The Best White Sandwich Bread
This is the best white sandwich bread ever! It is surprisingly easy to make and is perfect for sandwiches and toast (French toast, too!)!
Nothing compares to this soft, fluffy, PERFECT white sandwich bread.
It is amazing! And really easy to make. No fancy ingredients. No time consuming method. It’s straightforward and simple!
My Mom’s Famous Bread Recipe
This amazing, tried-and-true recipe is my mom’s famous and spectacular white bread recipe. She made it all the time when I was growing up.
I have fond memories of her mixing the dough together in a huge blue bowl with a wooden spoon (she didn’t – and still doesn’t – own an electric stand mixer).
The dough is forgiving enough that it is the perfect bread recipe for beginning and expert bread makers alike.
How I Make It
I am not as hardy and definitely more lazy than my mom, so I always opt to make this bread dough in my mixer. I have a Bosch stand mixer but the recipe should work just as well in a Kitchenaid or other type of stand mixer that has a dough hook.
The dough is soft and smooth and a dream to work with.
I divide the dough in half and then press each half into a rectangle and then roll up into a log (pinch the seam!) to place in the bread pan.
Perfect Homemade Bread
The baked loaves are tall and sturdy. The crumb is soft but tight, so it makes the perfect bread for sandwiches.
Just in case you care, the bread also makes the most fantastic grilled cheese sandwiches and French toast you’ll ever have.
Good thing this recipe doubles well! It doesn’t last long in our house. (I usually double the batch and then freeze two of the loaves for later…I like to call it freezer self-control.)
Here’s the equipment I use for homemade bread:
- Stand Mixer
I use my Bosch stand mixer for this (and all breads). I also have a KitchenAid mixer but usually say very bad words when I use it to make bread; I know many of you have better luck using your KA mixer for bread, but I’m a creature of habit, and the Bosch is unparalleled for bread making. This recipe makes two loaves which is doable in a KitchenAid; I usually double the recipe in my Bosch so I can get four loaves out of the deal. Having said all of that, you can definitely make this bread by hand, too. - Bread Pans
I always bake our everyday sandwich bread in 8 1/2-inch by 4 1/2-inch bread pans (vs 9X5-inch pans). I have a mix of Chicago Metallic pans and USA Bread pans. I love both brands, truly. If I had to choose, though, I’d probably opt just slightly more in favor of the USA bread pans (nothing sticks!). As a sidenote, I never wash my bread pans when making homemade sandwich bread (banana bread and other quick breads are a different matter). Sounds icky, but after a decade plus of homemade bread making and pan cleaning, I haven’t had an issue. Instead of washing and submerging in water, I get a clean dishrag and run it under very hot water. I wipe out each pan, paying particular attention to the crevices, let them air dry, and call it good. This has helped avoid rust in the edges of the pans. I’ve had a few of my bread pans for almost 10 years and they are going strong. - Scale
I use my trusty kitchen scale to weigh out the dough when dividing into loaves. You certainly don’t have to, but I like the loaves to be as similar in weight as possible so they bake evenly. - Bench Scraper
Another optional but super handy tool, this bench scraper/cutter is the perfect thing to use when dividing bread into loaves (plus, it’s one of the most-used items in my kitchen since it has a million different purposes). - Flour Sack Towels
A great alternative to using greased plastic wrap, I throw these lightweight towels over my bread while it is rising in the pans. - Unbleached All-purpose Flour
When using white flour, I always use unbleached all-purpose flour vs bleached all-purpose flour. I’m sure you could use bleached white flour in this recipe, too; I just haven’t tried it (but I’m 99.9% certain that’s what my mom used for decades when I was growing up). - Bread Bags
A few years ago, I bought a case of 1,000 bread bags. Yes, that’s right: 1,000. I’m still working through them (obviously), but it’s cemented the preference that real, live bread bags (instead of stuffing that loaf into an ill-fitting ziploc bag) is the way to go. This is the case of bread bags I have, but I bought these bread bags for a friend and she loves them (bonus: you don’t have to buy a gazillion at once). I always use plastic clips like these (I snag them at IKEA when I’m there once a year) to close the bags. - Bread Knife
This is my favorite bread knife. So inexpensive, and the long blade design makes for very even, neat slices!
If you’ve been looking for the perfect, white sandwich bread, this tried-and-true recipe should end your search! Simple, delicious, and so fluffy!
One Year Ago: Soft Baked Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie {Egg-Free}
Two Years Ago: Fudgy Coconut Oil Brownie Bites
Three Years Ago: Incredible Chocolate Pudding {Dairy, Egg and Gluten Free}
The Best White Sandwich Bread
Ingredients
- 6 ½ to 7 ½ cups (923-1065 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 ½ tablespoons instant yeast
- ¼ cup sugar or honey
- 2 ¾ cups very warm water
- ¼ cup neutral-flavored oil, like grapeseed, canola, vegetable, avocado
- Butter for top of loaves, optional
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook (or in a large bowl, if making the dough by hand), combine THREE cups of the flour, salt, yeast and sugar.
- Add the water and oil and mix until combined. The mixture will be thinner than bread dough.
- Cover the bowl and let the batter rest for 10 minutes; it will be slightly bubbly at the end.
- With the mixer running (or stirring by hand), gradually add another 3 to 4 cups of flour, until the dough comes together in a cohesive ball that clears the bottom and sides of the bowl and doesn’t leave a lot of doughy residue on your fingers when touched while still being just slightly tacky (not overfloured and dense).
- Knead for about 2 minutes until the dough is smooth and supple.
- Lightly grease a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the prepared bowl, cover with greased plastic wrap or a light kitchen towel, and let rise until doubled, about an hour or so, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.
- Lightly punch down the dough and divide it into two equal pieces.
- Grease two 8 1/2-inch by 4 1/2-inch bread pans.
- Press each piece of dough into a thick rectangle about 8-inches long; roll it up, pressing on the seams, and pinching the final seam together.
- Place the dough loaves into the prepared pans.
- Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap or thin kitchen towels and let rise until doubled and the dough has risen about 1-inch above the top rim of the pan, about an hour or so, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.
- While the dough rises, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Bake the bread for 30-32 minutes until golden and baked through.
- Remove from the oven and turn the bread out onto a wire rack. Immediately brush the tops of the loaves with melted butter (or use a stick of butter, peeling the paper back and rubbing it on the top of the hot bread).
- Let the bread cool completely.
- The bread can be stored at room temperature, covered in a bread bag, for a couple days, or frozen for up to a month or so.
Can I use melted butter instead of oil?
I haven’t tried that substitution, but you could definitely experiment.
Initially, I followed the recipe exactly, however, although delicious, it yielded two excessively large and still slightly dense loaves. I found by making some minor adjustments I obtained a better flavor and a yield of three super soft regular sized loaves. 1) An extra 1/2 teaspoon of salt 2) An extra 1/2 tablespoon of yeast 3) Always letting the yeast proof and adding it in after mixing the initial 3 cups of flour with the other ingredients. One of the biggest advantages is the fact that I get 50% more with the same recipe 🙂
Just made this today. Oh my goodness, divine! I made it through half a loaf by myself the second it was cool enough to slice!
I’ve been making this bread every week for a month now and it’s lovely! Amazing for sandwiches, toast points, french toast and the best grilled cheese sandwiches. I use my KitchenAid for the first part and knead by hand a few minutes.
But I was feeling bad about feeding my family so much white bread, with barely any fiber, so this time I subbed one cup of whole wheat to the dough and it was still super delicious and a bit less of a guilt trip to eat.
I usually botch any recipe with yeast but I made the most beautiful, delicious sandwich loaves. The only downside is my family ate them ENTIRELY too fast!
I used this recipe to make 2 beautiful loaves of bread. It was soft and fluffy, reminding me of Wonder bread. I used active yeast, not instant, and the proof times were both a little over half an hour. Very happy with my bread baking.
Hi Mel~ A great recipe. I’ve been using it for a few years as my go to sandwich bread recipe. Is it me or am I not seeing a place where I can pin this for pinterest?
There’s a little teal circle with the Pinterest P right in the corner where the recipe is (above the title) – that should pin the recipe!
Hi. I would like to try this recipe but I only own 1 bread pan. Can I halve this recipe or leave the second dough out while the first loaf bakes? Thanks!
Yes, you can definitely halve the recipe! You could also refrigerate the second piece of dough while the other loaf rises and bakes.
This bread is easy to make and delicious. My family really likes the sponginess of this bread, though I don’t. They really like store bought white bread and this sponginess is almost the same as that. It was an interesting technique I hadn’t used before. I’ve made this twice in 1 week, so clearly the sponginess isn’t a deterrant for me. I just prefer it toasted. The bread makes great toast, grilled cheese, and french toast.
This recipe is simple, easy, and tastes wonderful.
Thank you for posting it.
I’ve been baking bread for literally 32 years and, while I feel I’ve made tons and tons of great loaves, I never could find the “perfect” sandwich bread – until now! I’m not even joking – I found this recipe maybe 6 months ago (a year ago? Maybe longer) and it’s the one I go back to again and again when I need sandwich bread. It really is the perfect sandwich bread!!
The recipe is perfect just as written, but I’ve also subbed whole wheat for the first three cups of flower with lots of success.
Loved this recipe! Easy, delicious and hearty enough to make sandwiches. That’s been a problem w some recipes previously…..thank you so much.
This is my first time making a traditional loaf bread, and it was so easy to make. It smells so incredible and tastes even better!! I was even able to make one of the loaves with seeds throughout it. It came out so well! Thank you for sharing this recipe!! 😀 Just one of the many incredible recipes I have found on your site. 🙂
This is THE BEST white bread recipe! I’ve tried four different recipes and they haven’t been perfect until this one! It’s pillow soft and super moist. I’m so happy!
If anyone is using this recipe during the weirdness of Covid19, I just baked this bread using only half the yeast and it turned out great. Figured I might as well stretch my yeast supply until it’s back in stores I upped the rise time by about an hour (half before shaping the loaf, half after) to compensate.
Made this today and it is delicious and came out just like the pictures – this is my new go to recipe as making my own bread now being in self isolation during this pandemic – and a habit I will continue as so much healthier than bought bread – really a great recipe!
Very well named! It is the best sandwich bread recipe. Thank you for posting this. I have been looking for a recipe that would work for sandwiches. Very tasty and my family says that it tastes like Spatz bread, which is the highest complement in this neck of the world.
Thanks so much for this recipe! This bread is awesome. Light , fluffy, and tasty. I needed to use all the recommended flour and shortened both rise times as this dough poofed way up quickly.
Thank you for you detailed explanations of everything! I have been trying to bake bread and it kept coming out ao dense and heavy, I had no idea I was measuring flour wrong all these years! My bread was perfect!
Make this according to the recipe. I had to add quite a bit more flour to get the dough to a reasonable consistency. The first rise was fast and high. But nothing compared to the rocket rise in the loaf pans. After just 30 minutes, both loaves were well up over the top of the pans. At that point, I put them in the oven. And they rose still more – way too big for the 4 1/5 x 8 1/2 loaf pans. I had to bake them about 10 minutes longer than specified before they browned up a bit and reached 195 degrees. Crumb, texture and taste are very good. But this amount of dough will easily make 3 loaves in the small pans. FYI – the water I used was 127 degrees; house temp was 70 degrees.
Do you store your bread in the pantry, fridge, or freezer? Do you only use the plastic bags?
I use plastic bags and store at room temperature or in the freezer (the fridge will dry it out).
Love this recipe. Cuts easily and is very tasty and great as toast. Thanks Mel.
Awesome Recipes thank you
I’ve made this twice now and both times it proved in under 20 minutes. (70 degrees, 5000 ft elevation ) Second rise under 10 minutes. It raised in the oven way too tall. I’m using SAF red. Should I skip the sponge, use less yeast?
The taste is fantastic. Any help would be appreciated.
Hi Tim, try cutting the yeast in half and see if that helps (your high elevation may be a contributing factor – I don’t live at high elevation but I’ve read that it can cause yeast to rise faster). I wouldn’t skip the sponge step.
Another tip for high altitude baking is to do a second rise before putting it in the loaf pans to rise. The dough rises too quickly at high altitudes and doesn’t allow the gluten to develop as much as it should, so pounding it down and doing a second rise in the bowl helps the gluten have enough time to develop.
Oh yeah, This is what I have been looking for. Nice, soft crust, tasty. Perfect “sandwich” density.
So running low on yeast – will be trying it with less yeast and a longer “batter rest” to grow the yeast .. works when I make beer – … may have to try beer yeast as well (I have more of that than bread yeast…)
I’m a avid bread-baker and even used to have my own cottage bakery (specializing in sourdough boules and challah). However, I’ve ALWAYS struggled with a basic loaf of white sandwich bread. Until I tried this recipe. It was AMAZING and exactly what I was looking for to keep the kids fed during quarantine, so I didn’t have to go out and get them bread for PB&Js. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
This is my first attempt at making a white sandwich bread….the recipe is easy to follow and the tips are helpful. It was very easy and soooo delicious! I’ll try it with whole wheat flour next time or maybe half and half? I didn’t have the instant yeast so I just used the regular or traditional yeast, it still turned out soft and delicious. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Made some today and it turned out amazing! My new go to! I wish I could post a picture. Thank you!
Hey! So ive made this rexipe a couple times now and it seems I always need way more flour to get it to pull away from the sides of the bowl. I know you said that the flour amount is flexible, is it normal to need as much as 5 cups?
The recipe calls for 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 cups total…are you using 5 cups total or 5 cups after the 3 cups used in the first part of the recipe? Either way, if you are using 8 cups total, that’s definitely fine. So much depends on elevation, humidity, how we each measure flour, so having to add an extra 1/2 cup to 1 cup is fine. Does that help? Let me know if you have other questions.
UGH! Nope, I was reading it way wrong. hahhaha I will be trying again today. It tastes yummy but that is definitely why I was having so much trouble. What’s dumb is that I read it wrong on separate occasions! lol Obviously I need more coffee in my life.
No, wait. I was reading it correctly. So I have been using around 8 cups total. Ok, I think I just need more coffee this morning.
Thank you for you help!
Yep! That’s about what I had to use to get the dough in reasonable shape!
Oh My God! I made this bread and it’s as delicious as I thought it would be! So soft and fluffy. Thank you Mel!
I made this recipe near the beginning of lockdown and it turned out great. Time for round two!
Question: do you think it’d work to put a bit of cinnamon sugar on the rectangle at the end, so as to get a flavorful spiral? I’m new to bread making.
Thank you!
Sure! I think it sounds like a great idea. For cinnamon swirl bread, I like to roll the dough into a thick rectangle, spritz VERY lightly with water and then dust with cinnamon and sugar before rolling up.
Hi Mel.
This bread was so delicious…we all loved it. My 8 year old and I are novice bread makers. The only problem we had was that the bread was really crumbly inside; it fell apart easily. Didn’t seem as dense as it should have been. Would you be able to give some troubleshooting advice? It did seem pretty tacky…maybe we should have added more flour??
Hi Larissa, try letting it rise for less time. Sometimes if bread over rises, the texture of the crumb can be really airy and crumbly. If the dough was able to be handled without leaving a super sticky residue on your fingers, I don’t think you need more flour. Also, over baking can create a dry crumbly bread as well.
Hi Mel. Haven’t tried your recipe yet but it looks scrumptious. I’ve been baking quite a lot during this pandemic. My country has basically run out of bread; i.e. when the bread gets to the hypermarket it goes missing in 5 minutes so that’s why I’ve been baking bread
Back to the point. I use a convection oven. Do I need to use both top and bottom heating elements to bake bread (any kind) or just the bottom element at first and then at the final 10 minute mark I switch on the top element as well?
Would appreciate your feed back. BTW I’m kneading by hand; can’t afford to buy Bosch or KA.
Sincerely,
Ivy Rahim
Hi Ivy, I only ever use the bottom heating element for baking bread (in my oven the top heating element is the broil function and it heats very hot – and isn’t great for baking bread through). Does that help?
I have tried several recipes but this was the easiest to follow and it is delicious! My family loved it!
How long does this need to be mixed/kneaded in a stand mixer? And at what speed? Mine’s been kneading now for like 10 mins and still hasn’t come away from the sides.
It sounds like you may need to add more flour if it hasn’t pulled away from the sides of the bowl yet.
I’ve read some recipes that say not to use a rapid rise instant yeast (such as Fleischmann’s Rapid Rise or Red Star Quick Rise) when a recipe calls for instant yeast (such as SAF-Instant Red yeast). For this recipe, does it matter? If so, which do you use?
Me again — nevermind! I should have scrolled back through the comments before asking my question. All I have on hand is rapid rise and, because of COVID-19, it’s going t be awhile before I get more instant. I’ll try this with rapid rise and see how it turns out.
How long does this need to be mixed/kneaded in a stand mixer? And at what speed? Mine’s been kneading now for like 10 mins and still hasn’t come away from the sides.
Oops sorry didn’t mean to post the above comment here.
So fun to make this bread as part of our weekly “cooking class” while the kids are out of school for this pandemic. But better yet, was their reaction when they tasted it for the first time. My 3 year old said she never wants “store” bread again. We used our kitchen aid mixer with the bread hook and it worked great. Somehow my parents talked their way into getting the 2nd loaf (my dad is pretty convinced I’m Betty Crocker at this point – he loved it). Thanks so very much for this recipe. I’m headed back to the kitchen to make more!
Love this recipe! I am new to bread making and had success on the first try! Making this on a weekly basis now.
Can you store the second half of the dough (second loaf) in the fridge and bake it a few days later? If so do you need to let it rise before baking it?
I haven’t tried that, but usually bread dough does fine refrigerated for a day or so (yes, it would need to rise before baking).
I love the wheat bread recipe ( large batch) but have some friends that would like white bread. Can I double this recipe? I am making it in my Bosch.
Yes!
I would love weights for this recipe 🙂
First time bread maker here. Success! Looked through lots of online recipes and found this one. This bread turned out perfect using bleached APF. My KA mixer did all the work. I skipped step 9 and just gently placed the dough into 2 loaf pans without shaping the dough. Thanks for sharing this easy and delicious recipe!
You are not kidding. This really is the BEST white bread ever. I’m even going to use this recipe to make dinner rolls. I’m sure they will be just as amazing.
I love this recipe so much! One question though — is there any thing I need to keep in mind if I want to half this recipe? I know bread freezes well, but I don’t have much fridge space. Should I keep the rising time the same but half the baking time?
*freezer space
If you are halving the recipe and making one loaf, the baking time should be the same (if it’s the same size loaf). The rising time might be a bit less.
Hello! I am a total bread making novice, so please forgive my ignorance. I have a Bosch, and was wondering if you knead your bread by hand or in the Bosch? If you knead it in the mixer, which speed do you use, and for how long? Just two minutes? Thank you!
I use my Bosch to do all the kneading! I use speed 1 or 2 and knead for 5-6 minutes.
Best (and I mean BEST) regular bread I’ve ever made!!
Would this work to make the dough in a bread maker? If so is there an order for the ingredients? Thank you!!!
I haven’t tried it in a bread maker and I don’t know if the ingredients would fit, but you could definitely try.
Have you tried this in the bread machine? If so, how did it turn out, did you have to adjust anything? I’m assuming you would halve the recipe for the one loaf, but any other changes? Thanks!
Mel, have you ever used mini loaf pans for this recipe? Or do you have guess on how long to cook them? Thank you, as always for all your recipes!!
Yes, it works great in mini loaf pans! I bake them for about 22-25 minutes.
This bread is hands down the best sandwich bread I have made. I am so grateful. My elderly parents are on lock down in their house, due to corona, and depend on me for grocery food. She forgot to mention the bread and shopping for 2 households created some confusion. I won’t have to risk going out for bread during this crisis. I just made this for them. It had so much rise, I cut the protruding end off of each end to taste and to make straight cuts for sandwich bread. I used bread flour, but I think it would be great with all purpose. I will wrap parts up for them in parchment so they can freeze part of it for the near future. It’s delicious! I make my own pizza, and have made decent rustic bread many times. But, I have never been able to make a great loaf of sandwich bread. Mom loves her bread. She will be so happy. Not ready for a delivery of goods yet.
I have never commented. Ever. And I search recipes all the time. This. Is. A. Must. I made the recipe as written. No substitutions or variances. I do love that the author left the note about how to do the final flour. It’s not a set amount. And I live a mile high. Do it by feel like she says. It works. This recipe is soooo forgiving. I originally forgot to add the sugar. I remembered after the water was not warm. I rolled it like she says but I was not careful or precise about it (we’re in the middle of Coronavirus and I wanted a fall back if the stores ran out of bread, but I also wanted mimosas. Sooo…) Even given my lack of precision and laissez faire attitude, it turned out. Soft and delightful. Give this one a try!
Great recipe! Bread is super soft and delicious! Perfect for sandwiches. I halved the recipe to make one loaf for my small family of three and it turned out wonderfully!
This looks so good! Can I make it with 1/2 whole wheat flour, or would that mess up the proportions?
Thank you!
Yes, I use half whole wheat flour often when I make this recipe.
We loved the taste of this bread! Only the top had color and was very golden. I am wondering if you cook the bread in the middle or on the lower rack of the oven. Do you cook it on convection? I want to perfect this bread because I will be making a lot of it over the next couple of months. I love your wheat breads and have great success with those just want to perfect white bread too :). Thanks a bunch!
I do not use convection for this bread…I make sure the oven rack is pretty much in the middle of the oven.
Can you double this recipe?
Yes
If you do, you’re going to have a problem with a stand mixer being able to handle that quantity of dough – unless you use a cement mixer!!
Unless you’re using a cement mixer, any stand mixer will have trouble trying to handle all that dough.
How do you make yours so soft looking.
Mine was crispy on top.
Wendy,
Brush your freshly-baked loaves (just out of the oven) with butter or even a little Crisco. The tops will become perfectly soft in a matter of minutes! ❤️❤️