With a few basic ingredients, you can make your own sandwich bread at home! This sandwich bread is incredibly soft and fluffy, and slightly chewy. It's perfect for making sandwiches, and there are countless ways to use leftovers!
* This post was updated with new photos... again 🙂
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I am yet to meet anyone who doesn't love sandwich bread! It's not only delicious on its own, but it's incredibly versatile! You can use it for making anything from savory sandwiches all the way to sweet bread pudding.
A go-to, homemade sandwich bread recipe is a must have for beginner and advanced bakers alike! Plus there's nothing quite like a fresh, warm piece of bread!
This recipe yields 1 loaf of bread, but it can be easily doubled if you need more. It also freezes very well!
Sandwich bread ingredients:
• water & milk: I use a combination of water and milk for sandwich bread. The water gives the bread just enough structure to hold up against a lot of different sandwich toppings. The milk gives the bread its signature softness and texture! Both liquids should be at about body temperature (between 105°F and 110°F) which is perfect for the yeast to grow without dying from the heat of the liquid. To test the temperature, you can use a thermometer. But an easier test is to stick your finger in the liquid and it shouldn't feel much different that your hand temperature.
• sugar: for the yeast to feed off of and grow!
• yeast: to help the bread rise
• flour: you may need a bit more flour depending on the humidity of your home. So you may need to add more as you knead the dough
• salt: to season
• butter: for texture and flavor. EDIT: I used to make this recipe with melted butter, but I found it could make the loaf a bit heavy. Softened butter has been my go to lately, so the recipe below is updated to reflect that 🙂
How to make sandwich bread:
1. Proof yeast.
2. Add milk to yeast mixture.
3. Mix flour and salt into the wet ingredients.
4. Knead until dough is relatively smooth.
5. Add butter and knead until the butter is incorporated and the dough is smooth and elastic.
6. Cover and set aside dough until about doubled in size.
7. Punch air out of dough, and shape into loaf:
Start by pressing the dough out into a rough rectangle that's about 9 inches wide and 13 inches long (you can do this with a rolling pin or with your hands).
Tightly roll the rectangle into a tube widthwise so you're left with a 9 inch log.
Cut off the ends to fit into your loaf pan (this'll help give you a smooth domed top) - I like to just bake the excess dough separately. Place the log into your loaf pan.
8. Cover the shaped dough and set aside again until it has domed over the loaf pan.
9. Bake until golden.
10. Set aside to cool enough to handle before slicing!
Sandwich bread storage:
Since this sandwich bread is fully natural, it definitely won't last as long as your store bought toast. But that being said, you can do a lot with leftovers (more on that below!) and the loaves freeze wonderfully!
As a general rule of thumb, it's best to store your bread unsliced because the less air hitting the surface of the bread, the less likely it is to dry out.
To store the sandwich bread, once cooled, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and keep at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 1 week.
If you'd like your bread to last longer, keep it stored in the freezer. To freeze, wrap your cooled loaf in a layer of plastic wrap followed by a layer of aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn. Keep frozen for up to 3 months.
To defrost, set out at room temperature for a few hours, or heat in a preheated 350°F oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until defrosted.
How to use leftover sandwich bread:
Like with any yeast based bread, this sandwich bread tastes best fresh (unless of course you plan on toasting it). But here are a few different ideas for how to use up leftovers!
• French toast
• Bread pudding
• Panini sandwiches
• Plain toasted with butter, jam, cream cheese, or any of your favorite spreads!
• Croutons
• Breadcrumbs: cube some leftover bread and arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast in a preheated 325°F oven for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until crisp all the way through. Blend into fine crumbs!
If you liked this sandwich bread, you may also like some of these other bread recipes:
• soft dinner rolls
• focaccia bread
• pizza dough
• no knead bread
• quick croissants
Homemade Sandwich Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 & ¼ cups lukewarm water, at about 110°F
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 2 & ¼ teaspoons (1 package) active dry or instant yeast
- ¼ cup lukewarm milk, at about 110°F
- 3 & ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading and shaping
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine your warm water, sugar, and yeast. Stir, and set aside for 5 to 10 minutes, or until foamy on top.
- Add your warm milk, flour, and salt to the yeast mixture. Stir together until you start to get a rough ball of dough. Knead the dough, using your hands or an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, for about 5 to 10 minutes, or until the dough is relatively smooth. Add flour as needed if the dough is too sticky.
- Add your butter to the dough, and knead again until the butter is incorporated and you're left with a smooth and elastic dough.
- Place the dough in a large, lightly buttered/oiled bowl. Turn the dough over to coat all sides with the butter/oil to prevent drying out. Cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel, and set the dough aside in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until nearly doubled in size.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Flatten the dough into a rectangle that's about 9 inches wide and 13 inches long (you can do this with a rolling pin or with your hands). Roll the dough widthwise into a log so that you're left with an 9 inch long log. Cut any excess dough off the end to help ensure a smooth domed top - I like to bake the excess dough separately to snack on later!
- Generously butter a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Place your shaped dough into the loaf pan (seam side down). Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap or a tea towel, and set aside in a warm place for another 30 minutes, or until it domes over the top of the pan.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Uncover your risen dough, and bake in the center of your preheated 350°F oven for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until it turns a rich golden brown color on top. If the loaf is browning too quickly, loosely tent the top with aluminum foil to finish baking.
- Cool your baked loaf for about 20 minutes, or until it's cold enough to handle. Slice and serve!
Enjoy!
Jay Mumper says
Disappointed. Loaf rose nicely but then stopped before filling crowning. When baked it fell slightly. Baked loaf was flat on top, lightly browned. First slices had a relatively large crumb, coarse texture. The center of the list had a large void in the top half. Taste was pleasant.