Easy Homemade Sandwich Bread
This easy homemade sandwich bread bakes up tall, soft, and perfectly sliceable with just 7 ingredients and one bowl. It's the beginner-friendly loaf that'll make you wonder why you ever bought bread from the store.
Featured Review
"I am a first-time bread maker. I have tried many recipes, and my breads always end up hard. I have not been able to get it right. Until now. This is the first recipe that my family drooled over. We ate it all in one night. I will use your recipe over and over."
- Carolina -
🔍 Recipe At-A-Glance
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Rise Time: 2-3 hours (varies by kitchen temp)
- Bake Time: 25-30 minutes
- Flour Options: All-purpose, whole wheat, or a mix of both
- Yield: 1 loaf (12 thick slices or up to 18 thin slices)
- Equipment: Stand mixer or just your hands
- Difficulty: Beginner-friendly. If you've never worked with yeast before, this is the recipe to start with.
- Storage: Counter for 4-5 days, freezer for up to 6 months
🍞 Why I Love This Recipe
My kiddo has asked for this homemade sandwich bread every single week for years. That kind of consistency from a picky eater is the best recipe review I've ever gotten.
My daughter has strong opinions about bread. Specifically, she has one opinion: it has to be this bread. Every single week, without fail, she asks when we're making more.
And honestly? I get it. This homemade sandwich bread is soft, fluffy, and tender in a way that hits straight in the nostalgia. You know that pillowy, pull-apart softness of Wonder Bread? That's exactly what this is. I had a babysitter growing up who made me bologna and Miracle Whip sandwiches on Wonder Bread after school, and this bread brings that feeling back every single time I slice into the loaf.
I first nailed this recipe during the pandemic, when we were all home and craving something warm and comforting. Homemade bread felt like the answer to everything that year. Since then, thousands of people have made it and told me it's the best bread they've ever baked. That never gets old to hear.
Here's why it keeps earning a spot in our weekly rotation:
- Genuinely beginner-friendly: No thermometer, no fancy flour, no bread machine. Just a bowl, your hands, and a little patience.
- Incredibly flexible: Works beautifully with all-purpose flour, whole wheat, or anywhere in between.
- That soft, fluffy crumb: Perfect for PB&Js, toast, grilled cheese, or just eating warm with butter straight from the pan.
- Freezer-friendly: Make a loaf, freeze half, and you've always got fresh bread on hand.
- A recipe that actually works: Over 150 five-star ratings and thousands of happy bakers don't lie.
If you're looking for a breakfast that actually holds you till lunch and tastes like joy in a jar, this is it. I hope it becomes a staple in your kitchen the way it has in mine.
Featured Review
"PERFECTION!! This recipe worked exactly as promised. For me, the real test is the next day. It was still light, fluffy and delicious this morning."
- TANYA -
🍯 Ingredients
Head's up: Check the recipe card below for the full ingredients list
- Hot water and cold milk: Most bread recipes call for warm water to activate the yeast, but combining hot tap water with cold milk gets you to the perfect temperature without a thermometer. It's my favorite trick for foolproof yeast activation every time.
- Honey or sugar: This feeds the yeast and helps give you a lighter, fluffier loaf. Either works, but honey is my preference just for flavor.
- Active dry yeast: This recipe is flexible enough to work with rapid rise, instant, or bread machine yeast too. Whatever you can get your hands on.
- Butter or vegetable oil: I usually reach for avocado oil because we always have it, but melted butter makes a beautiful, buttery (obviously) loaf. Use unsalted if you go the butter route so you can control the final flavor.
- Flour: All-purpose, whole wheat, or a mix of both all work beautifully. My favorite is King Arthur Organic Bread Flour, but store-brand all-purpose makes a great loaf, too. The difference is noticeable but not dealbreaking.
🌾 Bread Flour vs. All-Purpose Flour
You can use all-purpose or bread flour in this recipe with good results.
Bread flour is simply flour that has a higher protein content than "regular" flour. That extra protein can help make breads rise better and have fluffier, more tender end results, but it is absolutely not a necessity.
While the quality of your flour can impact your final results-my favorite flour for this sandwich bread recipe is King Arthur's Organic Bread Flour-you're still going to have excellent results using run-of-the-mill all-purpose or whole wheat flour. I've tested this recipe using both high-end organic bread flour and store-brand all-purpose flour, and while the difference is there, it's not enough for us to recommend one over the other. Use what you got!
Featured Review
"I've never been able to make bread, but I followed instructions to a T and it came out perfect! I did ¼ whole wheat flour and ¾ white flour and used my stand mixer to do the initial mixing. This is a keeper for sure."
- WENDY -
🔄 Variations & Substitutions
- Flour: All-purpose, whole wheat, or a mix of both all work beautifully. The 100% whole wheat version is slightly denser and needs a longer rise time, but it's a wonderful, nutty loaf. The half-and-half version is the favorite in our house.
- Gluten-free: This recipe is specifically formulated for wheat flour, and I don't recommend a gluten-free swap here. For a gluten-free loaf, our Cashew Grain-Free Sandwich Bread is grain-free and delicious. If you need a traditional gluten-free yeast sandwich bread, Kim at Let Them Eat GF Cake has a well-tested recipe I've made dozens of times.
- Honey or sugar: Both work interchangeably here. Honey has a slightly more neutral flavor that lets the bread shine; sugar works just as well.
- Butter or oil: Melted unsalted butter, avocado oil, vegetable oil, or any neutral-flavored oil all work. We usually use avocado oil because we always have it on hand.
- Milk: Out of milk? Just sub in cold water instead. No other adjustments needed.
- Yeast: Active dry yeast is our preference, but rapid rise, instant, and bread machine yeast all work interchangeably in this recipe.
⚖️ A Note on Measuring
I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to measure all ingredients for bread making, but especially the flour.
Head's up: In the recipe card below, you can toggle between volume measurement (U.S. Customary) and weight measurements (Metric).
A kitchen scale is the most accurate way to ensure the same results every time you bake. I've tested this recipe multiple times using volume measures (cups) and weight measurements (grams), and when using weight measurements, the results were exactly the same each time. When using volume measurements, there were slight variations in the texture and behavior of the dough, which could be really frustrating for a first-time baker.
If you must use volume measurements for measuring the flour, be sure to use the scoop and sweep method for measuring the flour. If you just scoop the flour out of the container, you'll end up with a very dry dough/bread.
🥣 How to Make It
Step 1: Proof the yeast. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or a large mixing bowl if mixing by hand, combine hot tap water, cold milk, honey or sugar, and dry active yeast. Yeast likes warm, but not too hot, water to activate it, so I find that combining hot tap water and cold milk makes a temperature that yeast is very happy with! Set this mixture aside to activate (or "proof") the yeast. After about 5 minutes, the mixture should look nice and foamy-like the head of a beer. This is how you know your yeast is alive and ready to go!
If your yeast doesn't foam up after five minutes, it might just be that it needs a few more minutes to do its thing. If you still don't see any activity after 10 minutes, your yeast might be old or dead, and it's time to invest in fresh yeast.
Step 2: Mix the dough. Add the melted butter or oil, salt, and flour to the yeast mixture. Mix on the lowest speed with the dough hook, or stir by hand, until it comes together into a soft, sticky dough-about 3 minutes.
Step 3: Knead the dough. Kneading dough is how you activate the gluten in the flour to make the dough smooth and elastic. To knead dough, you push, stretch, and pull the dough until it turns smooth and easy to work with. You can either knead the dough by hand on a lightly floured surface, or you can do it in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook on medium-low. Either way, you'll need to knead for about 7-10 minutes to get the desired smoothness. When it's ready, the dough will be a smooth ball and lose almost all of its stickiness.
Step 4: Prep for proofing. Grab a clean, medium-size bowl, and add about a tablespoon of vegetable oil (olive oil and avocado oil both work), place the dough in the oil, and then rotate the dough around so it's all covered in oil. Cover the dough to keep in moisture-you can use plastic wrap, a damp kitchen towel, bowl covers, or even cheap-o plastic shower caps! Those are my fave.
Step 5: First rise. Let rise until doubled in size. Don't stress about exact timing here: a warm kitchen might get you there in an hour, a cool one might take three. Watch the dough, not the clock. If you are having a hard time estimating what "double the size" looks like, they sell bulk fermentation containers that are clear and have lines on the outside so you can easily tell when you've reached the double mark.
Step 6: Turn out dough. Once your dough has doubled in size, lightly flour a work surface, and dump the whole bowl of fluffy dough out. When you pour it out, the mixture should look fluffy, stringy, elastic, and be full of tiny bubbles/holes. Yay! You've successfully completed your first rise. There is no need to "punch" down the dough as you see on TV a lot-the process of shaping the loaf will deflate it enough, and punching it down might remove too much air and make for a denser loaf.
Step 7: Shape the dough. Using floured hands, quickly form the dough into a loaf shape. You really don't have to worry about it being too perfect or fancy because we're going to do a second rise that'll smooth out most of the bumps and imperfections. I use 10 x 4½ inch loaf pan because I like the shape of the slices. A bench scraper makes moving the soft dough into the loaf pan easier, but it definitely isn't necessary.
Step 8: Second rise. Cover the loaf pan loosely to prevent drying out, but this time, I recommend using something that can give the dough some space to rise. I like using either oiled plastic wrap (it'll rise with the dough and be easy to remove later), or a plastic storage bin turned upside-down over top of the dough. This rise goes faster than the first, so keep an eye on it. The proof is done when the loaf is cresting about 1 inch above the rim of the pan.
Step 9: Check the rise. Before you bake, you need to know your dough is properly proofed. The best way to do this is through the poke test. Press your knuckle about ½ inch into the dough and watch what happens. You can tell how well risen your bread is by how the indentation behaves:
- Indentation bounces back slowly-over a minute or more: your bread is ready to bake!
- Bounces back immediately or almost immediately: the bread is under-risen (AKA: under-proofed), and could use some more rise time. Try again in 10-15 minutes.
- Bread or indentation collapses (like popping a bubble): the bread is over-risen (AKA: over-proofed) and needs to be dumped out, reformed into a new loaf, and re-proofed.
Step 10: Bake. During the last few minutes of your second rise, preheat the oven to 425°F. When the bread passes the poke test, pop it in the oven, and immediately reduce the temperature to 375°F. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when you rap on it with your knuckles. Do your very best not to open the oven door to check on the bread while it bakes-especially in the first 10-15 minutes. The high oven temperature will help give the bread "oven spring," which is the rapid rise that happens when cold (or colder) dough hits a hot oven-opening the door reduces the oven temperature dramatically, and that reduces the oven spring.
Step 11: Soften the crust (optional). Homemade bread has a crispier crust than store-bought, which is great alongside soup but less ideal for a PB&J. You can either use butter or wrap the loaf in a damp tea towel (more info on that below).
Step 12: Cool. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing. Homemade bread slices much better when fully cooled-though nobody would blame you for cutting in early.
Featured Review
"Mine was a thing of beauty! First bread recipe I ever made that didn't stress me out. All the tips you provided helped me make it perfectly! Turned out perfect and actually looking like store bought bread! Seriously, nailed it. My new go to recipe.
- Sarah -
🌡️ Create a Warm Spot for Rising
It may be that room temperature isn't quite warm enough to get your dough to rise. But no worries, you can easily manufacture a warm spot for your dough to rise. Here are a few options:
- Use the oven. Many modern ovens have a "proof" setting. Turn that on and place your covered dough in there to rise. If you don't have that setting, an oven light often pumps out enough heat too. Or, just turn your oven to a low temp (200°F or below) for a few minutes, then turn it off, and put the dough in the warm (but off!) oven.
- On top of a bowl of boiling water. This is my favorite tip, and one that consistently works for me. Boil water in a kettle. Pour into a large mixing bowl. Rest the covered pan/bowl of dough on top of the bowl of water. The heat from the steam does wonders to get dough to pop up fast!
- On top of a heating pad. This is a great trick! Pull out a heating pad, set it to medium, and place your pan on top of the heating pad.
- Use the fire/wood stove/furnace. Our fireplace hearth is an excellent place to let dough rise. Wood stoves, radiators, and other warm (but not too hot) sources of radiant heat are a good option, too. Just make sure to rotate the dough if the heat source is one-directional (like from a fireplace).
- Try the top of the fridge. The top of our refrigerator is nice and toasty! Yours might be, too. Try it.
- Try outside. This isn't applicable in November in Indiana, but in August? You better believe I'm putting my dough out in the 90-degree sun on the back deck to rise.
🧈 How to Soften the Crust
Homemade sandwich bread tends to have a crispier crust than store-bought sandwich bread, which is great for serving alongside soup, but less great when you want a PB&J. There are two ways you can soften your sandwich bread crust, and both work equally well!
The butter method: I learned this trick from my friend Melissa at Bless This Mess (who got it from her mom)-immediately after the bread comes out of the oven, brush or slather butter on the hot crust. The butter will absorb into the bread and create a soft (and buttery) crust!
The tea towel method: I've used this trick for years to soften homemade bread-if you're short on butter, you can also soften the crust by lightly (lightly!) dampening a tea towel, and then wrapping the entire warm loaf of bread in the tea towel as soon as it comes out of the pan. Let the wrapped loaf cool completely on a wire rack before unwrapping. The bread might feel slightly soggy immediately after unwrapping, but after a few minutes of air exposure, you'll have a soft bread ready for your favorite sandwiches.
Both methods work equally well. I usually go for the butter method because, well, butter.
👩🏻🍳 Cassie's Tips
- Skip the thermometer. Combine hot tap water with cold milk straight from the fridge and you'll hit the perfect temperature for yeast activation every time. No guesswork, no thermometer required.
- Test your yeast first. Some bread recipes skip the step of proofing the yeast, but I find that I get better, quicker results by activating the yeast first-plus, it helps me know early on if my yeast is sluggish. No wasting precious ingredients later on just to find out your yeast isn't active!
- Brewer's yeast and nutritional yeast will not work here. I know it sounds obvious, but they are completely different things from active baking yeast. You need active dry, instant, rapid rise, or bread machine yeast.
- Use a kitchen scale. This is the single biggest thing you can do for consistent results. A cup of flour can vary by 30 grams or more depending on how you scoop it. Weight measurements don't lie. If you must use cups, use the spoon and sweep method - never scoop directly from the bag.
- Watch the dough, not the clock. Rise times can range from 45 minutes to 3 hours depending on your yeast, your kitchen temperature, and about a dozen other factors. Use the landmarks - doubled in size for the first rise, poke test for the second - and ignore the clock.
- Don't punch down the dough. I know you've seen it on TV. Don't do it. The shaping process deflates the dough plenty, and punching it down risks knocking out too much air and ending up with a denser loaf.
- Trust the poke test. It's more reliable than any timer. Slow spring-back means ready to bake. Immediate bounce means more time. Collapse means over-proofed - reshape and start the second rise again.
- Start hot, then back it down. Preheat to 425°F, put the loaf in, then immediately drop to 375°F. That initial blast of heat creates oven spring - the rapid rise that gives you a tall, fluffy loaf. Baking at 425°F the whole time would burn the crust before the inside is done.
- Don't open the oven door. Especially in the first 10 to 15 minutes. Every time you open it, the temperature drops and you lose oven spring. Set a timer and walk away.
- Cool before you slice. I know it's hard. But warm bread compresses under the knife and you'll end up with squished, uneven slices. If you want really thin slices, pop the loaf in the fridge for 20 minutes first.
- Butter the crust straight out of the oven. If you want a soft sandwich-ready crust, brush butter on the hot loaf the second it comes out of the oven. It absorbs in fast and makes the crust tender enough for even the squishiest PB&J.
🙋🏻♀️ FAQs
If your loaf comes out dense, you may have overworked the dough. The more you manipulate the dough after the first rise, the more air bubbles get forced out, which can lead to a dense bread. Next time, don't spend too much time shaping your loaf (and remember, no need to "punch" down the dough!).
Keep in mind that the flour you use can affect the final fluffiness of your bread, too! A loaf made with whole wheat flour will be denser than one made with all-purpose flour, which will be slightly denser than one made with bread flour. But we promise, they will still all be delicious!
We store our homemade bread in an airtight container on the counter (we use these steel locking containers for our bread). Because we are a small family, we usually cut the loaf in half, and keep half in an airtight container in the freezer-when we've finished the half loaf on the counter, we bring out the frozen one. On the counter, the bread will last 4-5 days. In the freezer, it'll last six months or even longer.
Absolutely. Mix the dough by hand in a large bowl, then knead on a lightly floured surface for 7 to 10 minutes. It's a bit of a workout, but entirely doable and honestly satisfying. You'll know the dough is ready when it's smooth, elastic, and no longer sticks to your hands.
Yes, and I've tested it every way: 100% all-purpose, 100% whole wheat, and half and half. All three work. The 100% whole wheat version is slightly denser and needs a longer rise time, but it has a wonderful nutty flavor. The half and half version is the favorite in our house.
My favorite (and what you see in these photos) is a 10 x 4½ inch loaf pan, which gives you those tall, beautiful slices. A standard 9 x 5 inch pan works too and gives you wider, more traditional sandwich slices. I don't recommend going smaller than that or the dough will overflow.
I haven't tested it myself, but there's no reason it shouldn't work. If you try it, please let me know how it goes in the comments.
The greatest thing about beginning bread-making is that you get to eat your mistakes! Even sandwich bread that doesn't turn out perfectly is usually still quite delicious slathered with some butter and jelly (like my apple jelly recipe or my strawberry-rhubarb jam)-and even if it isn't, imperfect bread makes great croutons, breadcrumbs, bread for , or breakfast bakes (like my Denver omelet casserole or French toast breakfast bake). Making your own bread is a risk-free endeavor! So strap on the apron, get out the flour, and start bread baking. Enjoy!
🥖 More Yeast Breads To Try
If you tried this Homemade Sandwich Bread or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments!
📖 Recipe
Easy Homemade Sandwich Bread
Ingredients
- 225 grams hot water hot from tap, not boiling
- 90 grams milk cold from the fridge
- 50 grams honey or 20g sugar
- 9 grams active dry yeast
- 55 grams melted butter or vegetable oil
- 10 grams salt
- 500 grams all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, or a combination of both see notes
- Additional oil and flour for rising and forming the dough
- Butter for softening crust, optional, see notes
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, or in a large mixing bowl if making by hand, combine the hot water, cold milk, and honey or sugar, and whisk until combined. Add in the yeast and whisk until combined. Let sit for five minutes to prove. The mixture is ready when it's foamy.
- Add in the butter or vegetable oil, salt, and flour. Mix using the lowest setting on the mixer, or by hand, until it forms a soft and sticky dough, about 3 minutes
- Knead by hand on a floured work surface, or by turning up the mixer to medium-low for 5-7 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic. It will still be slightly sticky.
- Oil the inside of a clean medium-sized mixing bowl. Place the dough ball in the oiled bowl, rotating to coat in the oil. Cover with plastic wrap, a bowl cover, or a damp tea towel, and set in a warm place to rise until doubled.
- Oil the inside of a loaf pan. I prefer a 10" x 4 ½" loaf pan to get very high loaves, but you can also use a standard loaf pan. Set aside.
- When the dough has finished its first rise, lightly flour a work surface and dump the dough onto it. The dough should appear light, stringy, elastic, and full of air bubbles/holes.
- Form into a loaf shape and place in the prepared loaf pan. Cover with oiled plastic wrap, a bowl cover, or a damp tea towel, and set to rise in a warm place until it passes the bread proofing poke test-poke in the bread with a knuckle or finger. If the indentation immediately bounces back, the bread needs to rise longer. If the bread collapses, the loaf is over-proofed, and if the indentation slowly fills in, it's ready to bake! The rise of the bread should also be approximately 1" above the loaf pan.
- In the last few minutes of the final proof, preheat the oven to 425°F. When proofing is finished, remove the cover, and place the loaf in the oven. Close the door, and immediately reduce the oven temperature to 375°F.
- Bake with the oven door closed for 25-30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from the oven and cool for 15 minutes before removing from the loaf pan, and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
Video
Notes
- We didn't include rise times here, because it varies widely based on the strength of your yeast, temperature of your home, and a million other factors. What takes three hours to rise in one home might take 30 minutes in another-you're better off following our landmarks for when the dough is ready.
- If you choose to measure using the volume measurements, make sure you use the scoop and sweep method for measuring the flour. If you just scoop the flour out of the container, you'll end up with a very dry dough/bread.
- The high initial temperature is to help give the bread an "oven spring," where the instant reaction of hitting the heat causes the mixture to expand rapidly, making for a tall loaf.
- Out of milk? No problems, just sub in cold water instead.
- We usually make this bread with avocado oil, because we always have it in the house. Melted butter is wonderful, too!
- We've tested this with all whole wheat flour, all all-purpose flour, and a mix of half and half-they are all wonderful! The 100% whole wheat version is a bit denser, but still delicious. The half and half version is the favorite in our house.
- For a soft crust: brush butter over the crust immediately after it comes out of the oven, or wrap the entire warm loaf in a slightly damp tea towel while it cools. Homemade bread tends to have a nice, crispy crust, which is great for serving alongside soup, but less great when you're going to make a PB&J.
- We've never tried this recipe in a bread machine, but there is no reason why it wouldn't work. Let us know if you try it out!
Nutrition
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We have yet to slice it but my bread sank a bit. Possibly I over proofed it?
Hi Sandra! It's possible that the bread was over proofed. Did you do the poke test? If the indent you made never bounced back, then it over proofed. If that happens, all is not lost! You can take it out of the pan, flatten it (to squish all the trapped gas out of it), reshape it, then start the proof again. But even though it sank a bit, it should still be delicious as long as it cooked all the way through. The more loaves you bake, the better it will get. Keep it up—you're doing great!
Used this recipe twice already and it’s now a part of my weekly Sunday food prep for the week. One question though. Approximately how long should the second rise take?
Hi Thomas! We're so glad you love the bread. It's a regular part of our weekly prep, too! We strongly recommend following the poke test and visual cues when determining how long the second rise should go instead of following a particular time. There are too many variables to give an accurate timeframe for everyone! Even in your kitchen, it will likely vary from bake to bake depending on things like the ambient temperature in your house, the temperature of the dough, etc. The more you make it, the easier it will be to predict how long each rise will take in your kitchen with your ingredients!
Followed the recipe and directions exactly using honey and butter. Dough came out dry and not elastic. Came out like biscuit dough, so figured I'd just make biscuits.
Decided to try recipe again double checking everything to make sure I followed the recipe and directions exactly. Dough still came out dry and not elastic. Still came out like biscuit dough. Decided to follow through and baked it.
Came out as a bread loaf shaped biscuit.
Hi Zachary! I'm sorry you're having issues with the bread dough. Please double-check that you're using weight measurements, not volume, for the most accuracy. Also, the dense dough you're describing could be caused by either inactive yeast or poor gluten development. The former could be from either yeast that is too old or yeast that is killed by adding it to liquids that are too hot. The latter could be from over- or under-proofing the dough. So please check out our visual cues for the dough stages to help with that. Let me know if any of these troubleshooting steps solve your problem. If not, I'll be happy to continue troubleshooting with you!
This is my second time making this recipe. It’s absolutely delicious! I am using King Arthur’s Whole wheat and bread flour in equal parts. Thank you so much! I saved it on my Pinterest page!
YAY! We love hearing that, Anne—thanks so much!
I’m just making this recipe and I’m having trouble to get the dough to rise during the first rise. I put the machine on 3 minutes on low and then another 7 minutes on medium low and the dough got dense so I assume it was overworked. So I’m not sure what it’s doing that. I made rolls with the same yeast and they did rise fine so I know it’s not the yeast .
Hi Matt! Even though you successfully used the same yeast to make rolls, this definitely sounds like a yeast issue. It's possible that this batch wasn't as active or that the temperature of your water and milk mixture was too high and it killed your yeast. Here are some things to consider that I think will help: Did your yeast foam up when you set it to proof (We highly recommend the proofing step to make sure your yeast is active)? Did the dough come together in a smooth and elastic only slightly tacky ball after kneading? Was the temperature of the room or place you set the dough to rise too chilly? That could also affect the rise. Yeast takes a lot longer to do its thing when the temperature is low! Let me know if any of these solve your rise issue. If not, I'm happy to help you troubleshoot more! Good luck and happy baking! =)
Can I add ground flax seed in place of some of whole wheat/white flour? I would love to make a higher fiber bread.
Hi Megan! We've never tried that, so we can't say for sure how it would turn out. If you're up for experimenting, we recommend starting with a small amount (no more than 1/2 cup) and seeing how the dough handles it. You can adjust more or less, as needed, from there in subsequent loaves. Let us know how it goes for you!
Wow, this really worked for us. I've made a lot of bread, but am still a beginner & hadn't really found a sandwich bread recipe I totally liked. This one is great! It's going in our recipe box. We made 1/2 whole wheat, 1/2 all-purpose flour, used honey, melted butter & kneaded by hand (no stand mixer). Followed the instructions, tested the 2nd rise with a finger poke through the plastic wrap. Everything went well. Used an 8.5"x4.5" pan & it rose so high! I like it that way though. Perfect size for sandwiches. And the texture was great- light, a good amount of airiness. I did use the envelope folding method for shaping the loaf before it went in the bread pan, that seemed to work well (stretch out to a long rectangle, fold in thirds, tuck in ends). Very tasty and beautiful loaf! May try it with all whole wheat next time. Thank you!
That's wonderful to hear, Tracey! We're so glad you love the bread! Thanks so much for telling us about your process and how it worked out for you. We appreciate you taking the time. It's really helpful for other folks who want to make this recipe and for us as we continue to develop our recipes! =)
I’m a little confused (and happy to prepare this using a scale) but you say 1/4c or 90g milk then 1/4 cup or 55g butter/oil?? Also the yeast is 2 1/4t or 9g and the salt is 1 1/2t or 10g. The proportions don’t seem to make sense.
Hi Erwin! The cup and teaspoon measurements are measuring the volume of each ingredient. The gram measurements are for the weight. The reason you'll see 1/4 cup of different ingredients have different gram amounts is because they don't weight the same amount! That's why bakers love using a scale to make a recipe—it's the most accurate way to measure your ingredients! I hope this helps clear up any confusion. Let us know how the bread turns out!
I noticed that the milk measurement is 1/4 cup (90g).
1/4 cup = 55 g
I use a scale, so should I do 90g or 55g?
Hi Jessica! This recipe was developed using a scale, so the 90g is the accurate measurement for the milk! We hope you enjoy the bread. Let us know how it turns out for you =)
I just wanted to jump on here and thank you for the recipe. I've never been able to make bread, but I followed instructions to a T and it came out perfect!
I did 1/4 whole wheat flour and 3/4 white flour and used my stand mixer to do the initial mixing.
This is a keeper for sure.
Thanks so much, Wendy! We're so glad the recipe was a hit, and we appreciate you taking the time to come back and tell us! =)
Thank you for this recipe! It’s a lot better than some of the more time-consuming ones!
Mine didn’t turn out quite right (my own fault, overproofed), but I’m going to try it again as I loved how your video really simplified the process for me mentally.
For my next loaf, I don’t have any active dry yeast left, is it okay just to add the instant yeast in during the mix-in of the dry ingredients and hope for the same result as yours?
Thank you so much! It was easy, and fun making it 🙂
Oops, I apologize, you guys did mention the yeast would be okay! Thanks 🙂
No worries, Alana! Thanks for taking the time to tell us how it worked out for you. We'd love to hear how your next loaf turns out! =)
Thank you for this recipe! It made THE best grilled cheese sandwiches the other night. Right now I am trying it out for hamburger buns *fingers crossed* so far they look perfect!
Yay! We're so glad you love the recipe, Maranda! Thanks so much for taking the time to tell us about it. Burger buns are such a great idea—you have to come back and tell us how they turned out!
They were perfect! Making more this week!
Thanks for letting us know, Maranda! We're so glad it worked well!
I understand that you can double most bread recipes but when doubled can you use a 15” pan?
Hi, Janet! We think if you double this recipe it might be about right for your 15-inch pan. But we haven't tried it ourselves so we can't say for sure! If you give it a go, please let us know how it turns out!
This bread is amazing! So much better flavor than the recipe I was using, and it's less crumbly, too, even with 100% whole wheat flour. Have you ever tried doubling the recipe? The one I was using made two loaves, which was handy because I could put one in the freezer or make one cinnamon raisin for breakfasts.
Yes! Doubling works just fine. 🙂
Does it matter which type of milk I use? We typically only have almond or oat milk in the fridge, is the dairy milk important for the recipe? Thank you!
Mine was a thing of beauty! first bread recipe I ever made that didn’t stress me out with exact timing because with an infant and two older kids, I found keeping tracking just another to do item.
All the tips you provided helped me make it perfectly! I did weigh ingredients, and I did use my kitchen aid with dough hook. Followed the instructions exactly. Turned out perfect and actually looking like store bought bread and resembling it with texture and weight and air pockets and everything! Seriously, nailed it. My new go to recipe.
We're so glad you loved it! Happy bread-making (and eating)!
I just tried this recipe today, it's so simple and the bread turned out amazing! Can't thank you enough
I have a suggestion you may want to consider. Whenever you need hot water, heat tap water on the stove to get it the temperature you need. I used to work for a water department and if you ever saw a water heater cut in half you would never want to use the hot water from a tap for drinking or cooking.
I actually only use water that's been filtered through my Berkey, and then I heat it using an electric kettle—but I know most folks don't have a Berkey, so I didn't suggest that. Your suggestion is great!
How do i get a smooth top on my loaf? During the second rise, my loaf is all cracked on top.
Perfect timing, I'm planning to give this a try today.
Are any changes required when baking in a convection oven? Thanks.
PERFECTION!! This recipe worked exactly as promised. For me, the real test is the next day. It was still light, fluffy and delicious this morning. My bread pans are smaller so I split into two and they were perfect. As suggested online, I did NOT use convection bake for this sandwich bread.
Hooray! Enjoy your bread!
Do you have any notes on making easy bread without sugar/honey?