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
About to make my second loaf! Last time I made the bread (and with the pretzel bites) I had to add a lot more flour to make it not crazy sticky. Both times it took much longer to kneed also. I’m new to baking but it really feels to moist to kneed without the extra flour. Can you think of why this could be happening? I tried not to add much the first time but it kept sticky to my hands and the counter.
Hi Sam, this dough can definitely be more on the wet side. 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. Thank you for giving this one a try!
So good!
Great recipe! Can it be made in a bread machine?
Hi Allie, we haven’t tested it, but many readers have reported success using a bread machine.
So simple and easy- I won’t buy sandwich bread from the store ever again!
Does anyone know the nutritional facts on this loaf?
Hi Melissa, we’re so glad you enjoyed the bread! We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
It was tough to restrain myself from eating the entire loaf in 1 day; it was VERY delish! Family approved as well! Any advice though, the leftovers the following day kind of fell apart in our hands…? They were kept in a sealed bag at room temp. I did substitute the whole milk for 1% since it’s what I had on hand and probably used 3 1/2 cups of all purpose flour with kneading by hand. Could these changes have caused the excess crumbliness? THANKS!
Hi Larz, We’re so glad the bread was a hit! The bread could be dry/crumbly if over-baked. Also make sure not to add too much flour to the dough (spoon and level or use a kitchen scale instead of scooping). This is a soft bread, so a little crumbliness is normal!
I’ve made this recipe a couple times now and love how soft it turns out! I can’t quite get my shaping right though, it’s always frumpy on one side. Am I doing something wrong?
Hi Sara, we’re glad you enjoyed the bread! Try to roll out the dough as evenly as possible. If it’s thicker in areas (before rolling back up), then the loaf will be bigger in those spots. Be sure to roll the dough up tightly without any gaps for a more uniform shape. Hope this helps!
made this and absolutely loved how the bread came out. still soft and fluffy days later. i’ll never have to buy bread at the store again 🙂
I love the way it came out! It is the perfect sandwich bread without all the extras nasty ingredients. I was worried that it won’t be soft and fluffy the next day but, it is just as good as day it was baked. What do you use for storage?
Hi Adina! We usually use a large Tupperware container. A large zip lock bag works as well.
Thank you! I made two more loafs today they looked wonderful coming out of the oven but, one of them deflated quite a bit while cooling down. The other one did not. I didn’t have this issue first time either. Do you know what could cause that? Great recipe tho!
Hi Adina! Bread can deflate while cooling if it’s been under-baked. Could that be possible? Your oven may have hot/cool spots. Try rotating the loaves in the oven once during baking.
I loved this recipe! I followed the steps and it came out amazing!! It’s soft and moist and delicious! Do you have a recipe for a sourdough bread?
Hi Kelli, we’re so glad you enjoyed the bread! We do not have a sourdough recipe at this time.
This bread is amazing and fairly easy to make! I was surprised it was easy and pretty fast to get ingredients together for this rise. Tastes delicious for by itself or as a sandwich. Will be trying French toast in a few days with it.
Great recipe for beginners like myself! Does anybody know how many calories approximately?
Best sandwich bread I’ve made. Love this recipe. After it’s rolled out, can I sprinkle on cinnamon sugar and raisins, before rolling it up and placing in the bread pan?
You might enjoy this similar recipe for cinnamon swirl bread!
There really is no reason for this bread to be as insanely delicious as it is. Oh well, this recipe just jumped to the front of the line for sandwich loaves. (63 years baking bread )
Thanks Sally
Do you have any suggestions for a half & half loaf, white and whole wheat flour?
Hi Cheryl, we don’t recommend whole wheat flour for this recipe because it doesn’t have the same baking properties as white flour or bread flour. If you wish to use whole wheat flour, try this recipe for whole wheat bread instead. If you want to do a mix, follow the instructions in that recipe (see Note #6) for using some bread flour in place of some ww flour.
Amazing bread! Delicious and soft, perfect for sandwiches.
I did substitute sugar with honey and 1/3c of white flour with wholemeal flour for a little bit of colour but it turned out pretty good. Also, to note I am novice in baking so glad it was very easy to make. Thank you!
I have made many of your recipes and I am never disappointed in the outcome. I made this spread today and it is 3/4 gone and it only came out of the oven an hour ago. Needless to say the family approves of it also your explanation of the process is perfect and everything came out great I did use a 9 x 5 pan and it was beautiful. Keep the recipes coming. I love all of them.
Hello.
Have you tried almond or oat milk instead of whole milk? Looking for dairy free alternatives. Thanks
Either should be fine, Karen!
This recipe is perfect! I’ve tried others but they come out too dense and short to fit a 9X5 pan. This one even still tastes fresh the next day.
Where I live it gets too hot to bake during the summer. We are melting if the oven is going. How well does this recipe freeze once the bread is baked? And would I need to slice before freezing or defrost and slice? I’m wanting to freeze extra loaves to have on stock for the summer!
Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Macey, you can definitely freeze the baked bread. See recipe Notes for details. You can do it either way—freezing individual slices or freezing the entire loaf. So glad this is a favorite for you!
My first time ever making bread and I loved the ease of this loaf! Other breads and recipes can be so intimidating, but this one was not.
My husband has already eaten 6 slices today!
I also used 2% milk instead of whole & it was still so soft & delicious!
First time making sandwich bread and this recipe is so easy to follow! My bread came out fluffy, soft and delicious!
I love this recipe. I’ve made it several times and always turns out great. I’m curious if I could put in a rectangular Pullman style loaf pan so I get a nice square/rectangular slice/loaf. Since this says to raise 1 inch above the pan I’m wondering if it would work in the larger style 13×4 would be better than the 9×5 so it’s longer but not as tall too get shape I’m looking for. Any advice?
Hi Amanda, we’re so glad you enjoyed the bread! 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 to use it as is, but again—we haven’t tested it. Let us know if you do give it a try!
I used my regular size pullman for this recipe (without the top) and it comes out great but it rises quite a bit over the rim so I would definitely try the larger size first
Worked perfectly with the large Pullman. It’s very similar to a store bought loaf in size. I let it 2nd rise until about an inch below the rim and then baked.
I put this in a large Pullman pan without the lid and it turns out perfectly every time. I have tried the smaller Pullman, too, which was too small and we had an atomic mushroom loaf. So, go with the large.
I have been making this bread weekly for the last month. This week I added 100g of sourdough starter to the recipe and it turned out amazing. Thanks for this recipe
Hi Amber, did you add the starter in place of the yeast or in addition to?
Thanks!
Incredible! I make this loaf everyday Sunday for my kids. It is so nice to have fresh bread that doesn’t have a bunch of unknown ingredients that hands down beats store bought bread in every single way.
I only have salted butter…will that affect the quality of the loaf?
Hi Sabrina, you can use salted butter with no other changes to the recipe needed. The slight flavor of salt in the 4 Tbsp of salted butter won’t make a difference in the baked bread. Enjoy!
This was so easy to make and so delicious! I’m never going to buy store bought sandwich bread again! It’s great this is a 1 loaf recipe which is perfect for my family of 3. Yet another recipe from this site that will be my go to! Thank you!!
My first time baking a bread loaf. It didn’t turn out perfect. I used all-purpose flour. I don’t think I kneaded it properly but it still is very soft, tasty and cooked perfect. I left out the sugar as I didn’t find it necessary to add. Thanks for the recipe. I’ll have to try bread flour next time.
Hi Natalie! Some form of sugar helps feed the yeast to make the bread more soft and less chewy and dense. If you don’t feel comfortable using granulated sugar, honey or maple syrup will work instead. Hope this helps!
I only have 1% milk, will it work for this recipe?
Hi Jessica, 1% milk will work in a pinch, although the bread may not be as soft and tender.
I was so intimidated to bake bread until I tried this recipe. Super easy to follow and the bread turned out amazing!! Hard to ever want to buy bread when I can make great bread so easily at home. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
I love this recipe so much! So delicious! I have noticed that the bottom 1/2 inch of the bread is often times dense for me. Any tips to help? Thanks!
Hi Laura, we’re so glad you enjoyed it! Does the bottom seem underbaked? It’s possible the loaf just needs a few extra minutes in the oven to finish baking through on the bottom. Otherwise, be careful not to over-proof or over-knead the dough, as it can cause the bread to bake up a bit dense. Hope this helps for your next batch!
Made this recipe 3 times. I followed the recipe exactly and each time the bread came out delicious. Soft with a crunchy crust. Thanks so much!
I am also looking for a whole wheat recipe similar to this. Can I swap the AP flour with whole wheat?
Hi EA, here is my whole wheat bread recipe. A couple differences, to make up for the heavier whole wheat flour. I’m glad you enjoy this bread!
First time doing white bread and it turned out better than expected. I was concerned when the bread did not rise too much above the rim of the loaf pan – but when I put in the oven – it actually rose a little more. Fantastic that I can now feel good about serving “white bread” without any nasty chemicals.