This Easy White Sandwich Bread is the easiest homemade bread recipe that turns out perfectly every time. It’s hearty and tender and it’s perfect for sandwiches or for dipping in soups or stews!
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It’s almost time for back-to-school and that means a 180-degree turn in my cooking and baking routine. Pretty soon I’ll be leaving behind all my favourite grilling recipes and fresh summer salads and embracing meal prep dinners for busy weeknights and lots of kid-friendly lunch recipes for school. This Easy White Sandwich Bread is my favourite stand-by homemade sandwich bread recipe for school lunches and I know you’re going to love it!
I’ve been making homemade bread for over 15 years and this Easy White Sandwich Bread Recipe is a simplified version of my grandma’s original sandwich bread recipe I enjoyed growing up. It’s a simple combination of water, yeast and honey, mixed with all purpose flour and salt, made into basic loaves and baked to crispy crust perfection!
How to Shape Sandwich Bread
There’s one trick I always use when making sandwich bread that makes it SO easy to shape the loaves to look just like sandwich bread from a bakery. When you punch down the dough after the first rise, flour your work surface and let the dough rest on the work surface in a ball for about 5-10 minutes. This will allow the gluten in the dough to relax, and it’ll make the dough SO much softer and easier to shape! It’s a simple trick that works every time!
To shape the loaf perfectly for sandwiches, follow these steps:
- After letting it rest, shape the dough into a rectangle (with the short end about the same length as the long side of your loaf pan).
- Fold one short end into the middle and press with your fingers to seal.
- Fold the other short end into middle and press with your fingers to seal.
- Pinch the sides and pull them in slightly.
- Flip the whole thing over and tuck the ends under again.
- Place the loaf into the greased loaf pan and let rise a second time.
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After making homemade bread for so many years I’ve learned that using the right loaf pan makes all the difference. This large loaf pan from Jamie Oliver is my favourite loaf pan of all time (affiliate link). It’s non-stick, easy to clean, and it has high sides which creates the perfect loaf shape for sandwiches. It’s the best loaf pan I’ve ever used and I can’t recommend it highly enough!
Looking for more delicious bread recipes? Try my Easy No Knead Artisan Bread or this Easy No Knead Cinnamon Raisin Artisan Bread!
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I hope you love this Easy White Sandwich Bread as much as we do! Let me know in the comments below, what’s your favourite sandwich to make with classic sandwich bread? I’d love to know!
KITCHEN TOOLS I RECOMMEND:
Looking for even more delicious bread recipes? You’ll LOVE these:
-
Garlic Butter Dinner Rolls
-
Healthier Cornbread
-
Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins
-
Easy No Knead Artisan Bread
-
Easy No Knead Cinnamon Raisin Artisan Bread
Recipe Video
Watch the video below to see exactly how I make this recipe. You can find more delicious recipe videos on my YouTube channel
LOOKING FOR MORE BREAD BAKING RECIPES AND TIPS?
Get my guide to Easy No-Fail Homemade Bread!
Easy White Sandwich Bread
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups lukewarm water
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast (or use active dry yeast)
- 1 tablespoon honey or other vegan honey substitute
- 6 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
Egg Wash (optional):
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Add the water, yeast and honey to the bowl of your stand mixer and mix with a fork just until the yeast is moistened and the honey is dissolved.
- Let sit for about 4-5 minutes.
- Add the flour to the bowl of the stand mixer on top of the water and yeast mixture and then add the salt.
- Turn the mixer on low speed and mix until a soft dough forms.
- Continue mixing on medium-low speed and let the mixer knead the dough for about 4 minutes. The dough should have formed a soft ball and the sides of the bow should be clean. Only if the dough is too wet and sticking to the side of the bowl, add a tablespoon or two more flour as it kneads.
- Shape the dough with your hands into a ball and place it back into the bowl (oil the bowl, if you wish). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for 60 minutes in a warm, draft-free place.
- Grease 2 loaf pans with butter or a high-quality non-stick baking spray.
- After the dough rises, punch it down and turn it out onto a floured work surface and divide it in half.
- Roll each piece of dough into a ball with your hands, eventually shaping it into an oblong round shape.
- Place each piece of dough into one of the greased loaf pans and cover the pans with a clean kitchen towel.
- Let them rise again in a warm, draft-free place for about 20 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Whisk together the egg and water to make the egg wash (if using).
- Brush the egg wash over the tops of the loaves and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 25-35 minutes until the tops of the loaves are a deep golden brown colour.
- After baking, remove from the pans and place the loaves on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Slice after the loaves have cooled completely to room temperature and use to make your favourite sandwiches or serve alongside soups or stews.
Notes
To shape the loaf perfectly for sandwiches, follow these steps:
- After letting it rest, shape the dough into a rectangle (with the short end about the same length as the long side of your loaf pan).
- Fold one short end into the middle and press with your fingers to seal.
- Fold the other short end into middle and press with your fingers to seal.
- Pinch the sides and pull them in slightly.
- Flip the whole thing over and tuck the ends under again.
- Place the loaf into the greased loaf pan and let rise a second time.
Demeter says
Nothing better than homemade! So fresh!
The Busy Baker says
And that smell filling the house…YAM!
Christine Lee says
What size are the loaf pans?
Chrissie says
Standard 9-inch loaf pans 🙂
Barbara L Storey says
Will this recipe work with gluten-free flour? Thanks!
Chrissie says
I’ve never tried this recipe with gluten free flour, so I can’t comment on how this will work.
Taylor says
Homemade bread is the best! Absolutely perfect!
The Busy Baker says
Yes, it is! Thanks for your comment.☺️
Maureen Hemphill says
I don;t have a jamie Oliver bread pan what size would work?
Maureen Hemphill
Chrissie says
Any standard loaf pan will work 🙂
Sandra says
This is such an amazing bread recipe! Easy to follow! Thank you!
The Busy Baker says
Thank you! So happy you liked it!😊
Kimberly says
So good, the crumb is so perfectly tender!
Jacquelyn Hastert says
Homemade bread is always the best! This would be perfect for fall baking and will pair perfectly with soup or alongside pasta.
The Busy Baker says
Yesss, we also love it with soups. Thanks Jacquelyn!😊
Bobbie N says
I was looking for a quick, easy sandwich bread. This is perfection. I never use a mixer, just my danish dough spoon and elbow grease. This turned out beautifully. Thank you.
The Busy Baker says
Great! So glad it turned out perfect!!☺️
Bruce says
Not sure what I am doing wrong but I have tried this recipe 3 times and I cannot get it to rise like your picture. I’m in Canada, maybe my yeast is not right. It is Fleischmann’s quick-rise instant yeast. I have followed your recipe to a “T” all three times.
The first hour of rising it does great, then when I cut it apart it falls flat. Do you think I could put it right into the loaf pans, let it rise for 80 min. Then cook it?
Chrissie says
Thanks for your question. I also use Fleischmann’s quick rise instant yeast, so that can’t be the issue. Is the dough overly sticky? Is it possible you’ve mis-measured the liquid? Also, could your loaf pans be too large? Mine are standard loaf pans with high sides, which may be the reason for the appearance of the rise.
Bruce says
Thank you for replying ,
I follow the recipe to a “T”.
When I mix it in my stand mixer
(on low), the bowl and spiral head comes out completely clean every time. (If it didn’t I would add a little flour).
My pans are not large at all.
The bread comes out very dense, unlike your picture.
What would happen if I put it right into the loaf pans, let it rise for 80 mins and then baked them?
Would they blow up?
I could never understand it, let it rise, pound the rise out of it, then do it over again. (Obviously there is a reason)
I will try going straight to the pan and let you know how they come out.
My mother always made bread the typical way, let it rise, then knead it, then rise again, too much work for me since I am the “bread” earner in my family. (pun intended) lol
Anyway I’ll let you know.
Thanks
Chrissie says
The reason for the double rise (and punching it down) is that it helps the gluten develop in the bread, which gives it the soft, chewy texture. If you rise the dough only once it would likely be an uneven bake (some places soft and others dense) and it would likely be full of large holes.
Pat says
I ran into this problem when using all purpose flour … when i use bread flour i never have any problems on the second rise
Charlie says
I have made this several times and it has turned out perfectly. I was only wondering if I could turn this recipe into dinner rolls, or would the texture not be good for that?
The Busy Baker says
Thanks so much!! Happy to hear you enjoyed the bread recipe 🙂. I haven’t tried to do that, instead you could try out my Easy Homemade Garlic Butter Dinner Rolls: https://thebusybaker.ca/easy-homemade-garlic-butter-dinner-rolls/ !
Emily says
I have used this recipe for rolls many times, and for me anyways it turns out perfect 🙂
The Busy Baker says
Thanks so much Emily!!
Barbara Adams says
Turned out perfect! Thank you for such a simple recipe !
The Busy Baker says
So happy to hear that! Thank you for taking time to give me a feedback on the recipe!🙂
Savannah Keyser says
Is your loaf pan 9×5 or 9×4? Excited to try this recipe, just wanting to make sure I get the most rise from the bread.
Chrissie says
I use 9×4 pans.
Livhuwani says
Hi
I absolutely love your bakes, I’m not so good myself but I’m starting to believe I can thanks to your recipes. I’m trying the bread just now!
Chrissie says
I’m so glad!! Thanks for taking the time to comment!! 🙂
Joan says
What if I add more salt? Also, if I wanna make only 1 loaf, should i just measure the ingredients in half?
Chrissie says
yes, and yes!
Christina says
Hi Chrissie, could you please explain step 4 of shaping the loafs more detailed? What do you mean by pulling the sides in slightly? Thank you!
The Busy Baker says
Hey Christina! You should pinch the short sides together and pull them in to the middle. Turn the whole loaf upside down so the top is smooth and the pinched part is at the bottom. Make sure all the ends are tucked in. You should have a pretty loaf now that is ready to rise and bake. Enjoy!
Bekah C. says
Wow. I’ve made bread for years and I was never able to get it to rise like this. It’s perfect! It looks just like the pictures!
The Busy Baker says
Thanks so much for your feedback Bekah!!🙂
Kim says
The perfect sandwich bread!
Laura says
Would this recipe work with white wheat flour?
Chrissie says
If you’re looking for a sandwich bread using whole wheat flour I’d suggest using my Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread recipe (find it here: https://thebusybaker.ca/easy-whole-wheat-sandwich-bread/)
Nathalie says
Can you do a slow rise with this bread? Using less yeast and letting it ferment overnight?
Chrissie says
I’ve never done that with this recipe, but my instincts say it should work. Please do let me know how it goes!
Lee-Ann says
Do you always bake both at once, or have you had success with keeping half in the fridge or freezer for baking a loaf another day?
The Busy Baker says
I always bake both at once but sometimes I freeze one of the already baked loaves. Hope this helps ☺️
Katya says
After so many not successful attempts and sourdough starter experimenting , I gave up on making bread .
Saw this simple recipe today and I have two perfect loaves !
The secret is in simplicity.
Thanks so much
The Busy Baker says
You’re welcome Katya! Really glad they turned out perfect!
Gayle says
This was a great recipe. I needed to let my loaves rise a little longer than the recipe said but it’s lively textured bread
The Busy Baker says
So glad you enjoyed it Gayle! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment! 🙂
Stephen says
I make this recipe in my bread machine on the dough cycle and then take it out, let it rest for a few minutes and then shape it into a bread pan, let it rise again (about 35 to 40 minutes) and bake for 30 minutes at 350 or until a thermometer reads 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Comes out great every time. I find that the second rising needs more time or crumb in the final product has holes.
The Busy Baker says
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback!
Stephen says
I should add that I have experimented with different flours – multigrain, whole wheat and even rye – substituting one or two cups.
Samantha says
Hello! Can I use bread flour with this recipe? Spoiler alert… I already did and am just doing my first rise. The dough seemed a lot drier than yours, could I have added more water after kneading for the 4 minutes?
The Busy Baker Team says
In this recipe AP flour and bread flour can be used interchangeably. Yes, you can add a bit more water. Hope this helps. Happy baking! Let us know how it turns out.
Chelsea says
Do I use the dough hook attachment for the entire process on the electric mixer?
The Busy Baker Team says
Yes!