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
I made your bread for the second time today. The first time I used active dry yeast. Today I used SAF Instant Yeast (which I ordered recently after reading about it). The dough rose beautifully on both rises and it produced a beautiful loaf of bread. However it seems to lack the flavor of the loaf I made with active dry yeast. It tastes more bland (almost like it needed more salt but I used the amount stated in the recipe). Could this be because I used the SAF Instant Yeast? Should I add more salt next time?
Hi Wanda, the taste shouldn’t change with the SAF Instant Yeast, but if you use it again and prefer to add more salt, you certainly can!
Can i substitute honey for the sugar?
Hi Lori, Yes, the same amount of honey will work here.
Hi Sally,
I’m trying to follow the overnight instructions. I refrigerated the dough overnight after Step 6. It’s now been out of the fridge for 3 hours and is not rising to 1 inch above the top of the loaf pan. Should I keep waiting or is this a fail? Thanks so much!
You’re an inspiration!
Hi Rudresh, Is your kitchen on the colder side? That could make it harder for the bread to rise properly.
That’s certainly possible, though I did not have any trouble with the first rise. I’ll wait it out and see how it goes. I might just have to start over.
Thanks so much for getting back to me!
Hi Sally,
I’m looking forward to trying this bread (first time bread baker!) any recommendation for how to get the water and milk to the correct temperature? Thank you!
Hi Katie! We usually just use the microwave, in short bursts, and check the temperature with an instant thermometer. If it gets too hot, just let it cool a bit before using.
This turned out perfectly! Thanks for a great recipe.
I have made two of your bread roll recipes with great success and this was looking to be another but after the second rise and with the bread an inch above the side of the pan I popped into into the oven at the correct temperature and it deflated!!! What could that be? Followed everything to the letter I thought!
Hi Harriet, It sounds like it may have been over proofed, which can cause the bread to deflate and collapse when placed in the oven.
I rarely leave reviews but this was the easiest bread recipe I have tried over the years. It came out absolutely perfect!
Do you think GF flour would work for this?
Hi Katrina, we haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flour, so we’re unsure of the results. Let us know if you do give it a try.
Can you make this recipe in bread machine
Hi Debbie, a few readers have reported back with success using a bread machine with some of our bread recipes (this one included). We do not have one, so we have not tested it. We’d love to know how it goes for you!
First time trying sandwich bread. Incredibly easy and tastes better than anything store bought!
Sally this is by far the best bread I have ever made and I’ve tried so many recipes.
It was so easy to make and your directions are spot on for everything.
My husband is having a sandwich and he’s in heaven, says it’s so soft and tastes delicious.
I’ve found my new bread recipe.
As soon as I see any recipe by you I know it will be easy to make and taste fantastic.
Thanks for my favourite bread recipe.
Should be more than a five star rating!!!
I have made several loafs with this recipe and they all turn out basically the same. They taste great but are very very crumbly and you really can’t spread anything on them without it tearing. I always make sure the loaf is completely cool before slicing. Any suggestions? I follow the recipe exactly except I use dry active yeast from a bulk jar stored in fridge. I do use unbleached AP flour.
Hi Christy, this is a soft bread, so a little crumbliness is normal. Over-baking can cause the bread to be dry/crumbly. Also make sure not to add too much flour to the dough (spoon and level or use a kitchen scale instead of scooping). You could also try using bread flour instead of all-purpose, for a little more strength/structure. Hope these tips help for your next loaf!
This is the most incredible bread I’ve ever baked! Thank you!
I’ve made this recipe so many times and it turns out perfect every time. My family loves this bread! So easy, too.
This made perfect sandwich bread! I’ve been trying quite a few recipes just to be left disappointed, but this recipe takes the cake!!! Thank you for sharing.
Amazing recipe! Easy to follow and the bread was super tasty. I over proofed on the second rise but still managed to get it semi raised during baking will definitely try it again and keep an eye on it.
This bread is great! I’ll definitely be making it again. The only sad thing is that mine didn’t really brown on top although it was cooked, and I’m not sure why.
Hi Haylee! 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 bread was OUT OF THIS WORLD GOOD, LIKE SLAP YO MAMA GOOD! I’ve made bread for 20 years, tried a thousand recipes! This recipe blew me away with how simple it was! Absolutely my go to now!! Thank you for posting!
OMG this is the best sandwich bread recipe ever! I made very small adjustments but luckily the recipe still turned out so fluffy and soft and yummy. I didn’t have unsalted butter so I replaced it with salted butter and reduced the salt. I also cut the dough in half and used 2 smaller loaf pans and reduced the time a bit! I did have to broil them for 2 min to give them a nice golden color! Will be making all the time!
This is my go to bread recipe, comes out perfectly every time, I always double it
This was so easy to make and turned out wonderfully. The bread was so soft with a nice crunchy crust. Absolutely delicious!
This recipe was AMAZING! So easy, and so delicious. Definitely recommend making if you need a baking project on a snowy day!
Hi Sally! Love this recipe! Thinking about trying it on my convection setting. Any thoughts?
Hi LuAnn, We always recommend conventional settings for baking (not convection/fan) if possible. The flow of air from convection heat can cause baked goods to rise and bake unevenly and it also pulls moisture out of the oven. If you do use convection/fan settings for baking, lower your temperature by 25 degrees F and keep in mind that things may still take less time to bake.
Everything I make from your recipes comes out delicious
This sandwich bread recipe comes out perfectly! We know just bake 1-2 loaves a week for our growing family. Love it!
WOW! I’m thrilled!!! I’ve never made a good loaf of bread before, and I practically gave up a few years ago. I wanted to give it another go and BAM! Picture-perfect, delicious sandwich bread. Like, it’s completely perfect! Sally’s Baking Addiction has done it again. For the people reading, I’ll share some notes: I used active dry yeast instead of instant and so I let the bread rise in a warmish oven (warmed to 150, then turned off for a while before the dough went in.) I don’t have a stand mixer, so I did everything by hand. I also used 2% milk instead of whole. And I used a glass loaf pan. All that and it still came out beautifully!! I think I found my new Sunday afternoon routine!!!
Do you know the nutrition information on this recipe?
Hi Kate, 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
This was the first bread recipe I have ever made. So easy and delicious.
I was wondering if you had the nutritional facts on this recipe.
Hi Julie, so glad you enjoyed this 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
Can a bread machine be used for your bread recipes?
Hi Janice, a few readers have reported back with success using a bread machine with some of our bread recipes (this one included). We do not have one, so we have not tested it. We’d love to know how it goes for you!
I made this last night hoping that I can start making a loaf for my family for the week, and I’m going to need to make another one today and put it somewhere safe there was maybe an 1/8th left by the time it cooled and I was able to put it away. It’s SO good! I’ve never made bread before and I was so pleasantly surprised at how easy it was and how amazing the results were on the first try!
We’re so happy to read this, Allie! Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try.