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
Keywords: bread, loaf, sandwich, white bread
My fourth loaf just came out of the oven. Perfecto! Doubt if I’ll ever buy bread again! Tomorrow…cinnamon raisin it is! My new pandemic obsession…baking (it only took a year lol).
★★★★★
BEST SANDWICH BREAD RECIPE EVER! I make this bread every 3-4 days! I make a lot of sourdough bread but I do like to change it up now and then and this makes a great Sandwich bread! But the ADS COVERING THE CONTENT ON YOUR SITE ARE HORRENDOUS! I totally understand having ads on the site re income and i go to many sites which have the ads…Unfortunately this is one of the worst. Even as i am typing this, my content is being covered up such that i cant see what I’m typing…Really!! I am not sure who you should contact but this does not encourage one to return.
★★★★★
Hi Valerie, so happy you love this bread recipe! We’ve had a few spam ads sneak through our ad blocks, so what you’re experiencing isn’t usual. Our apologies for this– it is certainly frustrating for users and our whole team as well– and a fix request has been placed. Apologies for the inconvenience!
Omg! Easy and delicious
Sally I’m so glad I found your site. I’ve made your apple crumble pie twice to perfection as well as the best blueberry pie which I was told by my tasters THE BEST PIE EVER!!! I have never baked bread before this one and oh boy will I start now. The recipe is just simple with easy instructions. It came out perfect. I wish I could post a picture.
★★★★★
My first loaf of bread! Thank you it was superb! Can I use the same recipe and sub the bread flour for whole meal flour? Would love to give a healthier option to my parents
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Hi Sally, I’ve tried this recipe so many times and it always turned out very good. But I have a problem regarding the time to make it. I am a working woman and want to bring a fresh bread to the office, but unfortunately I do not have time to do the proofing for at least 2 hours before putting it into the oven in the morning. Would you please give me a tips so that I can put it in the refrigerator over night then I directly can shape it and rise it for a lil while (maximum 30 minutes) then finally I can bake it?
Thank you in advance!
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Hi Laras, unfortunately I don’t have advice for shortening that time out of the refrigerator prior to baking. You could try placing the shaped dough in the refrigerator overnight for the 2nd rise, then letting it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking, but I fear that it wouldn’t be ready before baking. Let me know if you test it.
It’s great the next dough, though! You could bake it 1 day, let it cool, then cover tightly overnight before serving the next day.
This is the second time making sandwich bread and second recipe. My previous bread loaf was just ok. I made a few decent baguettes. This time, I wasn’t too optimistic. The dough was really sticky, but I was afraid to add more flour. I’m still learning how dough is supposed to feel. I mixed in a stand mixer and kneaded by hand. Looking back, I did the kneading all wrong. It was stuck like glue to my cutting board. When I finally rolled it out and put in the pan, I was so happy that it rose a second time. It was a thing of beauty…I kid you not. I followed the tip to place it toward the bottom of the oven and watched closely the last 5-10 minutes. I followed another tip and used a thermometer to see that it got to 190F. It was a perfect loaf of bread! I waited until it cooled to just being warm before cutting. Now I will know it’s ok to add just a bit more flour as it mixes. For this beginner baker, it turned out delicious!
★★★★★
This recipe is fabulous!
Just wanted anyone to know with a proof option on their stove: 90 minute first rise, 30 minutes second rise are more than enough.
★★★★★
Is the fat in the whole milk important for the bread? I usually have skim milk in my fridge!
Hi Chloe, whole milk helps produce an extra soft and tender loaf. Keeping that in mind, you can use skim milk (or even just more water) instead.
Wow best bread I’ve ever made!
★★★★★
Outstanding!! I must have a 1/2 million bread recipes but This one? OMG!
So effortlessly easy & wonderful flavor without being sweet – our absolute favorite for toast, hands down!
A couple things I might add – I recommend using Unbleached AP flour – just because there’s more nutritional value (hey, if you’re gonna eat the entire loaf in one sitting, may as well be sure you’re getting something Good out of it!! )
Also, I’ve been using my own version of dough enhancement in my recipes – makes the yeast rise like Crazy! In this recipe, I just added a tablespoon of dry milk powder with the salt & 1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar early in the kneading process – doesn’t change the flavor noticeably but the yeast Loves it!
One other baking “secret” I’ve learned over the years – I keep a small heating pad in my kitchen to help with the risings & bring chilled ingredients up to room temp quicker. Just put it on low & let it do its thing – seriously cuts down on the wait time & aren’t we All about that??!
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Great idea about the heating pad! My house is always cold (which is how I like it, lol). Do you put the bowl of dough on the heating pad, or do you put the heating back over the bowl?
Hey Michelle
Nope, just set the bowl on top of the heating pad on the countertop, cover with plastic wrap & a tea towel. I’ve used this method for years & my breads rise beautifully even with less yeast! Don’t raise the temp more than low tho – this method is so nice because it cuts the rise time down quite abit & you don’t have to keep peeking into the oven to check on it!
Thanks for asking!
Hi Sally, I tried try your simply sandwich bread recipe today and was a total disaster unfortunately. I used King Arthur AP flour and active dry yeast-which I tested and was good. It has been rising for 2 hours and has not risen.When it got to the kneading process in my mixer it was just in blobs of dough, it did not get to the ball stage.So I tried to kneed for a while and put it back in the mixed again with same result it just broke the dough up again. Very frustrating .. I made your cornbread recipe the other day was delicious. Would you havre any suggestions why this happened.I think it will be going in the trash.. Thank you for any advice.
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Hi Julie, it sounds like the dough could have benefitted from extra flour. There are many variables at play when it comes to a dough’s consistency such as weather, humidity, method of measuring, even the brand of flour used. If you try the recipe again, I recommend adding at least another 1/2 cup of flour, about 60-70g. This should definitely help.
Thank you Sally for your reply. I will try that, but I was thinking maybe I needed more liquid to bring it into the ball stage. I’m using KA flour as it was breaking up in the mixer☹️ I would love to try it again as so many people have written such great reviews!! I’ll try weighing the flour next time vs scooping and leveling. Thanks again.
Hi Sally,
First time baking bread & it came out perfect. Thanks.
★★★★★
Thank you for this recipe. This is my first successful bread loaf after my first two attempts yielded dense and heavy loaves. I had a slight problem, though. My dough turned out very sticky, making hand kneading quite difficult. I live in the tropics and it is quite humid here. Is there any measurement adjustment I should make?
Hi Sally!
I was wondering, could I form this recipe into buns instead? For hamburgers perhaps?
Many thanks,
Janna.
Hi Jenna, sure can! You could also try my bread bowls to make hamburger buns.
Wow my second loaf is in the oven…easy peasy! I used KA bread flour, sifted. Your recipes are so approachable due to such detailed instructions. I regret I haven’t embraced yeast baking earlier in this pandemic!
★★★★★
Ive never been able to get a loaf correct. Its always gone wrong. I have followed this recipe tonight and my goodness it was amazing. My first fully achieved loaf of bread
★★★★★
I followed this recipe to make my first loaf of bread… And the five that followed. Thank you for this informative and easy-to-follow post.
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I have made this probably 5 or 6 times, as I have quit buying bread at the store. It’s only me, so that big loaf sits in the fridge and gets eaten a couple of times a month. Today I made it and took a hint from others, that said they made “buns” from the dough. I didn’t want buns, but did want loaf bread.
Followed the recipe to a “T”. When it came time to roll out, I rolled it, then cut it in half.
Now I have, 2 loafs, just the right size. One I’ll eat on and the other in the freezer, for later. I posted a pic on FB, if anyone is interested.
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Hi Sally!! Thank you for this recipe. The first time I made this, the bread rose beautifully – 1 inch above the pan as specified. Both the other times I tried, it doesn’t rise over the pan and if I let it to rise above the pan, it ends up overproofing. I am using the exact same measurements as indicated and haven’t changed anything since the first time I made this. Can you please advise?
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Hi Shirley, how the bread rises will greatly depend on the weather you’re experiencing (temperate and how humid the air is). Using a controlled environment will help with this – see the section called Where Should Dough Rise? in Sally’s Baking with Yeast Guide. Hope that helps!
I’ve made this bread twice now and love it! It rises great, but the top falls a little flat in the oven. I was wondering if you might be able to tell me why that might be happening. Thanks for all the great recipes!
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Hi Sammie, yeasted dough like this can deflate in the oven if it over-proofed. See if you can reduce the amount of time in the 2nd rise– cutting it shorter should help the bread hold its shape a bit better in the oven.
I did everything exactly according to recipe although my dough rose much faster than the times listed. I am using red star platinum yeast and my bread got MUCH taller than pictured in the oven. It’s almost twice as tall. Any idea why?
★★★★★
Made this sandwich bread. Best bread ever!! Made exactly as stated including the Platinum yeast. Very easy. Will make again. ThankYou for a perfect recipe.
★★★★★
I am a huge fan of this recipe. When I decided to start making my own bread, I had no idea that it would become a regular occurrence. But it is and I love it! That said, I tried for the first time to freeze the dough. I followed the instructions and froze it in the bread pan after the first rise but before the second. When I thawed the bread, it did not rise any more. When I baked it, it stuck to the pan and would not fall out as it usually does. Much to my disappointment, it ended up breaking when I took it out of the pan. Any suggestions on what I did wrong? I’d love to be able to freeze the bread so I have it available on weeks that time crunched!
★★★★★
I tired your other recipes and absolutely love them. I just got a bread machine. I followed the recipe that came with the machine and it gave me a very dense loaf. Can I use your recipe and just put it in the machine?
I make this loaf in my bread maker I pull it to shape and do its last rise and then pop it into the oven. Also, my oven temperature is very precise and I find mine bakes up better @ 375⁰ .
Great tips! Will definitely try. Thank you!!
★★★★★
I made this recipe and I have made white bread before. Honestly, I was a little disappointed – it tasted a bit flat, like it was lacking something. Maybe it was something I did. I’ll try it again and hopefully it will taste better.
This is legitimately the best and closest recipe to store bought sandwich bread I’ve ever baked.
★★★★★
This bread was easy and had great flavor. I made it to use for BLTs for supper last night. Unfortunately the bread completely fell apart–it did not hold up to the somewhat messy sandwich. Though the sandwiches were delicious, we ended up eating the remnants with a fork.
So my question is, is there any way to make the bread more durable (for lack of a better word)? I’ve read that you can add some whole wheat flour and/or soy lecithin to make the gluten more elastic. The lecithin will also help preserve the bread–another problem I have with homemade sandwich bread (as there are only two of us in the house).
Do you have any thoughts on this? Any insight would be appreciated.
★★★★
Hi Melanie, thank you for trying this bread recipe. It’s one of my favorites and I’m glad you enjoyed the flavor. To yield a sturdier bread, I recommend using all water as the liquid (no milk) and reducing the butter down to 2 or 3 Tbsp. You could also try replacing 1 cup of flour with 1 cup of whole wheat flour. I hope this is helpful for next time.
This is such a great recipe, its my new go-to, its so light and fluffy and rises beautifully. I do not have a stand mixer so just mixed everything first with a spoon and then kneaded it by hand for 2 minutes, and a second 2-minute knead after the second rising. I was also skeptical of such a short kneading time, but notice no difference between this recipe and my previous that required 10 min. Rolling the dough into a rectangle and then folding is not necessary, I simply shaped it into a loaf with my hands and it baked up nicely.
★★★★★
Can I sub buttermilk for the whole milk or would that not work?
Hi Morgan, Yes you can use buttermilk. Enjoy!
This is a great bread! I used 2% milk and all-purpose four. I admit, I was surprised by short knead time, but have it a go. I decided a few weeks ago to start making bread as we don’t eat that much and a small loaf a week is plenty. I’ve been using a different recipe each time and I think this may become my go-to bread. Soft, tasty, great crumb. Thanks so much for your great recipe!
★★★★★
Hi, I’m from bangkok, I’m glad i got this recipe and tried today itself for the first time, It came so beautifully … my family loved it .. I will bake this often now … taste really good !
Thank you sally for sharing this lovely recipe.
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