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 regular butter or honey 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
- Cranberry Nut No-Knead 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 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 32-36 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
Reader Comments and Reviews
This recipe is delicious. Is it ok to use the proof setting on my oven (80°) for the rise? Or would that hastened rise make the bread too soft for slicing? Any advice?
Hi Elaine! The rise time may be slightly shorter, but it shouldn’t be an issue. Just keep an eye on the bread so it doesn’t over-proof.
Just started making this recipe a couple weeks ago. Family keeps asking me to bake another loaf. It is delicious!
Hello,
What, exactly will the difference be between the two types of flour? Which is “better” for this type of bread?
Hi Daniel, All-purpose flour is convenient for most, but bread flour produces a chewier loaf of bread and we 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.
This is the bread of my childhood! It tastes EXACTLY like the bread my Mom would bake for my family, something I’ve not tasted for many, many years. I brushed melted butter on the crust when it was cooling, like my Mom used to. This was be in my regular rotation.
I am so excited!! My first loaf of bread and it looks just like sandwich bread! Perfect shape, perfect little holes, nice and chewy! I can’t wait to eat it all and make more!!
I’m an ok bread baker but have NEVER made a truly good sandwich bread until this recipe. Made exactly as written and it’s absolutely perfect. Thank you for this recipe! Next I’m trying your version made with multi grain cereal
This is the best bread EVER!!!! Found the recipe about a month ago and have made it number times!!!! It’s soooooo good!
I love this recipe!! Easy and foolproof. I wish I knew how to upload a photo.
Hi!! I made the bread and LOVE IT!! But it was really dense. The only thing I can think about is the 2nd rise took more than 2 hours and didn’t rise as much as it should have. Would a colder kitchen be the cause of that??
Hi Jordan, that could be the cause. You definitely want it to have a nice rise, and rise above the rim of the pan. If you try the recipe again, see if a slightly warmer environment helps. Or extend the rise time.
My teenage son said this is the best bread he has ever had in his entire life! I did reduce sugar to 1 tsp.
Do I have to use whole milk?
Hi Ember, you can use a lower fat milk or non-dairy milk in a pinch. The bread may not be as soft.
Hi Sally, your recipes are wonderful. I tried this for my first bread attempt and your instructions are so easy to follow. Your video is perfect for a beginner to utilize. My bread turned out so good. Its delicious and now I’m inspired to try more. Thank you so much!
Hi Nicole, thank you for trying this! We’re so glad you loved it.
Can I use evaporated milk instead of whole?
Hi Noelani, we haven’t tried this substitution, but let us know if you try!
Pulled it off! Used 1/4 evaporated milk as substitute to the whole milk and the bread processed just like the recipe…and the man is happy so = WIN! My NEW go to recipe!!! Gratitude to Sally! Blessings
Most recipes that call for instant yeast that I’ve seen suggest adding the yeast with the flour. Is there a reason to proof it like using active dry yeast? I was just curious.
Honestly, it’s just habit. You can skip it if using instant yeast, though I do appreciate that the yeast dissolves a little better when doing it this way. Also, the recipe directions won’t change if someone switches to active dry. You’ll have to proof it then.
Best bread ever! I love all of your tips and your pictures and videos made everything else so easy to follow!
would have loved to skip the repetitive parts about what water is and how to make toast. silly and fumbling.
If I plan to use active dry yeast instead, do I use the same amount?
Hi Gabrielle, You can use the same amount of active dry yeast instead. Rise times will be slightly longer using active dry yeast.
Thank you Sally for your terrific recipes!
Bread turned out fantastic. I also use your pizza dough recipe all the time and get such huge compliments. But both recipes I have had to add a good amount of flour using the metric conversion. But the end results are superb!
This bread is SO stinkin good – just made it for the first time and made the BEST BLT sandwich I’ve ever had! One thing I learned is to be more patient on the 2nd rise in the pan. I don’t think I waited long enough so my loaf did not have the tall, heaping dome. The structure of the bread was amazing though! Will absolutely be making this regularly.
Never buying sandwich bread again! This bread came out absolutely perfectly. Easy to do and I love that it makes just one loaf.
Can you use honey in place of the sugar?
Hi Amber, the same amount of honey should work. Let us know if you give it a try!
This really does make fantastic sandwich bread! after making this a few times I’ve found that patience is key. Adding the flour slowly and letting the dough rise until it’s ready are the things that make this bread turn out best.
I have always wanted to make bread myself, and this looks like the perfect recipe! However, I have no idea how to store homemade bread (do I put it in a plastic bag like storebought bread?) or how long it will last before it’s no longer good to eat. Do y’all have an answer for either of those questions? Thank you!
Hi Meg, you can cover leftover bread tightly (in a container or in a big zipped-top plastic bag) and store at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. Hope you enjoy the bread!
I Tried this bread recipe yesterday and I have to say it was wonderful! The rise was great and the taste was the best I’ve eaten in a very long time. I have been searching for a bread recipe for a while that gives me great taste, rise, browns and that doesn’t get hard as a rock the next day….I can say I’ve found it. Thanks for this one!!
The bread was a huge hit with my family. It was an easy recipe to follow and turned out soft and lovely.
I’d love to make this recipe in a pullman loaf pan, has anyone tried that?
Hi Lisa, we’re not completely sure if this recipe would work in a pullman loaf pan 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!
Lisa, did you try it yet? Curious as I would like to bake it in my Pullman loaf pan.
So far I’ve had to add 6T of extra flour because the dough isn’t releasing from the bowl. It’s still super sticky. It’s not the first time I’ve made bread. Not sure what’s wrong here but I guess I’m going to try and use it.
Hi Amy! You’re not necessarily doing anything wrong– a lot of factors go into this such as mixing time, speed, weather, yeast, and temperature of water. Feel free to add a little more flour to make a soft, yet workable dough.
Hi Amy! I had this issue too, so I ended up kneading by hand. After I made that change, it was easier perfect!
Wow WOW Wow! This is the most delicious bread I’ve ever made and maybe the best I’ve tasted. I’ve made it twice in the last three days, it’s satisfying to make and beyond delicious to eat. Every one of your recipes is sheer perfection, Sally. Instructions are easy to follow and end results are always consistent. I come back to your site again and again!
I really want to make this recipe but can’t find platinum yeast in my stores! Is it ok to use regular instant yeast as a substitute?
Absolutely. Any instant yeast is great here, or even active dry.
Hi again.. I have some extra ground golden flaxseed meal in the fridge.. could I add a little bit without throwing off the balance of the bread? I just thought it might make a nice addition for browning/flavor and a little extra nutritional pop – maybe a tablespoon or two? Would you recommend changing anything if I do? Thanks!
Hi Steve, we haven’t added flax to this recipe, but we often do in this soft multigrain bread. We’d recommend trying that!
It’s my standard. I’ve stopped buying bread from the store. Use the weight ingredients for the most accurate outcome