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.
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: 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.
- 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
Hi Sally
First thanks a lot for sharing your recipes and making video
I did try for ages to make my own bread but I never managed it
I did follow your recipe ans it worked !
I just have 2 questions for you if you don’t mind
First when I got the second rise it did rise over the top like you but then it dropped down 🙁 was still really good but I don’t get why
My rooms are quite cold so I did put it with a water recipient in my oven at 30°C (I am from Europe I do not know the °F)
Any idea why ?
And then I did use fresh yeast because so far non of the instant yeast ever worked for me
I had a loon at the yeast you recommand but there is no way to find it here in France
Would you have an equivalent in mind we could find worldwide?
Thanks again !
Cheers
Hi Clara, thank you so much for making and trusting our recipes! When bread rises and collapses, it’s been over proofed. You can try letting it rise for less time or in a cooler spot next time. We recommend any instant or active dry yeast you can find. Our baking with yeast guide may be a helpful resource for you!
The Sandwich Bread recipe is simple and turns out absolutely DELICIOUS every time! The bread is so tasty and moist that I could easily devour the whole loaf myself (plain OR slathered in butter)! No doubt, this bread will become a staple in my kitchen. Thank you for another well – loved, and “cannot live without” recipe Sally! Ellie
First time trying this recipe exactly as written and it turned out perfectly. Bake time of 30 minutes was perfect for my oven. Can’t wait to cut into it for dinner! Thanks for a beautiful recipe.
We live on an island and groceries are expensive and sometimes hard to come by so I cook and bake creatively often.
Made this yesterday and it is AMAZING bread for sure!!
Full disclosure, I forgot to add the butter, only had 3 1/4 cups flour to use so had to knead with olive oil on hands, and once I remembered the butter, I spread it on dough while it was rolled out. All that said and admitted, this is the best and most full proof recipe ( obviously) I have made yet !! Thank you so much!!
About a month ago my boyfriend asked if we could stop buying store bought bread with all the extra ingredients. since then I have gotten a bread machine and followed the instructions for bread and it was terrible. I have tried several recipes for oven bread and machine bread and this one is the winner. It is great for a sandwich or just buttered. It is soft and tasty andthe crust isnt too crisp. It’s a winner. I used only my kitchenaid with the hook to knead and added butter to the top while hot
I just baked this bread and it is FANTASTIC…The ONLY problem is, it smells a bit yeasty and I don’t know why…the taste is great, though !! I can’t wait to try the cinnamon loaf !!
any tips ?? thank you !!
Never leave comments — but I had to this time — this is RIDICULOUSLY good bread! I adapted to the breadmaker (basically just followed recipe exactly, but put in the breadmaker)— and it was best loaf I’ve ever baked — gone in a day! Is now my go-to sandwich bread recipe. THANK YOU!
I live in the UK and after a lot of searching, I landed on your page. I love the recipe, the video – easy to follow step by step guide. Thank you very much for sharing, very kind. considering the fact that I have never baked before , it came out really nice and the whole family loves it. The only problem is, it always come out a bit heavy at the bottom – after baking. Am I doing something wrong? please advise. Thanks.
Hi Nana! It sounds to me like your dough could have been over-proofed, if it rises too long, it can collapse when baked, leading to a denser texture. Try letting the dough rise for a slightly shorter time next time, until just doubled in size. Our baking with yeast guide may be a helpful resource as well – happy baking!
This bread is delicious. It however has air pockets in the middle. What do you suggest I do to prevent this from happening? Thank you.
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.)
Such an approachable sandwich bread recipe! I ended up using whole wheat flour since it’s what was on hand, and while it’s a little dry, it’s still very light and soft! Can’t wait to make this again with bread flour!
I’ve baked bread for years, this is my go to now for a quick easy loaf.
I have never had a great deal of success with bread making over my 73 years but thought I would try Sally’s recipe after successfully making Sally’s soft dinner rolls. This is by far the best loaf I have ever produced – followed the recipe to the letter and bingo! Perfection!! Can’t wait to see what it’s like for toast in the morning but I can say that it made perfect chip butties during tonight’s fish & chip supper.
Hi Pete, we are so glad you love this recipe! Happy baking!
Wonderful! I wonder if you have a recipe for pullman bread, or pain de mie? I bought the pullman pan for a recipe from another blogger, but it was an epic fail two times…
Hi Gayann, we don’t have a specific recipe for pullman bread. We’re not completely sure if this recipe would work because we haven’t tested it ourselves. It *shouldn’t* be a problem, but again– we haven’t tested it. Let us know if you do give it a try!
I have tried our quite a few bread recipes and this one is by far my favorite!!!! So soft and delicious thank you for sharing
I’ve tried plenty of bread recipes on the internet, I failed most of others, but yours always turns out great. And this one is my favorite!! Thank you for the easy to follow step by step, and the very helpful pictures. I often had to do substitutions because i have very limited access to baking supplies, but your detailed explanation of each ingredients really helped me to make adjustments and i always know what to expect. (Oh, also, i appreciate that the total time always written as is). I’ve tried many of your recipes.. From pastries, cookies, cakes, bread, everything turns out yummy! Thank you for making sure every recipe is perfect so i can have my confidence in baking 🙂
Thank you so much for making and trusting our recipes, Vani!
New bread baker here and the first bread recipes I’ve tried have been a bit pale. Not this one! Browned-up beautifully. It actually looks like a proper loaf! Great recipe, so easy to follow. One I could make every week. Thank you.
Just wanted to say, thanks Sally for this easy to follow recipe. I’m a very inexperienced bread maker but finally decided to give this a try. The results were lovely. Thanks!
Best softest tastiest bread I’ve ever made..
This bread is just delicious. So good that you don’t even need butter, jam, etc. Thank you so much for this recipe, Sally. I hope to only purchase bread when I’m short on time! There’s really no comparison.
i make this bread once a week, sometimes twice, along with sally’s dinner rolls. using a proofing box/fermentation station cuts the proofing time WAY down, i set mine to 80 degrees with a little water in the dish. i think 30 minutes each proof does the trick. loaves and rolls turn out great!!
I have followed the receipt, but that amount of liquid is simply too much. Finally I had to increase the flour to 750 gr to have a proper dough.
Today I tried again and 500 gr all proposed flour required only 250 ml liquid.
The bread was very good anyway.
Can I use a 8½ by 4½ loaf pan without adjusting the recipe?
Hi Joyce, Yes you can. Enjoy!
I’ve made this recipe several times, and we love it! However, the last couple of times the top of the loaf was not smooth. It looks like it is tearing apart as it is rising. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Jan, You aren’t necessarily doing anything wrong. It could be the moisture from the air that’s creating the softer, wrinkly crust– as well as the bread’s top settling down. How is the taste?
The taste is wonderful! But I didn’t think I described the problem accurately. The top is not wrinkly. It sometimes looks like a chunk was torn out. I’m thinking it is tearing away when rising. Maybe I need to work in my kneading.
I kinda skipped over most of the directions and dumped it all in the bread machine. Great success! I can go right to rolling the dough. This is my goto sandwich bread recipe now!!
I’ve never made bread before but I thought I’d give this recipe a try. Wow! I’ve gone baking crazy and made 8 loaves so far and every one turned out to be beautiful and delicious. Thank you for the wonderful and easy recipe.
What kind of salt do you use? Kosher, table, sea?
Hi Ryan, we use table salt in all of our recipes unless otherwise noted.
Oh gosh so soft and tasty. It really does taste like sandwich bread. Fresh the next day and just as soft. I let my bread rise on top of a crockpot and it didn’t take as long. I highly recommend this recipe for sandwich bread.
I would like to try this recipe but don’t have a mixer. Can it all be done by hand?
Yes, it can be done by hand with some arm muscle! We recommend bringing the dough together with a wooden spoon.
First time trying out sandwich bread! It turned out fabulous. Just used extra flour as needed for kneading. gonna add it to me repertoire for sure!
I love the recipe. It was easy to do and tastes great. My family loves it. My question is about slicing the bread. How do you cut it evenly or cut so some pieces aren’t thicker or thinner than others?
Hi Angelena! We just slice this bread very carefully with a sharp bread knife for even slices. No fancy tricks, but let us know if you find any!
Amazon has a bamboo slicer you can use. I got one when I started getting into fresh bread baking as my sandwiches were too big and I cant do anything straight. The slicer is 9 to 20 bucks
This is my new go-to sandwich bread recipe. The bread is not sweet like other sandwich bread recipes seem to yield. The recipe calls for 3 1/2 cups of flour but I used 3 cups and ended up having to add a tbsp of water. Very easy recipe and makes the process fun. I also brushed melted butter and rosemary on top for added flavor.
I’ve made this bread twice. Crust is wonderful and the bread is very tasty. However, it is crumbly and the top crust tends to break away. Is there something I can do to make it less crumbly? More kneading? Less kneading? I made your multigrain version and it didn’t have this problem.
Hi Pat, thank you so much for trying this bread. It sounds like the dough could benefit from more kneading– I recommend kneading for another 2 minutes.
I took your advise. After mixing with a hand held mixer with two dough hooks, I kneaded the dough by hand for a couple of minutes. The bread came our perfectly. Such a good recipe. I may never buy store bread again. Thanks for everything!