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
I cannot figure out why my dough is so sticky. I made the bread and it was good, but I definitely didn’t do it right and I have no idea why!
Hi Sarah! There are a lot of variables that go into the consistency of dough, even down to the weather and humidity in the air. There’s nothing wrong with adding just a little more flour to bring the dough into a less sticky and knead-able consistency.
I’ve loved all of Sally’s recipes, so when I decided to enter the world of homemade sandwich bread, I knew where to go.
My second rise never got more than 1/2” over the pan in spite of sticking it in a warm moist oven. Turned out it was perfect as it was. I held it up next to the Maier’s bread I usually buy for my husband, and it was almost the exact same size. In fact, it’s comparable in every way to the store bought bread we’re used to except it’s just better in every way.
Thank you!!!
For anyone interested: I used Active dry yeast with no change to rise times (the second rise was closer to 90 minutes but I don’t think it needed to be), KA bread flour, stand mixer, and tented with tin foil at the 20 minute mark.
Having high altitude problems (6,200’). Please advise!
Hi Lalita! I wish we could help, but have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
I have recently been diagnosed diabetic and wonder what would be a good sugar substitute? Also, do you have diabetic friendly recipes
Hi Gary, the same amount of honey will work here. We’re unsure about using sugar substitutes. We aren’t experts in low sugar or diabetic friendly recipes, but here is our collection of “healthier” recipes.
Love this! Any advice on using a Dutch oven instead of a loaf pan?
Hi Samantha, this dough really needs the walls of a loaf pan to bake up properly. Having said that, we haven’t personally tested it in a Dutch oven to be certain. We just fear it will be very flat. You might enjoy this artisan bread instead, which bakes wonderfully in a Dutch oven.
My family loves this sandwich bread recipe! It is their favorite. We are trying to switch to einkorn flour and I would like to know if this recipe will work with that?? Thanks!
Hi Candace, we haven’t tested this bread with einkorn flour, so we’re unsure of the exact results or any tweaks that may be needed. If you decide to do any experimenting, please do let us know how it goes!
Could this recipe be made in a bread machine? I’m lazy. . . . .♀️
Hi Sherry, we haven’t tested this recipe using a bread machine, but many readers have reported success doing so.
Can you substitute the sugar for honey?
That would be fine in this recipe.
This is my go to sandwich bread recipe. I’m new to baking bread but I’ve made this recipe probably 5+ times now and it’s been phenomenal every time. My husband says we can never go back to store bought bread!
Bread Machine question! I want to use my machine to make the dough. For anyone who had luck, please let me know how! Ive made this 3 times and while it is indeed delicious it tends to be dense or the dough is STICKY. Id love some help. Id like to bake it on my own, but the machine do the dough work.
This bread was amazing. Whole loaf gone in 20 minutes. Thank you!!
This recipe is the best one I’ve tried so far! The bread came out perfectly and tastes amazing. The only thing I did differently was using salted vs unsalted butter. I like salty flavor.
I absolutely love this recipe. I increase everything by 25% and it makes a perfectly tall loaf using my Pullman loaf pan. I’ve been baking a variety of breads for years, but never quite found the right texture for a white bread. This isn’t your store bought fluffy stuff; it’s got beautiful texture and the taste is better than any I’ve made, which surprised me given the simplicity of the ingredients.
This is the best recipe I have found for sandwich bread.
Delicious! Heavenly! More importantly…easy! It’s my go-to going forward, hubby loves it. Can’t wait to try your other recipes.
Can this recipe be doubled?
Hi Dee! It’s best to make two batches instead of doubling.
Any recipe I look up on line, I always look for Sally. From pizza dough to cookies, her recipes
are easy to follow and never disappoint. Oh yeah, great bread!
Does it need to be whole milk?
Hi Alli, whole milk is best, but a lower fat or non-dairy milk will work in a pinch. The bread may not be quite as soft.
Would buttermilk be an acceptable substitute for whole milk?
Yes, you can use buttermilk. Enjoy!
I made this recipe today and the end result was a beautiful loaf with my ideal crumb and texture. Definitely a winner to me! Springy, moist and light crumb; crispy but unobtrusive crust.
Two notes: First, I followed the metric weights provided alongside the volumes and I ended up with dough that was too wet to work with. It was probably a taring error on my part, but I’m going to make another loaf the same way to be absolutely sure. Easy enough to add flour until it looks/feels right, in any case.
Second, I threw in 5g (~2 teaspoons) of diastatic malt powder with the flour. The crumb of my bread ended up a little more uniform than what’s pictured in the blog post, with the overall structure looking very similar. I doubt the difference is all that big, as a lot of AP flours have malt in them already, but I’m happy with the results so I’ll keep doing it.
Update: I made this recipe again today with the provided weights, and again found the dough too wet to work with near the end of kneading (in a stand mixer). I think this must be a result of my cool/damp/humid Vancouver climate and higher protein Canadian flour. I’ve never encountered this much variance in how a dough came out for me vs how it came out for the recipe-author, but there’s a first time for everything! Adding about a tablespoon of flour seems to be the trick in my conditions.
In any case, the bread is fantastic. Definitely my new go-to sandwich loaf from now on!
I had the same experience in southwest Missouri in April. I just added more flour during the kneading period until it felt “right”. Glad I am not the only one. 😉
I’m in the UK so used the gram measurements and my dough was also extremely wet, i added quite a bit of extra flour, it also rose much quicker than anticipated and was ovenproofed because i didn’t check on it early enough
This bread comes out great. But, after making it several times I think the yeast amount is too much. It rises way faster than your instructions and most bread recipes call for 2-1/4 teaspoons for a 2 loaf recipe. Next time I will try cutting it in half.
I found the same thing – at 7 grams yeast by weight, this dough rises FAST!
Made this bread the other night and it is delicious! How are you storing it to keep it fresh? I have mine in a plastic cake storage container right now but wondered if there is a better way.
Hi Sheri! We usually use a large container or plastic zip-top bag.
I love this recipe! I like to make sure bread has a little fiber, so use half whole wheat and half bread flour. The rise using Platinum yeast is incredible! The bread turns out perfectly soft and delicious!
This is my go to recipe! My family loves it.
Listen, I will never EVER buy sandwich bread again. EVER!
Easy? Check
Delicious? Check
Did you end up eating half of the loaf in 5 minutes because you just wanted to try one more hot slice with a bit of butter? CHECK CHECK CHECK!!!
I almost feel cheated that I came across this recipe this late in life (I’m 43). This is wonderful!
I’m new to bread making. I’m wondering if I can substitute half whole wheat flour (or whatever proprtion works best) in this recipe?
Hi Catherine! Using whole wheat flour in this recipe would yield a more dense loaf. We recommend using our multigrain bread recipe or our whole wheat bread recipe instead.
I’m thinking about making this for my family tomorrow. I’ve been meaning to try a new bread recipe, but yeast has been acting differently where I live. We’re at just over a mile, so are there any recommendations or tips that you have for me?
Hi Delilah, I wish we could help, but have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
I live in Wyoming and am brand new like only my 2nd loaf I’ve ever made and had no issues with this recipe. Came out perfect! And if I can do it, girl you got this
We love this bread! It’s perfect for sandwiches and my kids can’t tell it’s not store bought bread! My parents love Rye bread. Any advice for converting this recipe into a nice soft rye bread that I can make for them?
Hi KC, we’re so glad this is a favorite for you! We haven’t tested a rye version of this bread, but let us know if you do any experimenting. It may take some tweaking of the dry to wet ingredient amounts.
Great recipe I make for my husband weekly! One request he had was if I could make it less dense. Sally, do you have any tips for this?
Hi Libby! This should be a pretty soft bread. Perhaps a slightly longer rise time will help – is your dough doubling?
I had the same trouble with other recipes Trina but this bread is amazing. For me I was not kneading long enough. Until I came across this page where it showed detailed video and photos of under-kneaded and kneaded enough.
This recipe was my first loaf that was edible as a sandwich! Thank you Sally. You’ve convinced my family I’m a baker
I had been letting it double in a warmed oven. Would that be part of it? Maybe letting it double on the counter taking longer could help?
Hi, I made this and followed the recipe exactly however my load grew enormous and uneven in the oven! I am wondering if this was a shaping issue or overproofing? Thank you !