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 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.
- 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.
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 and it provides the best texture when mixed with whole wheat flour when making Homemade English Muffins.
After you make 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 recipes like Breakfast Casserole and Herbed Sausage & Apple 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
- 1/4 cup (60ml) whole milk, warmed to about 110°F
- 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; 60g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 3 and 1/3 cups (416g) all-purpose flour or bread flour (spooned & leveled)*
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 rubber 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 rubber spatula. It will take a bit of arm muscle!*
- Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 3 minutes or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 3 minutes. (See video tutorial above if you need a visual of kneading dough by hand.)
- 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 with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. 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 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°F (90°C). 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.) Remove from the oven and allow bread to cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving. Feel free to let it cool completely before slicing, too.
- Cover leftover bread tightly and store at room temperature for 2-3 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.
- 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). 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 my whole wheat dinner rolls.
- 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 Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Keywords: bread, loaf, sandwich, white bread
First time making bread and this recipe turned out great!
This bread is dangerously delicious!
★★★★★
Perfect sandwich bread and great for toast, too. Followed the instructions exactly. Fast and easy. Thanks so much for the recipe.
★★★★★
I hardly ever buy white bread, but I have a two year old and a baby so white bread gets thrown in the menu sometimes..this recipe is so awesome!! Easy, simple ingredients and so so delicious. Great for the whole family and I don’t feel too bad about it because it’s homemade. Thank you!
★★★★★
I’ve made this recipe many times, and we love it. I’ve also made quite a few other white sandwich bread recipes over the years and this one is our favorite. It’s been a while since I’ve made sandwich bread though so I had a quick look at pictures and skimmed the blog text… I nearly forgot that one of the things I love to do most with this bread is make ROSS GELLER’S MOIST MAKER! I LOVE that this awesome sammie is mentioned here. This weekend, we’ll be using this bread for Club Sandwiches but we might have to have an early mini Thanksgiving soon just so we can make the moist makers. Can’t wait!!
★★★★★
This was SO GOOD! I’ve been making bread a while now and this was the closest texture to store bought I have found. I wanted a nice homemade white sandwich bread and this one delivered! I made my first loaf the other day to test. I’m making more today. This will be my new go-to for fast, delicious sandwiches!
★★★★★
I made this vegan! I used my home made almond milk and Miyoko’s butter. It was perfect.
★★★★★
This bread was easy, quick, and delicious! Is very soft but holds up to sandwiches.
★★★★★
Brilliant recipe. I have a very mixed success history with bread and in keeping with that I made a mistake at the beginning of this recipe and put all the ingredients in at once . It still worked and the bread was lovely. Highly recommend this recipe.
★★★★★
I am just learning how to make bread and this loaf turned out perfectly!
★★★★★
I made this twice today and both times it didn’t rise above the top of the pan, and then during baking the sides of the bread became brown but not the top, it’s also quite dense. Any suggestions for me? I want to get it to work! The second time I followed the recipe exactly except for I used 2% milk instead of whole milk. The first time I had to run out to the store mid mixing to get more flour so I figured that was was caused my lack of rising on the second rise, but I had the same result the second time I tried. Grateful for any tips!
Hi Megan! It sounds like your dough could use more time to rise – try a slightly warmer spot to encourage the yeast. See Sally’s answer to Where Should Dough Rise? in our Baking with Yeast Guide.
If I have 2 8×4 pans, is there any way I can make this?
Hi Jasmine, that size pan should work just fine. 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. Let us know how it goes!
This recipe is delicious. Can you double it for 2 loaves? I know sometimes it doesn’t have the same result if doubled
Hi Elena, for best results, we recommend making two separate batches. So glad you enjoyed this one!
Me and my family love this recipe a lot! I’m trying to perfect it. The taste is great but when we slice into it, around a few slices in I’ll get holes in my bread and it takes away from the presentation. Is there anything I can do to prevent this? Do we need to roll the dough up or can I just form into the size needed with my hands?
Hi Kassandra, we’re so glad your family is loving this bread! You can certainly shape and put it right in the pan, but doing it this way gives the bread more structure since it was rolled up tightly instead of loosely placed in. Some holes are completely normal!
Been making this sandwich bread and it’s my family’s favorite! I’m just curious, if I ran out of butter, can i sub oil instead? Thanks!
Hi Sheila, you need softened butter in this dough so we don’t suggest an oil substitute (liquid). You can try room temperature (solid) coconut oil though (expect a different taste). So glad this one is a favorite for your family!
I have been making this recipe once a week for the past five months. It’s PERFECT. I use half butter and half oil, because butter is very expensive right now. Otherwise, I follow the recipe as written. So so good.
★★★★★
I’m trying my hand at bread (again). Having run into financial problems, I’ve tried to make bread several times. I usually ended up with a brick. I know baking is a science, and cooking is art I’m a decent cook, but have issues baking. So. I trust your page, and find it makes daunting tasks easier. And they taste good. Lol
So, I’m in the second rise. So far everything looks, feels, and smells like it should. I am optimistic. Thank you.
I loved this recipe
★★★★★
My family loves this recipe! I was wondering if I could use honey instead of sugar? If so when would I add it? Thanks!
★★★★★
Hi Kelly! The same amount of honey should work. Follow the same directions. Let us know if you give it a try!
I used honey and the bread came out great! There was a hint of sweet smell while it was baking made the house smell nice!
★★★★★
I made it today and used 2 tablespoons of honey it came out perfect!
Have made bread before. Very pleased with this recipe and will use again. A forgiving recipe. Mixed and kneaded by hand. Used bread flour. Had to sub oat milk and vegan butter. Also the first kneading went awry and it was rising on the counter for a couple of hours. Kneaded it more thoroughly, rose again nicely, then carefully put into pan until it rose again and crowned over the top of the pan. Took longer to bake than I was expecting, but used a ceramic loaf pan. Kept checking using an instant read thermometer. Very pretty loaf and the lack of kneading the first time around did not seem to matter.
★★★★
Instructions were straightforward and easy to follow. I did it by hand (also used a dough whisk), and it still came out great. Highly recommend! Everyone in my family approves!
★★★★★
I want to follow the overnight rise, using the 1st rise in the refrigerator which says after the 12 hours “remove from the refrigerator and allow the dough to fully rise for 2 more hours. Continue with step 5. That would mean a 3rd rise? since Step 5 is grease the pan and step 6 is the shaping and then step 7 is another rise!
Hi Alicia, that’s correct–the dough won’t rise a ton in the refrigerator overnight (the cold allows for a slow rise), so you’ll allow it to fully rise for 2 more hours at room temperature. Then it will have another shorter rise once shaped in the pan. Hope this helps!
This is now my go-to sandwich bread
★★★★★
Two words! French Toast. Like thick, hearty French Toast and this bread is the ticket. I’m in a drier area so I add a little more milk. I’ve made it dozens of times and *Muah* it’s great. Try it.
I am astounded at how good this bread is. I followed the instructions exactly (using a stand mixer) but subbed the regular milk for buttermilk (1:1). The best peanut butter and jelly sandwich I’ve ever had! I’m now considering getting a loaf cutter because this is absolutely taking the place of any store-bought loaves.
★★★★★
Whydoes my bread keep coming out so dense instead of fluffy
If the bread seemed dense, 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. Thank you for giving this recipe a try!
My family adored this bread!! The loaf was gone within days. It has such a good flavor & texture! Fluffy but still a little firm. I plan on sticking with this recipe!
★★★★★
This turned out so well! It is delicious and I can’t wait to keep more!
★★★★★
First time baking bread ever with this recipe and it came out delicious, absolutely love it!!
Just noticed it was kind of difficult to slice in that the center of some of the pieces came apart very easily so I have a hole in the slices – is it just because the bread is softer or does it have to do with something about the bake?
Thank you!!!
★★★★★
Hi Kay, some holes are completely normal. However, the bread may be under-baked. Extend the bake time if you try it again. Tent the bread with foil if the top is over-browning quickly. If you have an instant read thermometer, yeast doughs/bread is done when it reads the center of the loaf/pan/bread as 195°F(90°C).
This has become my family bread recipe. I typically double the recipe, make two batches (for 4 loaves), freeze three, and we eat one. They freeze beautifully.
★★★★★
This bread is GOOD! I loved how easy it was to make. I’m trying to start making bread for my family instead of buying it, and this recipe is going in my weekly rotation. 🙂
★★★★★