Best Sandwich Bread Recipe

Name: Best Sandwich Bread
Prep time: 3 h
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 3 h 25 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 3/4 Cup Warm Water; 1/2 Cup Warm Milk; 1 Tbsp. Sugar; 1 Tbsp. Brown Sugar; 2 1/4 tsp (or one packet) Active Dry Yeast; 2 Tbs Olive Oil; 1/2 tsp Salt; 3 Cups Flour

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It's an important skill to be able to make your own bread, but how do you get that same chewy, soft texture that you need to make a great sandwich? You just need a few extra but easy steps for a homemade sandwich bread that holds up well with any kind of sandwich filling. Let me show you how!

Sliced loaf of bread next to a ham sandwich. — This sandwich bread works for both sweet and savory fillings!

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Why This Recipe Is Different
Ingredient Notes
Couple Things You'll Need
Step by Step Instructions
Recipe FAQs
Adjustments for making by hand...
Related Yeast Bread Recipes
Best Sandwich Bread

Why This Recipe Is Different

A regular loaf of homemade white bread is great to eat with butter or as toast but has a hard time really holding together like sandwich bread should. One uses bread from grocery stores because it's soft, chewy and doesn't absorb mayo and such like a sponge.
This white sandwich bread has that soft, chewy quality. It takes some extra steps to achieve it but it can be done.
It holds up well for any kind of sandwich and I've even used sandwich presses for fun shapes. My kids didn't notice the difference between this bread and store bought bread.

Ingredient Notes

White Flour - All purpose flour, not bread flour is used for this recipe.
Yeast - Active dry yeast, rapid rise yeast, and instant yeast are all the same thing therefore can be used interchangeably.
Milk - 2% or whole milk works best.

Basic ingredients need for the best bread for sandwiches!

Couple Things You'll Need

Step by Step Instructions

NOTE - This homemade bread is best made in a stand mixer. Lots of kneading without extra flour is what makes the chewy tight knit bread you want to have for sandwich bread. There are, however, tips for making this bread by hand at the bottom of this post. This bread is not suitable for a bread machine.
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, dissolve the yeast, white sugar and brown sugar in the warm water and warm milk.
Allow to stand 5 minutes.
Add the salt, olive oil and the flour.

Add ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer.

Begin at a low speed to bring the dough together. You can see in the pictures the progression of what the dough looks like as it kneads.
Knead dough at a medium speed for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes your dough should look like picture 8. You can see that while the dough is not sticking to the sides of the bowl it is still sticky.

Cover the mixing bowl with a light towel for the first rise.
As the dough rises over the next hour you are going to knead it 3 or 4 times every 10 minutes. This is important because it continues to work the gluten in the dough for a chewy bread.
After that hour, cover the dough an allow to rise until doubled (about 45 minutes).
NOTE - You can bake this bread in a regular loaf pan however for an authentic loaf you'll want to order these long sandwich loaf pans.
Dump risen dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a long loaf and place in a sandwich loaf pan that has been sprayed with non stick cooking spray.
Cover and let rise until the edges of the loaf are about a ½ inch above the edges of the pan. (35-45 minutes)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees when the loaf has risen half way.
Bake the bread in the center of the preheated oven for 25 minutes.

Shape dough and place in the loaf pan. — After the rise time shaper the dough into a loaf and let rise in the pan.

Cool this delicious bread on a wire rack before slicing or putting in a bread bag.
PRO-TIP - The easiest way to slice this loaf of bread into thin even slices like a store bought bread is to put the cooled loaf in a bread bag and chilling it in the fridge. Then slice with an electric knife.
NOTE - Since this bread is not store bread and therefore NOT filled with preservations and anti drying agents you will need to be mindful in storing it. This means you will want to store it in an airtight bread container, wrapped well in plastic wrap or in a bread loaf bag (you can purchase a roll of them from amazon). It will dry out if left sitting out on the counter with being wrapped up. Packaged in an airtight container or bag this bread will last 3-4 days in the cupboard at room temperature or a week in the fridge.
Use this perfect sandwich bread for anything from peanut butter and jelly to a grilled cheese sandwich!

Loaf sliced into slices and sandwiches made. — Slice the loaf into thin slices to make sandwiches!

Recipe FAQs

How to store this sandwich bread...

Since this bread is not store bread and therefore NOT filled with preservations and anti drying agents you will need to be mindful in storing it. This means you will want to store it in an airtight bread container, wrapped well in plastic wrap or in a bread loaf bag (you can purchase a roll of them from amazon). It will dry out if left sitting out on the counter with being wrapped up. Packaged in an airtight container or bag this bread will last 3-4 days in the cupboard or a week in the fridge.

Can I use a regular bread loaf pan?

Yes, you're loaf will just be shorter and taller. You will still bake the loaf for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Adjustments for making by hand...

Lots of kneading but still having a sticky dough is essential. Generally when kneading by hand you add enough flour to have the dough not be sticky however, adding that much additional flour makes this loaf dense and heavy. So, what I did when I made this without my mixer was this...
When adding the flour to the yeast mixture in a large bowl, only add 2 ½ cups and mix it in with a wooden spoon the best you can.
Sprinkle the last ½ cup flour on a work surface and dump the dough onto it.
Knead until all the flour has been worked into the dough. At this point the dough is going to be sticking to your hands a little. Don't sprinkle a bunch more flour on it.
Lightly dust your hands with flour and the work surface if necessary and begin kneading vigorously for 10 minutes.
You can dust your hands as you need but do so sparingly.
You final ball of dough should be slightly sticky.
Follow the remaining instructions as listed.

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