Making a homemade loaf of soft white sandwich bread is so easy, and this foolproof recipe makes a single loaf of bread using just six easy-to-find ingredients. It's a simple dairy-free and egg-free dough that comes together quickly whether you knead it in your mixer or knead it by hand. I've included instructions for both kneading options in my step-by-step instructions below!
This classic white sandwich bread is a taste of nostalgia, reminiscent of childhood lunches and cozy mornings; made with love at home in your kitchen. The finished loaf is wonderfully soft inside with a thin, light golden brown crust, perfect for slicing and sandwiches.
Try serving this soft white sandwich bread with my deli tuna salad or creamy yellow smashed egg salad. Like my soft rye sandwich bread, it's also great toasted with some fresh homemade butter!
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About This Recipe
I am so, so excited to be sharing this recipe for a classic soft homemade sandwich bread with you. I've got lots of homemade bread recipes on my site (including the airy, floury soft-baked ciabatta recipe that this sandwich bread dough is based on), but most of them are higher hydration doughs that don't use a mixer or aren't kneaded by hand.
With this recipe, I wanted to give you the kind of bread-making experience most people think of when picturing making bread from scratch. You're kneading the dough, you're dusting it with flour, you're shaping it by hand, and you're baking it in a loaf pan. And it's a foolproof beginner-friendly bread recipe too!
This soft sandwich bread is a classic medium-low hydration dough that can be kneaded in a mixer or by hand. It's easy to handle, not too sticky, and fun to work with. It's also a versatile base white bread dough that can be used to make everything from cinnamon swirl bread to cheesy pizza pinwheels!
Where other sandwich bread recipes use the fat from milk or eggs to give the bread a super soft texture, my recipe uses olive oil instead. Not only is olive oil a shelf-stable ingredient that's easier to keep on hand, but it also means this sandwich bread is dairy and egg-free, if that matters to you.
Earlier versions of this recipe were much lower hydration and used smaller amounts of oil — in the end, I pushed both amounts as high as I could go while keeping the dough easy to handle. I wanted the sliced bread to be flexible the way store-bought sandwich bread is.
I'm really pleased with how the final version of this foolproof soft sandwich bread turned out and I think you will be too!
5 STAR READER REVIEW
“I've tried a few different beginner sandwich bread recipes and somehow can never get them to come out but I've made this one three times now and it's come out so delicious each time! I also love how simple it is”
—Nicole
Ingredient Notes
Here are the ingredients that you'll need to make this foolproof sandwich bread recipe! See recipe card (at the end of the blog post) for quantities.
- Flour - You don't need any fancy specialty flours to make this basic soft sandwich bread! I use King Arthur Baking's all-purpose flour which has a slightly higher protein content (closer to a bread flour) than other brands of all-purpose flour. If you're using generic or store-brand flour, you may see better results with their bread flour.
- Instant Yeast - I use instant yeast because it's designed to be added directly to your dry ingredients without having to be proofed in water first. Instant yeast is sometimes also called "rapid rise" or "quick" yeast. I designed this recipe to use 1 packet of yeast. If you're using active dry yeast, use the same amount of yeast, just mix it with the warm water and let it sit for 5 minutes to become foamy before adding to the dough.
- Salt - I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt which is half as salty as other brands. If measuring by weight, it doesn't matter what brand of salt you use. But if you're measuring by volume and using a different brand of salt, even a different brand of kosher salt, cut the amount of salt in half.
- Olive Oil - Whatever olive oil or extra virgin olive oil you have on hand is just fine here. The olive oil adds fat to the dough, giving it a super soft texture.
- Honey - I use honey to add a bit of sweetness to this sandwich bread. If you don't have honey and would rather use sugar, increase the amount called for by 20%.
- Water - Warm water is crucial for helping this sandwich bread dough rise, soft texture and just slightly open crumb. Aim for around 90°-95°F. It should be decidedly warm but not hot, since truly hot water will kill the yeast.
Instructions
This is your standard bread dough process. Start by whisking the dry ingredients together in the bowl of your stand mixer to disperse them evenly.
Add the water, olive oil, and honey to the center of the dry ingredients.
Mix on low speed until the dough just comes together.
You may need to pause the mixer early on to push flour from the edges into the liquids in the center. But if you just let it run on low-medium speed it will eventually come together.
The goal of mixing is just to get all of the ingredients to combine so there's no dry bits of flour or water in the bottom of the bowl. The dough will still have a rough, shaggy, slightly torn look to it.
Once the dough comes together, it's time to knead. Kneading is when we actually develop the strength and structure of the dough so that it can be shaped and trap the gasses released by the yeast when the dough rises.
Continue with the dough hook on medium-low speed for about 3-5 minutes until the dough is smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky to the touch.
Shape the dough into a ball by tucking all the edges under so you have a nice smooth top. Place it in a lightly oiled bowl, turning the dough once to coat it in oil.
Cover the bowl (I use these plastic hair processing caps as bowl covers) and leave it to rise somewhere warm for an hour.
When the dough has doubled in size, gently deflate it and turn it out onto a clean, lightly floured work surface.
Fold the top two corners into make a point, then fold the edges in slightly to even them out.
Roll the point at the top toward your body, and continue rolling in that direction, tucking the sides in as needed to form a nice neat log of dough.
Transfer the log of dough to a lightly greased 9x5" loaf pan. Cover the loaf pan, place it back in that nice warm spot, and let it rise for another 50-60 minutes.
During the end of the rise time, begin preheating the oven to 350°F.
When the dough is ready, it will have doubled in size, crowning just slightly over the top edge of the pan. When you press a lightly floured fingertip into it, the indentation should fill back in slowly and remain visible.
Use a sharp knife or a bread lame (pronounced: LAHM) to cut one long slash down the top of the loaf to help it expand in the oven.
Bake the sandwich bread for 30 minutes until golden brown on top. You're looking for an internal temperature of 195°-200°F.
Remove the sandwich bread from the oven and carefully turn it out of the pan and onto a cooling rack. This allows steam to escape and air to circulate around the loaf so that the crust doesn't get soggy.
I know it's super tempting to cut a slice of freshly baked sandwich bread while it's still warm, but resist that urge! If you slice the bread before it's cooled and the starches haven't set yet, the steam still inside the bread will turn the starches to mush. No one wants mushy bread!
Kneading By Hand
To knead this soft sandwich dough by hand, use a dough whisk or a spatula (heck, even your hands) to mix the dough ingredients in a bowl until a sticky, cohesive dough forms.
Then turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface or countertop and knead by hand, folding the dough over itself and rocking it forward, then rotating and repeating that motion, until the dough is smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky to the touch. Kneading by hand can take 8-10 minutes, be patient! Set a timer!
Dust in additional flour lightly only as needed to keep it from sticking to you and the counter. A little clinging is fine, but it should pull away cleanly at the end.
Equipment Notes
This recipe is scaled to bake in a 9x5" loaf pan, which is a 1.25 lb loaf pan. If you have a smaller loaf pan, I recommend scaling the recipe down by about 20%.
USA Pan Bakeware Aluminized Steel Loaf Pan, 1.25 Pound
Dimensions: 9 x 5 x 2.75. Durable construction with corrugated surface for optimal airflow. Non-stick finish is PTFE, PFOA and BPA free.
As always, I recommend using a metal pan rather than glass, ceramic, silicone, or stoneware. If you're using a glass pan, you may need to adjust the baking time and temperature!
To score the top of the bread loaf, you'll need a sharp knife or a bread lame (pronounced: LAME). Lame is French for blade.
A lame is basically a razor blade with a handle, used to create functional and decorative slashes on top of bread before baking.
Lames come in a variety of sizes and styles at a range of price points. Use whichever one is most comfortable to you!
Storage Notes & Freezing
This soft sandwich bread is best eaten within the first 4-5 days after baking, though you can store it in an airtight bag or bread bag at room temperature for up to a week. I usually store it in a large resealable plastic bag with as much air pressed out as possible.
Do not refrigerate bread; the cold temperature will make it go stale even faster.
This sandwich bread freezes beautifully. You can freeze the whole loaf, defrost it at room temperature, then pop it in a 325°F oven for 20-30 minutes.
You can also slice the loaf and place the slices in a plastic bag with as much air pressed out as possible and freeze it that way. Simply break off a slice of frozen sandwich bread, pop it in a toaster oven, and it'll be ready to eat.
Practical Tips and Recipe Notes
- If it's very humid where you live, I recommend holding back about 25 grams of water to start. If it looks or feels like the dough needs it, drizzle it in 1 teaspoon at a time during the mixing stage.
- If it's very cold where you live, your dough may rise more slowly; it's okay if it needs an extra 15-45 minutes. I've been using a seed starting heat mat (less than $15!) to keep my bread doughs nice and cozy while they rise and it works really well.
- For a shiny top to your sandwich bread, brush it all over with a lightly beaten egg before scoring and baking.
- If you're using active dry yeast, no need to adjust the amount of yeast, just mix the yeast with the warm water and let it sit for 5 minutes to become foamy before adding to the dough.
If your sandwich bread deflated during baking...
There are a few things that could have caused this but the two most likely culprits are:
- The dough overproofed during the second rise. Dough overproofs when the yeast has eaten all of the available sugars in the dough and doesn't have enough energy left to support the dough during baking. Your dough was ready to bake before the final hour rise was done — check it using the fingerprint test (see above).
- Your oven temperature is off! If your oven temperature runs cool, the bread won't rise as much as it should during baking and will be dense and sunken. Get an oven thermometer!
Why is this recipe in grams? I want to use cups!
A kitchen scale is more accurate than cup measurements and will give you the right ratio of dry and liquid ingredients so that the bread dough behaves the way we want it to. I tested and developed this recipe using weight measurements. If I were to convert it to volume measurements, I would be using Google — just like you would. And there's no set standard for how much "1 cup" of flour weighs (I use 120 grams, like King Arthur Baking does, but other recipe developers use as much as 150 grams as "1 cup"), which means I wouldn't be able to promise you'd get the same delicious results!
TL;DR — Recipe Summary
- Mix the dough ingredients together until a sticky, cohesive dough forms.
- Knead the dough until it is smooth, elastic, and slightly tacky.
- Shape the dough into a ball, place in a lightly greased bowl, cover and rest until doubled in size.
- Deflate the dough, shape into a log, then place in a lightly greased loaf pan. Cover and let rest until doubled in size.
- Score the top of the loaf and bake for 30 minutes at 350°F.
- Turn the loaf onto a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing.
📖 Recipe
Easy Soft Sandwich Bread in a Loaf Pan (For Beginners)
Equipment
- 1.25 pound loaf pan (9x5")
Ingredients
- 400 grams all-purpose flour
- 8 grams salt
- 7 grams instant yeast (see notes for active dry yeast)
- 236 grams warm water (90°F)
- 20 grams olive oil
- 8 grams honey
Instructions
- Mix. Mix the flour, salt, and yeast together in the bowl of your stand mixer. Add warm water, honey, and olive oil. Mix with the dough hook, pausing to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed, until the dough comes together in a shaggy mass on the dough hook and clears the sides of the bowl.
- Knead. Increase the speed to low-medium and knead for 3-5 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth, and elastic. The dough may cling slightly to the walls of the bowl but should pull away cleanly.
- Rise. Tuck the edges of the dough under to create a ball of dough with a smooth top. Place in a lightly greased bowl and let rise somewhere warm for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- Shape. Gently deflate the dough, then turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Loosely arrange it into a rough rectangle shape. Fold the top two corners in to make a point, then roll the point forward as you tuck the sides in to create a nice smooth rolled-up log of dough with the seam on the bottom.
- Rise again. Place the log of dough in a lightly greased 9x5" loaf pan. Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap and let rise somewhere warm for 1 hour until the dough fills out the pan and crowns over the top rim of the pan by about an inch.
During the final 30 minutes of the rise time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Score. Right before baking, use a sharp knife or lame to score a line down the center length of the sandwich bread.
- Bake. Bake the sandwich bread in the center of a 350°F oven for 30-35 minutes, or until an internal temperature of 195°-200°F for doneness.
- Cool. Carefully turn the baked loaf out of the pan and onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
RECIPE NOTES
- If you're using active dry yeast, mix it with the warm water and let it sit for 5 minutes to become foamy before adding the water to the dough.
- If it's very humid where you live, I recommend holding back about 25 grams of water to start. If it looks or feels like the dough needs it, drizzle it in 1 teaspoon at a time during the mixing stage.
- If it's very cold where you live, your dough may rise more slowly; it's okay if it needs an extra 15-45 minutes to rise.
- For a shiny top, brush the loaf with a lightly beaten egg before scoring and baking.
- If you have a smaller loaf pan (8x4"), I recommend scaling the recipe down by about 20%.
Margaret Wiebe
Do you have a bread recipe for whole wheat?
Rebecca Eisenberg
I do not!
Nicole
I've tried a few different beginner sandwich bread recipes and somehow can never get them to come out but I've made this one three times now and it's come out so delicious each time! I also love how simple it is
Rebecca Eisenberg
Yayyy, I'm so glad you found success here! Keep on baking!
Josephine
This is a great recipe! The bread always turns out amazing and I love that the recipe is in grams!
Nandini
So so easy to bake thus white soft bread loaf! I made double the amount and just stunned at how wonderful it turned out and how easy the recipe was to follow! Thank you so much for sharing these incredibly simple recipes!!
Katelyn
I tested and used the ratios from her OVERNIGHT NO-KNEAD WHOLE WHEAT BREAD IN A DUTCH OVEN: 42% wheat/white wheat flour and 58% all-purpose flour. So for this recipe 58% of 400g is 232g of all purpose flour and 42% of 400g is 168g of wheat/white wheat flour. I then followed the recipe as instructed, it turned out amazing. Yum! Definitely recommend doing it this way or using the dutch oven depending on what you are wanting it for.
Rebecca Eisenberg
Update: I now have a whole wheat bread recipe!
Mel
Hi, love you recipes. That's 236 *grams*'water, correct? I love that you post weights!
Rebecca Eisenberg
Oops, correct! 236 grams of water. I'll go update that right now. Thanks!
Vanessa
This recipe was so easy to follow and produced a delicious loaf of bread!!
Midge
WOW…this was as easy and as yummy as you said it was. It will be my go too and I will be passing it along. My scale does not measure micro grams but managed to figure out how many teaspoons I needed and it worked.
Thank you.
A fan from Oakville, Ontario Canada
Rebecca
Accidentally grabbed the bread flour canister instead of AP. Took a little more kneading but seems to have turned out pretty good! Can’t wait to try it with AP. As always another great recipe.
Roxanne
Is there a way to use sourdough starter instead?
Rebecca Eisenberg
I'm sure there is but I haven't tested it, it would dramatically change the timing of the recipe. I would recommend looking for a sourdough specific sandwich bread recipe if that's what you want.
mmh
My loaf was perfect, one of the prettiest things I've done in the kitchen. Delicious and easy- getting used to weighing ingredients.
thanks for this great recipe and keep them coming.
Rebecca Eisenberg
I'm so glad you liked it, and welcome to #teamkitchenscale! 🙂 Happy baking!
Bettina Howell
Hi! Has anyone tried this with gluten free flour?
Rebecca Eisenberg
Not yet! I've heard certain brands of 1-for-1 GF flour work okay with bread recipes, but I haven't personally tested any. If you give it a try, please report back and let us know how it went so other people can know what GF flours do/don't work!
Chea
Can you substitute olive oil with other types of oil? Canola, for instance?
Rebecca Eisenberg
Yep!
Molly
Help! I have tried this 2 times, and both times my bread failed to rise well on the second rise and then baked up to be a brick… I weighed my ingredients and followed all of the instructions. Any tips on what could have gone wrong?
Rebecca Eisenberg
Hi! Happy to help, so sorry it didn’t quite turn out right. Thanks for clarifying that you measured the ingredients by weight. My next guess would be that either your yeast isn’t active enough…are you sure it’s new/fresh? And did you use Instant, not Active Dry yeast? And if you’re sure your yeast is fresh and you used instant yeast, then my next guess would be that your kitchen runs a bit cold (let me know if not). You may need to place it somewhere warmer to rise!
Molly
My yeast is brand new. I am so sad and frustrated. I live in Michigan, so my house is cold. I have put it in a barely warm oven, in a warm sunny spot in my house and I just tried it a third time with a heating pad and it failed again. I have had success with other recipes of yours, so I am just at a loss
Rebecca Eisenberg
Hmmm, this is incredibly confounding! I'm so sorry it's not working. And I'm very surprised the heating pad didn't work. My other suggestion would be to just let it rise until it does double — maybe it just needs more time? Try giving it up to another hour or so to rise in the pan.
The only other thing I can think is if your water was too hot it would have killed the yeast, but I think it's pretty unlikely that happened multiple times!
Brittany Lopez
My house is cold as well, I turn on the oven to 325-350
And place like a pan on the oven top and then my dough and cover it and it rises
Dawn
Maybe a strange question but what type of water are you using? When I started my sourdough bread journey I was using Reverse Osmosis but found after failure & much reading I needed to use just filtered water (we have well water).
Donna
Can I make this bread in a Pullman pan and using its lid??
Rebecca Eisenberg
I haven't tried that, tbh! You could give it a go but I do think it could work in a small pullman pan (9x4"). You'll want to grease the lid well and slide it on before the dough reaches the top rim of the pan. If you try it let me know how it goes!
Sandra Bishop
Do you have the recipe in cups, teaspoons, etc? The recipe looks so good. Thanks
Rebecca Eisenberg
Nope! I explained why in the FAQ.
Elle
This was so easy to make and turned out some great sandwich bread! Very excited to make this one again.
Rebecca Eisenberg
Hooray, happy baking! Keep on enjoying the bread!
Nick
Not fool proof! Everything was perfect until it went in the oven. The rise was right on target just as in the directions. Then, it sank while baking. ☹
Rebecca Eisenberg
Sounds like it overproofed on you! When dough overproofs the yeast doesn't have any more food to eat to give it the power to do one more rise in the oven and it collapses. Next time try using cooler water, slightly less yeast, or just baking it sooner. Happy baking!
Bonnie
It's not fool proof if you do not tell us how much water to add to our dry active yeast
Rebecca Eisenberg
Hi Bonnie! As I wrote in the ingredient notes: “If you're using active dry yeast, use the same amount of yeast, just mix it with the warm water and let it sit for 5 minutes to become foamy before adding to the dough.”
That’s the total amount of warm water used in the recipe. Literally could not be easier. Happy baking.
Note: I’ve removed your one star review as it’s pretty rude to show up hostile in the comments because you didn’t understand the recipe and then give it a low rating when you clearly didn’t make it.
Renèe
She literally says in the notes, comprehension is half of reading. You literally let your active dry yeast bloom in the 236 grams of water for 5 minutes🙄 Stop attacking her for your incompetence and incapablilty to bake 🫶
Lisa Marie
This recipe was honestly so easy and so good! Maybe 10 mins of actual work time, a little waiting, and I had my first ever loaf of sandwich bread. I haven't had a bad recipe from this site yet, and now I have another one to add to the rotation😁
Rebecca Eisenberg
I'm so glad you enjoyed it!! Happy baking!
Karina
Can milk be substituted instead of water?
Rebecca Eisenberg
Yes!
Renée
I made this recipe today and it turned out perfectly! The only thing I did differently was add a Lil extra honey, and instead of egg wash I mixed buttermilk and honey together ❤️ 😋 this will be my go to recipe
Wendy
What difference will substituting milk make? I'm trying out this recipe and wanted to know if this is something I should try?
Rebecca Eisenberg
You can absolutely substitute milk here! It will make the bread even softer.
Lorilai11
Outstanding! I have tried MANY sandwich bread recipes and this is the easiest, fastest, and most importantly best tasting one. We ate 3/4 of it immediately (and there are only 2 of us).
Rebecca Eisenberg
I’m honored and so happy you love the recipe! Keep on enjoying it and happy baking!
Hannah
I love a recipe that only needs what I already have stocked in the pantry! This bread was so, so good. We used it for deli meat sandwiches, regular old PB&Js, and breakfast toast with preserves. I was so impressed with how soft and fresh it was days after being cut into!
Traci Jay
All was going well until I made my slash. Deflated the loaf. I stuck it in the oven anyway and it looks like I’m baking a brick with a sunken middle.
Rebecca Eisenberg
That's a sure sign that your loaf overproofed! Bake it a bit earlier next time or let it do the second rise half in the fridge.
Lea
I'm going to give it five stars because it's really easy to make and the texture and flavors are really nice. However, I have 2 doubts/questions and I would be very thankful if I could be advise on them. The first one is that the bottom part of my breath didn't bake well. Even though if I put it in the toaster is fine you can still feel that is not really as cooked as the top half: the crumb is thicker and it feels more mushy and less dry. Should I extend the time the bread is in the oven or should I raise the temperature and keep the same time? My second question how many changes ( temperature/time wise) would I have to make If instead of using a tin mold I'm using a glass mold??
Rebecca Eisenberg
If you’re using glass pans you definitely need to bake longer and at a lower temperature — reduce the temp by 25 degrees F and extend the baking time by at least 10 mins! That should solve the issue.
Shubhangi
Hello,
I tried this recipe. But my bread pan was 8'*4' so I reduced the recipe by 20% as you mentioned. But somehow looks like the bread did not proof enough. I have used measurements as per weight mentioned. I even live in an area where its not hot and was raining most of the time this week. Any suggestions what might have gone wrong and how to correct it?
Rebecca Eisenberg
Given that it's not hot where you live, I would let it proof even longer before baking or find a warm spot to place the loaf in while it rises!
Sarah
Came out absolutely perfect! Best part: it sliced nice and thin!
Josephine
Fantastic recipe. Made a loaf this morning and as soon as I tasted it I immediately started making another loaf.
Manasi
I’d line to give a half loaf to my mom who lives alone. Can I divide the dough into two and proof bake two halves in the same 9x5 loaf tin?
Rebecca Eisenberg
Yes, actually! Shape each half into a round ball or a tight roll, let them proof together in the same pan, and once it bakes you'll be able to pull them apart down the middle where the two are touching.
Sophia
Hi, so they have to proof in the same loaf pan, not separately?
Sophia
Just curious how this turned out for you!
Casey
I just made this and it was delicious! I was trying to find calories on the recipe but couldn’t. Do you know how many calories there are per slice?
Rebecca Eisenberg
So glad you liked the bread! Regarding calories, this is a diet talk-free zone, I don't provide calorie counts or nutritional information as it can be triggering to those trying to break free from harmful diet and disordered eating habits. You'll have to calculate those on your own!
S B
This was exactly what I was looking for when I set out to make bread today. Have you tried this with bread flour ever, out of curiosity? Also, have you used the dough for buns?
I'm going to be playing around with doing this in a steam combi oven. Well, I should amend that. I'm going to try to iron out the way I want to do it on the regular (timings and such). The first loaf was amazing. I used an egg-cream wash on the top.
Rebecca Eisenberg
I haven't tested this particular loaf with bread flour but you could absolutely give it a try — you may find it needs just a bit more water since bread flour is more absorbent than AP flour! And yes, you could definitely use this to make buns — this is the same dough I use for my pizza pinwheels recipe, it's very versatile!
Tammy
Love this recipe! I've made it at least 3 times already with much success.
Could I sub butter for the olive oil? Would it give it a creamy buttery fragrance?
Rebecca Eisenberg
I'm so glad you like it! I haven't personally tested it with butter but I don't see why it wouldn't work — it might change the texture just slightly. Use melted butter. A clarified butter like ghee would be closest to olive oil in terms of keeping the recipe the same but adding some buttery flavor.
Mo
Do you have nutritional information for this?
Rebecca Eisenberg
Nope! I don't provide nutritional information for my recipes. I've explained why in my FAQ.
Katie
I love this recipe! It’s so simple and the taste is great! I’ve made it twice and I do have difficulty getting it to rise properly. I keep it in a warm spot and it seems to rise well but then deflates in the oven. I saw in other comments you said that it’s a sign of overproofed dough, but my dough never reaches the top of the pan in the second proof. Any tips?
Rebecca Eisenberg
In that case I would reduce the yeast by 1-2 grams and don't worry so much about the loaf reaching the top of the pan!
DPN
This was such an easy bread to make. I decided to measure everything out individually to ensure accuracy. I love how I was able to bake a loaf of bread in no time at all! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Cameron
I made this today completely by hand, using Kirkland AP flour. It came out so soft and tasty! I’m very pleased with it. I may scale it up some to make larger slices for sandwiches, but that’s easy work.
I’m also considering experimenting with making this in a bread maker. I can program the rise times, but I’ll lose the final shaping, of course. Other than adjusting for 2lb loaves, can you think of anything you’d change for a bread maker? I planned to run it exactly as-is. It’s a pretty straightforward bread.
Rebecca Eisenberg
I'm so so glad you enjoyed it!! I don't have a bread maker so I'm not quite sure how to adjust it — my only thought is it may not need 2x the amount of yeast since this recipe already has quite a lot of yeast in it. You may need to experiment to find exactly the right amount but given that a bread maker provides optimal kneading and temperatures for rising I wouldn't increase the amount of yeast at all for your first attempt at a scaled up version! If it seems like it needs more yeast after that, increase gradually until you find the right amount. Please do report back and let me know how it turns out in the bread maker! I'm so curious!
Cameron
I made it in the bread maker yesterday. I think your idea of not increasing the yeast is the right one. I increased everything by 1.6 to account for a 2lb loaf, then matched the original times (knead, rise 1 hr, omitted the shaping because I wanted this to be hands off, then second rise 1 hr). During the first rise, the dough almost overflowed the pan. I had to punch it down about 45 mins into the first rise. It grew back to a good size on the second rise. Omitting the shaping didn't seem to cause any issues, The result was super soft and very good. Not quite as good as the handmade loaf according to my kids and wife, but still very good.
My next attempt will be to use all the same measurements but leave the yeast at 1 rather than 1.6x. I may also switch to bread flour to see if it makes any difference over the generic AP I used for the first two. Overall, I would call this attempt a success.
JJ
Hi! I've been trying your bread recipes one by one, thank you for sharing! 🙂
For this sandwich bread, mine came out a bit dense. The loaf itself was heavy after baking. Would you be able to advise how I can fix this to make the bread soft and light? I weighed all my ingredients.
Thank you!
Rebecca Eisenberg
It sounds like yours may have underproofed or overproofed slightly! If its cold in your kitchen it might need more time to rise, if its warm in your kitchen it might need to go in the oven sooner!
Bridget
Is there a way to substitute sugar or something else for the honey? If so how much? I want to be able to serve to my 8 month old (no honey before 1)
Rebecca Eisenberg
Yes, you can substitute sugar! I would increase it by about 25% — so in this recipe that would be 10 grams of sugar. Happy baking!
Don
Do you see any issue replacing the oil with butter using the same weight?
Rebecca Eisenberg
You could do that — it might change the texture just slightly but it will work! Clarified butter would be the best alternative since it doesn't have any milk solids in it, but honestly regular melted butter would be just fine here too.
Alice
It's a great recipe and the bread comes out delicious and beautiful. However, oncein a while it is a little "weak"? As in, it breaks when I slice it and doesn't hold well enough to make a sandwich or even butter it. What am I doing wrong?
Rebecca Eisenberg
It sounds like on those occasions it is overproofing! Keep an eye on it before baking, it may just need to go into the oven a bit sooner!
Rachel Brown
Full transparency - I’ve never made a loaf of bread before not in a bread machine. I tried this and it was edible (and actually good) in the first round?!?! That’s a miracle right there. My husband even ate a sandwich with it and gave me a thumbs up. I’m winning today thanks to this recipe. 😂
Rebecca Eisenberg
Keep on baking, keep on winning!!! So glad you and your husband enjoyed the bread!
Kelli W.
I’ve been baking bread for over 50 years and this is by far the best loaf of bread I’ve ever made!
Rebecca Eisenberg
I'm honored! So glad you enjoyed the bread. Happy baking! ~Rebecca
Bob
I've made many different sandwich bread recipes in the past, including some same day, but decided to give this a try as I needed something quick for lunch sandwiches. turned out great and was the most replicable on the first try.
Lilith
Best sandwich bread that I've ever made! Thank you!
beverly
I have tried so many breads and they all taste good but it seems like they all have a hard crust on top. how do you keep your bread soft ? I love baking breads so if you could give me any help it would reall be appreciated. i wont leave a rating yet but will if I bake it and tell you what I think
Rebecca Eisenberg
Are you saying that you tried this recipe and the crust was too hard? If so, it sounds like your oven might be running too hot. I'd recommend getting an oven thermometer to make sure you're baking at the right temperature!
Bonnie O'Neill
Just pulled this out of the oven after a family Christmas discussion about my m-i-l’s homemade bread! I did it in a Pullman pan because I like the more narrow slices better. It smells amazing!
Tina VanTassel
Just made this. Turned out great!
Out of curiosity, do you ever publish the nutritional facts along with the recipe?
Thank you for all your hard work.
Rebecca Eisenberg
So glad you enjoyed the bread! And no, I have no plans or desire to include nutritional information. I’m not qualified to calculate it, plus a lot of people make their own modifications or use different brand ingredients than I do which can affect those numbers, and, more importantly, I consciously keep this space free of diet talk and triggering information like calorie counts. If you need the nutritional information you are more than welcome to calculate it on your own!
Christin Lynch
Would leaving out the honey/sugar make a huge difference? I can't stand sweetish break lol, I would use sugar instead I mean I dont have honey anyway, but does it make or break it to add sweet to the recipe? I'm so curious to try my own sandwich bread for healthier options for sams and such 🙂
Rebecca Eisenberg
You can use sugar instead of honey for sure — cut the amount down by about 25%. It won’t totally break the recipe to leave it out but it’s such a small amount this really isn’t a “sweet” bread. The sugar also helps feed the yeast so if you leave it out it may affect the timing of the recipe slightly, it may need longer to rise. But it will still produce a loaf of bread so if you want to give it a try without any sugar you can.
Ps just a reminder this is a diet talk free zone — I don’t use words like “healthy” to describe food because health is relative, different people have different health needs! We can enjoy making bread from scratch without making it seem like it’s “bad” to buy store bought! 🙂
Rebecca Ann Scavello
How can I adjust this to use a 12x4.5 loaf pan? I bought them but can never find a recipe that uses that size pan only smaller.
Rebecca Eisenberg
That is a very unusual pan size! I looked it up and I do think this loaf could work in it — you’ll just need to roll it longer and narrower than the recipe calls for so it better fills the length of the pan. It may not need to rise fully to the top rim, you can check it after about 45 mins rising and if it springs back when you poke it it’s ready to bake. If it still seems a bit small, then you’ll need to scale the recipe up maybe by 10-20%! Let me know how it goes for you!
Sarah
This is the recipe that finally convinced my picky family to prefer homemade bread over the sandwich bread in the store. Even my 5 year old loves it.
I sometimes use sugar instead of honey: it’s great every time!
Hari
Thank you for this recipe and the detailed explanation on the how. Was very helpful to a beginner in bread making like me. The loaf came out looking exactly as your pictures and hopefully tasted the same. We liked it. I was wondering if there was a way to make the bread airier ….in any recipe? I don’t have a bread mixer so kneaded and folded using my hands - will that have any impact on the airiness of the loaf?
Thank you again for the wonderful recipes especially the small batch ones.
Rebecca Eisenberg
Oh I'm so glad to hear that you loved it! There are a lot of ways to make airier bread, but generally more water = bigger air bubbles, less kneading = bigger air bubbles, less yeast + longer rise time = bigger bubbles. If you wanted to try making this one airier you could reduce the yeast and let it rise longer after shaping; I haven't tested it but I think that would work! If you try it let me know how it goes. Happy baking!
Tahnee
Can I use whole wheat flour to make this wheat bread instead of white?
Thank you.
Rebecca Eisenberg
Nope! This recipe is designed to use white flour. Whole wheat flour does not develop gluten or absorb water in the same way, you will not get great results. I recommend looking for a recipe specifically designed to use whole wheat flour.
McJanine
I think this would do better in a regular loaf pan. Which is kind of sad, because I bought a 9X5 pan to try this recipe. I got a good rise, the overall amount of dough seemed to be the issue. It would have been over-proofed if I let it go any longer, but it didn't get close to your picture. Even though I weighed everything, the wheat itself may have been heavier that what you used, requiring less to get those grams. IDK. Hubby liked it though, so there will probably be a smaller loaf pan version sometime.
Rebecca Eisenberg
I'm sorry it didn't quite work for you — but are you saying you used whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour? Because that would definitely make a huge difference in the overall volume of the loaf!
Stacy Donati
Excellent recipe, only thing I will do differently is not score the top. My loaf was gorgeous and I think the scoring brought it down a bit. But great recipe!!
Melanie
Can you make this recipe without a stand mixer? I do not own one.
Rebecca Eisenberg
Hi Melanie! There is a whole section in the blog post about how to knead the dough by hand. I hope this helps! ~Rebecca
McJanine
No, Canadian wheat has more protein, so it tends to weight more. This may have resulted in less total amount since I went by grams. I'll play around with it. Enjoying your website.
Pauline Morton
I made this soft sandwich loaf last night, my neighbor and I ate half right away. I'm now in the process of making another loaf. Thank you for all the work you do to making bread and other items so easy for us older home bakers. Your smaller recipes are perfect now that we are alone. Keep up the great job.
Casey Black
I love this bread so much. I make it weekly. Do you happen to have a wheat bread that is simple like this one? Thanks
Rebecca Eisenberg
This is a wheat bread, all-purpose flour is made from wheat. If you're asking about whole wheat bread, the only whole wheat bread recipe I have is my no-knead dutch oven whole wheat bread which is also very easy to make!
Corrie
I just came here to say THANK YOU! I have never tried to make bread before and my family was so impressed with how great it tastes and how perfect it looks! I used King Arthur unbleached bread flour and I'm on my third time making it and it turns out perfect every time. Thank you for sharing this recipe!!
Ray
Hi. Is this 350f fan forced or conventional oven?
Rebecca Eisenberg
Regular oven, not convection!
Asha Shaji
Thank you for this recipe. Very simple with basic ingredients. My husband ate a full loaf by himself in a day 😁 he loved it.
April
I’ve tried this one twice now and gotten a rock both times. It seems so simple and I can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong. 🙁
I’m sad. I was so hopeful because it seems so easy and has such simple ingredients. I have always wanted to make my own bread.
Rebecca Eisenberg
Hmmmm if I had to guess what happened here, it's possible your yeast went bad. Are you sure it was new and fresh?
And did you measure the ingredients by weight or did you convert it to cups? That's the other thing that can often go wrong with this recipe. You definitely want to measure by weight for best results!
April
I used my kitchen scale to measure. The yeast was just purchased from the store. The first time, it didn’t rise, the second time it did but then it still cooked into a brick. I just cannot figure out what I’m doing wrong. The recipe seems fantastic, but I’m messing up somewhere. I’ll have to try again…..
Sharon
I don't have a stand mixer. Can I knead by hand. Do I need to change anything in the recipe? Thanks
Rebecca Eisenberg
You can knead by hand! It will take a bit longer and you may need to dust in more flour but it will work. Nothing else needs to change. Happy baking!
Maggie
I started making bread in November, 2024. I make (6) loaves every week. Two each for our children and their families, and two for us. One of our loaves is eaten up by our grandchildren as their after school snack. This is the second recipe I’ve tried. Although the first recipe is good, it just didn’t make good sandwiches without toasting it first. My husband wanted “soft” bread he didn’t have to toast. After a crazy amount of research for “soft” homemade sandwich bread, I decided on your recipe. THANK YOU! My husband made himself a sandwich when he got home from work to test it out, and he loved it! AND, thank you for your step by step video, it was extremely helpful. Now I understand how the dough should look, and act.
Wishing you the very best!
Megan
Love this recipe! So easy and delicious
Sophia
For a brand new bread maker this recipe is so unbelievably simple and as titled “fool proof” if I’m being honest I didn’t check the water temp I just made sure it wasn’t too hot. Both my loaves came out perfect. I’m so happy I stumbled upon it this site and excited and eager to try more recipes !