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
Loved this recipe so so much, first time making bread and it came out perfect !! so soft with an amazing crust, never buying bread from supermarkets again !
This is as good a recipe as you will find for a white sandwich yeast bread. I have used variations of this for years and will use it as printed in a few days.(I just made three loaves of another recipe.) However today I will do your whole wheat recipe and you have the best recipe data and info of any I have seen. I love everything about the way you do your information. I have a problem I always run into baking by any recipe for yeast or sourdough and it is this. I always have to add flour. The reason is I have discovered is I live in Miami and the humidity while fairly high is not as bad as someplace and where it is fairly high you need to use less water. This recipe calls for a hydration of 71% which means it will not mix well for me. I have read others mention to stop the mixer and pull the dough up several times(similar to stretch and folds in a sourdough recipe) and it will help the dough. I have not tried this but I will. What I do is reduce the fluid amount to about 62-65% or so. It still will not scrape the sides of the KA bowl but that is ok as the bread while still a tad sticky makes a great loaf. It does taste wonderful as I am sure this one will. Julia Child’s would have loved this one! Even different flour will give you a different flavor!
Thank you for the recipe and for every explained passage . It came out really nice and as instructed
Amazing bread!! I’m new to bread making and this recipe didn’t feel intimidating. I live in higher elevation and needed to add about 1 cup more of all purpose flour (no bread flour on hand) and added a little honey. I used my mixer stand and it was perfect after each rise. I don’t know how long the bread will last on the counter with everyone wanting it. Thanks for sharing! It’ll be my go to from now on! ❤️
First time making sandwich bread! It was a warm day, so it proofed a bit quickly, and I followed the tip in the comments about not letting it go over an inch over the sides of the pan in the second proof. I think I pulled it out of the oven just a smidge too early because it was a little dense on the very bottom, but it was delicious, perfect for sandwiches, and I think turned out really well for my first time. I kneaded by hand and followed the recipe with no changes.
So easy and turned out perfect!
this bread doesn’t have a great taste! i had a great rise and bake. Unfortunately the flavor just wasn’t there.
Hi Maur, thank you for reporting back.
This bread is absolutely delicious! I made it in the bread maker because I’m not able to kneed; I didn’t love the consistency. So I made it again, but cooked it in the oven after the second proof in the bread maker. Perfect! I hope to make all my loaves this way.
I did want to ask if you have a gluten and dairy free version of this recipe. Thanks!
Hi Janell, we’re so glad you enjoyed it! We haven’t tested a gluten free and dairy free version, but let us know if you do any experimenting.
Can I also ask if you know why my bread is coming out so crumby? Especially after it’s toasted. Thanks?
Hi Janell! This is a soft bread, so a little crumbliness is normal. 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).
I have been reading the reviews. So many have said the dough is sticky. I weighed the flour to exactly 430g. It was perfect. Using a scale with certain recipes is very useful. I hope this helps.
This recipe is 100% awesome. Your instructions were spot and I learned a couple of things too! My grandson loved it so much. Thank you again!
I love this recipe just wondering if it can be made in a Pullman bread pan?
Hi Rosarito, 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!
Can I use active dry yeast- and if so is there a difference for the recipe?
Hi Chris, Absolutely, you can use active dry yeast. See recipe Note: You can use active dry yeast instead. Rise times will be slightly longer using active dry yeast.
This bread was absolutely delicious! Will definitely make it again
I’ve made this recipe 5 times and each time my dough is wet and sticky – to the point of it being unmanageable. I’ll add up to 1 extra cup of flour to try to dry it up. I’m testing the temp of my liquids, measuring with a scale…what am I doing wrong?
Hi Cami, 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. Hope this helps for your next loaf!
I used a hand mixer up till I added the third cup of flour. It took me 30+ minutes to mix and knead but got a beautiful rise regardless. I think I may have underproofed my second rise but other than that it turned out perfect. My first time making this style of bread. Thank you! I cant wait to try it again. 😀
This is the recipe I have been looking for! So soft!!! So delicious for sandwiches or soups! I only had bread flour. It rose so nicely.
Such a great, simple recipe! A beginning baker can definitely accomplish this bread and feel proud!
Can you use a bread maker for this recipe?
Hi Claire, we haven’t personally tested this in a bread machine, but many readers have reported success doing so. Let us know if you try it!
This is my first success at making this type of bread! My mom loved it and asked me to make her another one with raisins on it
can you substitute white flour for wheat flour?
Hi Claire, for a wheat bread, we recommend following our whole wheat bread recipe instead.
This was super simple and so much fun! The only thing I had trouble with was browning the loaf. I placed it in the middle of my oven at 350 for 35 minutes. It’s cooked to 198° but more of a dough color with a hint of golden rather than brown. Any suggestions?
Hi Leah, Exactly how the bread bakes will depend on your oven. You can try moving the pan to a higher position in the oven for more browning. So glad you’re enjoying this recipe!
I forgot the stars!!
Amazing! The best instructions for a first time bread maker!
This bread is absolutely amazing. I want to move away from store bought bread. Would using a 12 x 4.5 inch pan work? I would like to make it a bit smaller and last longer. Thanks!!
Hi Samantha, we haven’t tried scaling this recipe up proportionally, but you can use this recipe exactly as written but use your pan. The bread just won’t be quite as tall with the very slightly larger pan.
I feel like an advertisement for Sally’s Baking Addiction! I tell everyone about you. I’ve been making bread with the machine, but your video gave me confidence do it all by hand! Fears conquered!!! This was fun and easy. Thank you!!!
This recipe was very well for me to make bread. Although it was very sticky in the beginning, it was very yummy!
Love the recipe super easy to follow instructions! The only problem I had was as the bread was baking I noticed it started to deflate on the top why is that?
Hi Diana, how long did your bread rise for? It sounds like it may have been over proofed, which can cause the bread to deflate and collapse when placed in the oven. For that second rise in the pan, be sure to let it rise only until it’s about 1 inch over the pan. Hope this helps for next time!
I’ve made this recipe several times and my dough is always very sticky. I do add flour but I can’t seem to keep it from being so sticky. Thoughts? Thanks!
Hi Cami, try reducing the water to 3/4 cup (180ml) and keeping the milk the same. This will help, especially in the summertime when it’s particularly hot and humid out. (I usually do no reduce the amount of water but if you are having a lot of trouble, it helps.)
It is very sticky for me too. I knead by hand and have to liberally flour my hands at least 10 times at the beginning but as the dough firms up, it does get much easier.
I have been making this sandwich bread for a while now, I have noticed that for me (we have an old farm house out in the country) during the winter months the flour ratio is perfect, however I also notice it is very very sticky in the summer months when it is humid, I do truly believe this could be the issue. I also have to add a lot of extra flour during the summer months. I’m going to try Sally’s recommendation during these humid months and use less water. I’ll comment back with the results! I love this recipe, my family will eat the bread with literally nothing on it.
Oh my gosh, I made perfect sandwich bread! I can’t believe it. I tried two different online recipes that totally flopped before I found this one. I’m not exactly sure why, but I had to add an additional 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour. I suspect it may be because I don’t own a stand mixer and have to use my food processor to mix it, then pulse it before it starts pulling from the sides.
The instructions are step-by-step and incredibly easy to follow, especially for a beginner like me. I also watched her “How to Knead Dough” video tutorial, which I believe was the key to my success after the initial two attempts with the previous recipes. I just want to knead dough all day long now! I’m so happy I didn’t throw in the towel before I found this one. I can’t wait to bake more for my husband and kiddos (we don’t have any family nearby) and to hand some out to my neighbors as well!
Oh my gosh, I made sandwich bread! I can’t believe it. I tried two different online recipes that totally flopped before I found this one. I’m not exactly sure why, but I had to add an additional 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour. I suspect it may be because I don’t own a stand mixer and have to use my food processor to mix it, then pulse it before it starts pulling from the sides.
The instructions are step-by-step and incredibly easy to follow, especially for a beginner like me. I also watched her “How to Knead Dough” video tutorial, which I believe was the key to my success after the initial two attempts with the previous recipes. I just want to knead dough all day long now! I’m so happy I didn’t throw in the towel before I found this one. I can’t wait to bake more for my husband and kiddos (we don’t have any family nearby) and to hand some out to my neighbors as well!
This is the best sandwich bread I’ve ever made! It’s so soft and fluffy! I didn’t add any extra flour. Instead of kneading I mixed it with my dough hook on medium speed for 5 minutes in the kitchen aid. The only thing I added was about a tablespoon of honey because I’ve read it makes sandwich bread extra soft. I sprayed the bottom of a bowl with Pam and put plastic wrap over it to rise. It rose in an hour since it was so hot today. It was t at all sticky after it rose and was easy to shape. It turned out just like the pictures- and the texture is amazing! I used parchment paper at the bottom of the loaf pan and I sprayed the top of it with Pam, and I have baked it near the bottom of the oven for 30 minutes.