The Easiest Way To Make White Sandwich Bread (Video)

Recipe Video Print Pin Recipe

It’s easy to make your own sandwich bread, and the result is fresher, tastier, and cheaper than most store-bought varieties. This white bread is quick, easy, and inexpensive to make. Use it for toasted sandwiches or for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. In addition, it can be great for French toast too.

Bread making at home can be therapeutic? Mixing the dough, kneading it into a gorgeous bread. And the smell of freshly baked bread in the house is so welcoming.

Table of Contents

Why make this sandwich bread

White sandwich bread is typically about 20% protein, 45% carbohydrate, and 35% fat.
This bread recipe tastes great and is quick and simple to prepare.
Most of the ingredients are simple and easy to find or pantry staples.
The dough is made with commercial yeast so the rise and proofing time is 60 to 90 minutes unlikes the many hours needed to make a sourdough bread with a sourdough starter.
It’s really not that complicated. In fact, it is one of the simplest bread you can make in the kitchen. Follow the directions below and eat it fresh, or toast it for breakfast.

Baked bread on the table. — Sandwich White Bread Recipe

Ingredients and substitutes

Flour – bread flour will make wonderfully chewy bread. But, all-purpose flour works just as well.
Instant dry yeast – I like to use instant dry because I’ve always had great success with it. You can also use the same amount of active dry yeast. Alternatively, you can use 21 grams of fresh yeast or baker’s yeast.
Water – The temperature of the water is an important factor in bread making. It has to be warm, not hot. Usually about 110 F. And yet, you don’t really need a thermometer. The temperature is around the same as when you give milk to a baby. So, think if this water was to be fed to a baby would it be warm enough?
Fluid – I love a combination of water and milk but you can also use all water or all milk for this recipe. Milk adds a wonderful flavor, softness, and color to the bread. Also, water gives the bread a wonderfully chewy texture. And the milk fat when baked adds to a wonderful golden brown color.
Sugar – Just a little sugar to feed the yeast but also adds flavor to the bread.
Olive oil – just a little olive oil for flavor and to feed the yeast but you can also replace it with butter or other oil such as coconut or avocado.
Butter – This adds richness to the dough. You can reduce it if you prefer but perhaps keep at least a tablespoon for flavor.

Ingredients for sandwich bread recipe. — Sandwich White Bread Recipe

Bakers schedule

Dough – 20 minutes
Rise – 60 to 90 minutes (up to overnight in the fridge)
Shape – 10 mins
Proof – 60 to 90 mins (up to 2 hrs)
Bake – 45 minutes

Easy Homemade Sandwich Bread

Yeast mixture– In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the warm water (110F), instant yeast, sugar, and olive oil.
Flour – In the large bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, add the flour and salt. Stir to combine. Then add the warm milk and yeast mixture. Combine with a wooden spoon or dough whisk. Scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure all dry flour is incorporated.

Progress pictures making the yeast mixture for bread. — Easy Sandwich White Bread Recipe

Knead – Continue to knead the dough on medium speed for 8 to 110 minutes. Add the room-temperature butter and knead for 4 to 5 minutes more.
Pro tip -You can also knead the dough by hand on a work surface for 18 to 20 minutes.
Rse – Transfer the dough to a greased bowl and leave it to rise on the counter for up to 60 to 90 minutes or until double in volume.

Progress pictures making the dough for sandwich bread. — Sandwich White Bread Recipe

Shape – When the dough is double in volume, transfer it to a well-dusted floured surface. De-gas, reshape into a ball. Shape each portion into a tight roll. To do this correctly, flatten the dough on an un-floured surface. Fold the top and two sides in. Then roll towards you into a sausage or log shape.
Pro-tip – at this point there is no need for additional flour. So use a light dusting of flour.
Proof (second rise) – Place the shaped log in an 8-inch loaf pan. Cover with a clean kitchen cloth or plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for about 45 minutes until almost double in size.
Pro tip – Spray the plastic wrap with oil to prevent it from sticking to the rolls.

Progress pictures shaping and baking the sandwich white bread. — Sandwich White Bread Recipe

Bake

Oven & Pan – When the bread is almost double in volume at about 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 375°F / 190°C / Gas Mark 5. Grease the right size loaf pan with butter (ingredients given for 9-inch as well as 13-inch loaf pan)
Pro tip – you can also use an oil spray for the loaf pan, however, the butter will give a wonderful golden crust with a tender crumb.
Bake on the middle rack until lightly golden on top. The 9-inch loaf will take about 40 to 50 minutes while the 13-inch loaf will take about 60 to 70 minutes. If the top of the sandwich bread is getting too dark, tent it with aluminum foil. When baked brush with melted butter.
Pro tip – This is optional but adds a nice flavor and keeps the top crust soft.
Cool – Take it out of the pan and cool it on the wire rack. Cover it with a clean kitchen towel for at least 10 minutes to keep the loaf soft
Pro tip – Do not leave the bread in the pan for too long as the steam will make the bread soggy on the bottom.

Variations

Whole wheat bread – replace 1 cup of white flour with whole wheat flour if you want to add more fiber and whole-grain benefits.
Fruit and nut bread – you can add 1/2 cup chopped raisins or dates and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans to the flour
Seed bread – Soak sunflower or pumpkin seeds for an hour then add them to the flour. Coat the dough in additional seeds before placing the dough in the loaf pan.
White milk bread – Replace the water in the recipe with milk and add an additional 2 tbsps of milk powder to the flour.

Tips for Success

Measure all ingredients ahead of time so you don’t forget anything at the last minute.
For accuracy use a weight measure for the ingredients because every cup of flour can weigh differently depending on how you fill it.
The milk must be warm (not hot) about 110F. If the milk is too hot it will kill the yeast, similarly, if the milk is too cold it will not activate the yeast.
Though instant dry yeast has a long shelf life, it can get ruined. Always check the expiry on the yeast. If unsure, combine the yeast with water/milk, sugar/honey, and oil/butter from the recipe and let stand 5 minutes. If it gets foamy the yeast is good to go if not best to buy fresh yeast or check the temperature of the milk
Keep salt away from yeast as it can kill the yeast. I like to combine it with the flour and then add it to the yeast mixture.
A soft loose well-hydrated dough is not necessarily a bad thing, it often will give you soft fluffy bread so don’t be tempted to add more flour than mentioned in the recipe.
Kneading is key to making good bread. While kneading by hand can be therapeutic using a stand mixer is easier and quicker
Leave the dough at room temperature to rise until it doubles in volume. While not recommended when in haste you can place it in a warm (not hot) oven this will expedite the rise.
Bread does not have to be time-consuming. You can leave the dough in the fridge to rise for a few hours (even overnight) while you go about your chores. A slow rise will give more flavor to the bread.
Always preheat the oven for at least 10 minutes before you place bread in or the low temperature will spread the dough too much.

Troubleshooting

Why did my dough not rise?
Most often the simplest explanation for this is that the liquid (milk or water) used was not warm. You need the liquid to be no more than 110 F/ 41 C. Hotter than that will not activate the yeast. In some cases, it could also be that the yeast was old and not good. One way is to let the yeast mixture sit on the counter for 5 minutes, if it bubbles and becomes foamy, the yeast is active. If not, change the yeast or check the temperature of the liquid.
My bread was not soft, it was dense
If you add too much flour to the dough the bread will be dense, not soft. You want the dough to be soft, elastic, and still slightly sticky when kneading. Follow the recipe and look at the video to see the consistency of the dough.
Why did the bread deflate when baking?
Prove the buns for only 45 minutes or until just almost double in volume. They will continue to rise some more in the oven when baking. If you overproof the buns they tend to rise and deflate when baking.

A sliced sandwich bread on the table. — Sandwich White Bread Recipe

More sandwich bread recipes

Pullman sandwich bread
Brioche sandwich bread or Brioche Pullman Loaf
No-knead sandwich bread
Whole wheat sandwich bread
Challah Sandwich Bread
Challah Recipe – 3 strands, 4 strands, 5 strands, 6 strands
See all Sandwich Bread recipes

How long does this white sandwich bread keep?

If stored properly this white bread will stay for 4 to 5 days at room temperature. It can be frozen for up to 3 months. Never store bread in the fridge as it dries out.

Which sandwich loaf pan should I buy?

It is very important that you buy a good quality pan. Nothing is worse than spending time on bread and having it stuck in the pan. A good quality pan will last you for years and will be a pleasure to use over and over again. Since I bake almost every week, I have quite a few baking pans, and yet I keep using these three over and over again.
I love loaf pans with high sides. I have this large Pullman sandwich loaf pan and this small Pullman sandwich loaf pan which works great not just for the Pullman bread but also for this type of classic loaf bread. So basically you can use that one pan for both types of loaves. Make sure to buy the lids if you plan to make the Pullman bread as well.
These are classic sandwich loaf pans that I love very much and often use for my plain loaves as well as babkas and stuff bread roll recipes.

Can I bake this bread in a bread machine?

Yes. Pour all ingredients into the pan. Set to dough or manual. Start and let the dough run its cycle for about 9 to 10 minutes – continue with the recipe as shown above.