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
Tried this recipe yesterday and the bread turned out great! I could not get the bread to become brown though without risking burning it. It remained almost entirely whitish. Taste and texture was wonderful! Any suggestions?
Hi SA, 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 (especially during the last few minutes of baking). So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
This is the best sandwich bread recipe ever! I’ve made it multiple times and it ALWAYS turns out great. It is flavorful and so soft. I like to score the top to give it that cute sandwich bread shape, but it’s beautiful without it too! I’ve made other sandwich breads before and none compare to this.
This receipe is wonderful. My husband says this is the best bread he’s ever had !
This is my favorite sandwich bread recipe! I’ve tried others and they don’t compare. I always come back to this one.
My family loves this bread. I make a loaf every two days and it disappears. With rising prices on groceries and all the unpronounceable chemicals in food, making our own is the only decision I feel comfortable with.
This is the best loaf of bread I’ve made!
How long did you cook using the anchor hocking glass? That’s all I have right now.:)
Hi Katie, baking in a glass pan may take just a few minutes longer. Enjoy!
I’ve made this recipe twice now in double batches and it’s so good! The only thing I changed was adding .05-.1 oz of flour to bring the dough together more and an extra pinch of salt to add a bit more flavor. My family loves this and it cuts into a very good sandwich bread.
I made this today. It was the most beautiful loaf of bread I’ve ever made!
So now if I’m using salted butter what would I cut my salt ratio to?
Hi Vicki, 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!
I love this website! I use so many of the recipes off here and it’s always good! This sandwich bread recipe was no different. I followed the recipe and had no problems and it turned out wonderfully! So delicious. Crispy but soft crust and soft chewy inside. I left it on the counter to rise the first time and it only took about an hour. The second rise also occurred pretty quickly. I think the temperature in my house was probably just right. My oven seems to run hot so I dropped the temp to 325 and it was done in 40 minutes. I love all the detail and info provided here, I never have to go searching for info anywhere else. Thank you!
This is literally the best bread I have EVER MADE. I almost can’t stop myself from eating the whole dang loaf. I will definitely be using this as my go to recipe for now on.
I have made this recipe several times and find the dough too wet and sticky.
I live in Canada and I do weight my ingredients.
I usually have to add about 1/3 cup more flour.
Otherwise the bread turns out good.
Does anyone else have this problem?
Hi Penny, 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!
Love this recipe, easy to follow. Is it ok to add jalapeno peppers on second rise? My husband loves spicy food! Thank you for your recipes!
Hi Wendy, it should work just fine to add some chopped jalapenos to the dough when mixing. Or, you might enjoy adding jalapenos to this cheese bread instead!
I love this recipe! Do you know the nutrition information for it though? like how many carbs and sugars and stuff?!
Hi Rylee, 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
I’ve made this bread many times now and I love it! I’m just wondering if it is possible to make with gluten free flour. Thank you
Hi Hillary, I haven’t tested it, so I’m unsure of the results. Let us know if you try anything!
Hi! I did try making a gluten free loaf. I think it came out ok. I haven’t tasted it because I made it for a friend but it looks pretty good for gluten free bread! I followed the recipe exactly but substituted in King Arthur gluten free measure for measure flour. Then at the end I decided to beat in 3 eggs. I beat it on high for a while until it got fluffy. And it did rise pretty well! Im hoping it tastes good too
Your sandwich bread recipe is perfect for my family. It makes the most delicious sandwiches and toast for my two boys and myself. The recipe was very detailed and I am a complete novice, but I made a very successful and delicious loaf by following.
Thank you for your wisdom. I will bake regularly because you made it so easy for me. I can’t wait to follow more of your recipes.
Hi! I’m just wondering if you could substitute almond milk for the whole milk? Thank you! Love all your recipes!!
Hi Jeni, yes, that will work in a pinch!
Easiest and tastiest bread recipe! My kids love it!!
I’ve been making this bread for 2 straight months, 2 loaves a week.
Someone else posted asking if doubling the recipe will work – and it certainly does. i doubled the recipe today and it worked great! I do weigh all the ingredients!
I have made this recipe twice in the last 2 weeks and it is so easy and almost fool proof. I live in Italy where instant yeast is not the easiest to find but you can substitute 22g of fresh yeast with the same results. I will now be adding this to my weekly meal prep.
I love this recipe! It’s the best + easiest bread I’ve made yet! Can I freeze them after I make for later use?
Hi Aimee, sure can! See recipe notes for freezing details. So glad you’re enjoying this recipe!
Can you use substitute 1 cup of Einkorn wheat flour for 1 cup of bread flour?
Hi Kevin, we haven’t tested Einkorn flour here, so we’re unsure of the results and whether it would be a 1:1 swap. For best results, you may want to search for a recipe that was specifically developed for Einkorn flour.
Absolutely obsessed with this recipe. I’ve made it so many times and it turns out perfect each time! Wondering if you have the nutritional info for the bread? Thanks!
Hi Brenda, we’re so glad you love it! 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
The bread is awesome, but how do I slice it nicely
Hi Sandra, is the bread crumbling when cut? The bread will be easier to cut the longer it cools; warm bread will be more crumbly. Using a large serrated bread knife is also helpful for clean, uniform pieces. We’re so glad you enjoy the bread!
How do you keep your bread from falling after second rise? I sprayed Saran Wrap with spray &covered but the wrap stuck to it. While removing wrap the air came out of risen bread.
Hi Becky, it can be a bit tricky, but be very careful when removing the wrap. You may have better luck with a towel or a tented piece of aluminum foil that won’t stick to the bread as much.
Five stars from me! I’ve made this bread several times. With AP flour, bread flour, a mix of both.. And I’ve also messed up, BUT it still yielded wonderful results! Definitely a go-to for sandwiches of course, and French toast!
I’m going to make this recipe today (v excited!!) but I was curious if I can use salted butter instead of unsalted butter. Does that change the chemistry of the bake?
Hi Sarah, 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!
Thank for this recipe. Such a beautiful, silky smooth dough. Lovely to work with. I generally prefer to make bread using weight measurements rather than by volume. Any chance you have the conversions? Thanks again.
Hi Sue, we’re so glad you loved the bread! The weight measurements are in parenthesis right after the volume measurements in the ingredients list. Hope this helps!
I give this 5 stars. Made it yesterday and I can’t say enough about it. It came out very high and was so Fluffy and yummy. This is one that I will making a lot of. I really like the fact that it only makes 1 loaf.
BTW I put a picture of it on facebook.
I’ve made this recipe over a dozen times now and I have noticed that when I slice it, the center of the slice seems less sturdy than the edges and it can fall apart when eating. I’m careful to follow the recipe and I even tried weighing the flour but haven’t noticed a change. I use a kitchen aide mixer to knead and a thermometer to check the temp of liquids and the center of the loaf. Any thoughts?
Hi Stephanie, this is a soft bread, so a little crumbliness is normal. The bread could be dry/crumbly if over-baked. You can try reducing the bake time by a few minutes next time. So glad you’re enjoying this bread!