Soft Sandwich Bread
Soft Sandwich Bread. This homemade bread uses common ingredients that you probably already have on your pantry shelves. The bread is soft and fluffy on the inside with a delicious golden, crispy crust. There’s truly nothing that beats the smell and taste of homemade bread.
Can you beat the smell of homemade bread baking in the oven? I think not. Growing up, my mom owned a bread machine and routinely she would make bread in the bread machine. My mom actually hated cooking and baking, but she always found a way to still make delicious treats for my brother and I with the help of store bought cookie dough, or a bread machine. I certainly don’t blame her. Raising kids is a busy job and some days finding time to cook and bake can be difficult. However, I truly enjoy cooking and baking, so for me, it’s easier to fit it in. Plus my kids enjoy helping me.
I fondly remember the smell of the bread as it baked in the machine. My brother and I always eagerly waited to grab a slice of the fresh, soft, warm bread. Now that I’m a mom, I enjoy making homemade bread for myself and my kids, just as my mom did. This homemade sandwich bread recipe could not get easier. It uses pantry staple ingredients and can be made in roughly an hour and a half. Most of that time, though, is just waiting for the bread to rise. There’s minimal effort on your part to make the bread.
Here’s what you need to know…
First things first, never mix the salt and yeast directly. It will deactivate the yeast. I like to mix my ingredients in this order: yeast, milk, water, honey, flour, salt, butter. For this recipe, I used instant yeast. Instant yeast will rise more rapidly than active dry yeast when the rise time is shorter, like in this recipe. Also, instant yeast does not require an “activation” time. When using active dry yeast, this yeast requires a 5-10 minutes period where the yeast, warm liquid and sugar is mixed together, then allowed to activate. Instant yeast can simply be mixed directly in with the other ingredients.
Rolling the dough. I like to roll my dough “jelly roll style” or into a cylinder. I found this has helped the bread form the best looking loaves.
Make sure you brush the top of the dough with a beaten egg. This will give the bread the nicely colored golden brown crust.
The last thing you need to do is bake the bread for 25-30 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown. Make sure you allow the bread to cool for a few minutes before slicing into it (so that you don’t burn yourself).
If you make this recipe, make sure to leave a comment and rating below. Also, make sure you find me on instagram where you can see the baking video for this and fun behind the scenes.
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Soft Sandwich Bread
- Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Description
Soft Sandwich Bread. This homemade bread uses common ingredients that you probably already have on your pantry shelves. The bread is soft and fluffy on the inside with a delicious golden, crispy crust. There’s truly nothing that beats the smell and taste of homemade bread.
Ingredients
Bread
- 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast (1/4 ounce)
- 3/4 cup water (warmed to 110F) (177 grams)
- 1/2 cup whole milk (warmed to 110F) (122 grams)
- 1 tablespoon honey (21.2 grams)
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (360 grams)
- 1 teaspoon salt (6 grams)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature (56 grams)
Egg Wash
- 1 egg, beaten
Instructions
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add all ingredients for the bread to the bowl. Mix on low speed until a dough ball forms, then mix on medium speed for 8 minutes.
2. Place dough in lightly greased large bowl. Spray top of dough with nonstick spray, then cover with kitchen towel, or plastic wrap. Allow to rise for 30 minutes at room temperature.
3. Punch down dough and place on lightly floured surface. Roll into an 8×15 inch rectangle (it doesn’t have to be exact), then starting at the short end, roll into a cylinder. Place in lightly greased 9×5 inch loaf pan. Cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise for 30 minutes, or until the top of the bread is 1 inch above the top of the pan.
4. Preheat oven to 350F. Using a pastry brush, brush the top of the dough with the beaten egg.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. The dough should sound hollow when you gently tap on it. Allow to cool enough so that you can handle it before slicing. You may allow it to cool completely before slicing, if you can wait that long!
6. Cover bread and store at room temperature for 2-3 days, or in freezer. You may store bread in refrigerator, but storing bread in the refrigerator can make the bread go stale.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Oven
Best sandwich bread recipe I’ve found.
Rachel, that is so wonderful to hear! I am thrilled you enjoyed it. Thank you for trying my recipe! It means a lot to me :).
Can this be made in a bread machine? If so, any alterations to the recipe?
Betty,
Yes, it can be! Follow the instructions in the book for the order of ingredient additions to the machine (look at some of the recipes that may have been provided and follow the order of ingredients for those). If you can’t find the order of ingredient additions, add liquids, salt, flour, then yeast. Use basic bread, medium crust as the default setting. Otherwise, everything else should be the same. Hope you enjoy!
-Jolene
So delicious and easy! Our favorite sandwich bread!
Kim,
I am thrilled to hear that! Thanks for making my recipe :).
-Jolene
This bread is amazing! Question – could I also make it with whole wheat flour?
Lindsay,
I was actually in the process of making a whole wheat sandwich bread recipe, but haven’t quite perfected it yet! You reminded me to get back to it. Hoping to have a recipe very soon! In terms of just subbing whole wheat flour, it won’t work as a 1:1 replacement as the whole wheat flour absorbs more water than the all-purpose flour, resulting in a drier, stiffer dough. This also means it won’t rise as well. So, I’m trying to figure out the best ratio for a mixture of whole wheat flour with all-purpose flour to result in the soft, fluffy bread. Anyways, hope that helps with understanding it all, and I’ll work on getting a whole wheat sandwich bread recipe out soon :).
-Jolene