a dough and I assume that is because of the humidity. The loaf turned out very well. Will be making again soon.
How long should I rise the dough if I’m using active dry yeast?
If I used 1% milk for this recipe, would it not turn out?
1% milk should work just fine. Happy baking!
I accidentally doubled the butter amount. I didn’t notice until during the first rise. Should I dump it and start over or can I adapt it now into dinner rolls or something smaller? Not sure if it will just be more buttery or if it won’t rise and bake properly.
Hi Pat, we’re unsure how they will turn out with the extra butter, but it’s worth giving it a try. If you want to make them into smaller rolls, in step 6 punch down the dough, form into individual rolls, and continue with second rise. We’re unsure of the bake time needed (roughly follow our recipe for dinner rolls). Let us know how it goes for you.
To follow up, I did make them into 15 dinner rolls (switched over to your recipe to follow after step 6). Still got a decent rise from them. I cooked them for about 22 min. They were very yummy and buttery! Used them as garlic bread. Doing another loaf tonight and double checking all my measurements first!
Hello,
I would like to add fiber to this bread recipe (psyllium powder). How much, and at what point in the recipe should I add the powder?
Thanks!
Jacqueline
Hi Jacqueline, we haven’t tried that ourselves, but you can try adding it when you add the flour in step 2. Let us know how it goes!
Amazing!! This recipe is perfect! So easy to make. It’s light, fluffy and tastes amazing. Now just need to learn how to stop myself from eating the whole loaf hot from the oven!
Finally!
I have superb home grown tomatoes and have tried several commercial and farmers market breads for the best BLTs and found they don’t exist.
This recipe (I made it with bread flour) is the absolute ultimate sandwich bread. Delicious, can stand up to toasting, not a weird shape, makes the ultimate BLT. And the sandwich deserving of my tomatoes.
Thank you so much!!!!
Cindy in Napa
Hi Sally,
So far, so good 🙂
I just pulled the loaf out of the oven, it looks and smells wonderful. I tried the overnight method, first rise.
The recipe was easy to follow and execute. I don’t use a machine for mixing, but this worked up just fine kneading by hand.
I’ll be back after I try it… it’s so hard to wait. I’m sure it’s going to be marvelous!
Hi, I am Arni from Malaysia. This is my first time baking bread & I love how it turns out. Thank you for the great recipe. I just struggle on the loaf tray didn’t know which size to use. So what I did was divide the dough & baked in 2 (9″ x 4″) loaf tray. Can I use just 9″x 4″ loaf tray only?
Hi Arni! So glad to hear this bread turned out delicious for you. The recipe calls for one 9×5 loaf pan, but you should be able to use your one 9×4 loaf pan — the final loaf will just be a bit taller. Hope this helps for next time!
Thank you…Yes, the bread is taller. If I were to bake 2 loaves of bread, how long do I need to bake them and at what temperature?
Hi Arni, if making two separate loaves that are each a full recipe, you will bake for the same time and temperature. If you’re splitting one recipe into two separate loaves, the bake time will be shorter (we’re unsure of the exact time) and keep in mind that the bread won’t be as tall. Hope this helps!
The flavor was amazing but the dough was way too soft and hence collapsed in one spot once it came out of the oven. I weighed all my ingredients. I noticed in the video that she didn’t even use all the flour. I used it all and then some. The loaf also stick to my pan even though I greased it, so I had to use a knife to loosen it…now doesn’t look very nice. Again, taste is amazing… but what did I do wrong?
Hi Paige! You’re not necessarily doing anything wrong– a lot of factors go into this such as mixing time, speed, weather, yeast, and temperature of water. Feel free to add a little more flour to make a soft, yet workable dough. Thank you so much for giving this bread recipe a try!
Hi Sally, I only have an 8×3.15×3 inch pan, I know there are conversions out there for cake pans but I’m not sure how to do it for bread tins :(, will it be too tight or is it okay to use it?
If it’s easier to scale it bigger than smaller, I have a 9×9 inch square pan so maybe I can make twice the bread and squish a x2 recipe in with a slip of aluminium foil as a separator, though I have no idea how long I would have to bake it for then, which would you recommend?
The recipe looks mouthwatering and I can’t wait to try it!
I was also wondering if the same tin, whichever you recommend, would also work with the rosemary garlic pull-apart bread.
Yes, your slightly smaller loaf pan should be ok for that recipe also. Happy baking!
Hi Dion, We don’t recommend your square pan as the sides likely aren’t tall enough for two loaves. If you try your loaf pan you can roll the dough out to be a little smaller than 8×15 inches in step 6. The loaf will be taller and require a little more time in the oven.
One of the secrets to a good rising bread is to use the Platinum yeast, as pictured. Since I can never find it in a store, I buy it online via Amazon. Yes, it costs slightly more but to make impressive loaves of bread, I think it is a necessity.
how should we warm the milk?
Hi Emilia, You can warm the milk on the stove or in the microwave. Just be careful not to heat it too much!
I’ve found that if you get your one cup of water pretty hot out of the tap (like 125 degrees), you can add your 1/4 cup of cold milk right to it and it will cool down to the right temp.
I don’t have a food thermometer, so how do I know when my milk and water are 110 degrees?
Hi Nora, Try touching the milk and water with your fingers. A good rule of thumb: if it’s too hot to touch, it’s too hot for the yeast. It shouldn’t feel much warmer than room temperature. It’s better for the liquid to be too cool than too hot as yeast is also effective in cooler temperatures, but it requires more time to expand the dough. If the liquid is cooler just watch your dough and you’ll know it’s risen enough when it’s doubled in size (see above photos for a visual reference). I hope this helps!
Followed the recipe. Bread never rose at all. Same yeast work earlier in the day with a different recipe. Disappointed.
This bread is sooo soft, fluffy, tender, and amazing. I have made this recipe a ton of times, and it is PERFECT every time!! Perfect for sandwiches, it toasts beautifully, and is DELICIOUS!! I wouldn’t change a thing about this amazing recipe!!
I’ve made this a few times too and without toasting it’s way too flimsy for sandwiches. Even when cutting it the bread has a lot of squish to it. The crust is beautiful and the loaf is delicious, but structurally it’s hard to work with without toasting it.
I need at least half a cup more flour than the recipe recommends to get the dough to stay together well, but I’m in a humid location.