Easiest White Sandwich Bread Recipe (+ Video) (2024)

A perfect fluffy homemade white sandwich bread for toast, sandwiches, and PB&J! This white sandwich bread recipe is so quick & easy to make and doesn’t require a machine. My picky eaters love it!

Ever since my husband created his infamous 90 Minute Man Bread, so many readers have emailed saying that Man Bread is the only bread they make, and they use it for nearly all their bread purposes, including sandwich bread. But it’s a little denser than your typical sandwich bread.

So I took Mr. Crumbs’ original idea, modified it slightly, and created a homemade white sandwich bread recipe that is everything white bread should be:

• White!
• A soft, lightly brown crust (that is worth eating and not cutting off)
• Durable enough to hold hearty sandwich fillings
• Soft enough for a Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich to slightly stick to the roof of your mouth

Friends, this is when we ban together and rejoice. YES, we can feed our family healthy food and NO, it doesn’t have to taste like cardboard!

PERFECT SANDWICH BREAD INGREDIENTS

The ingredients list for this white bread recipe is pretty short:

• milk
• honey
• yeast
• all-purpose flour
• coconut oil
• salt

Yeast. I like to use this brand of active dry yeast. As long as the milk, yeast, and honey create bubbles, that means your yeast is active, and you’re all set to make your bread. If you get no bubbles, start over. You may have to use a new packet if your yeast is no longer viable.

Honey. Yeast feeds off sugar, and I like to use honey as a sweetener for sandwich bread.

All Purpose Flour. I prefer to buy high-quality flours, like this one, that are organic and processed as little as possible. Of course, it’s perfectly okay to use any all-purpose flour that you have on hand for this white bread recipe.

WHITE BREAD RECIPE INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1: Whisk together milk, honey, and yeast in a large mixing bowl, or in the bowl of astand mixer. Allow the yeast to proof until the surface is covered with bubbles. If you don’t see bubbles, your yeast has gone bad.

Step 2: Add 1 cup of flour and either mix by hand with a wooden spoon or on low with a dough hook until the flour is mostly combined.

Step 3: Next, add coconut oil, salt, and 3 ½ cups of flour and knead by hand or on medium-low until the dough is soft and smooth. Add additional flour if necessary. I consider the dough done when the bowl is mostly clean and it is tacky to the touch (not sticky).

Step 4: Cover with a towel and place in a warm spot to rise for about an hour.* Meanwhile, butter and flour in a loaf pan.

See Also

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Step 5: When the dough is about double in size, lightly flour the counter or a baking mat. Turn the dough out onto the mat and knead for a few minutes to get rid of the excess air bubbles.

Step 6: Shape the dough and place it seam down in the loaf pan.**

Step 7: Cover the dough with a towel and let it rise for about an hour.*

Step 8. Preheat the oven to 350F. Bake the bread for 20-23 minutes, until it is golden brown on top and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. You can also test with an instant-read thermometer to see that it has reached an internal temperature of 190F. Let the loaf of bread cool on wire racks before cutting, about 20 minutes.

*The rise time of this recipe is very flexible, but you get a softer crumb (the inside) when it rises for at least an hour. You could shorten the rise time to 30 minutes each, but the dough will be more dense.

** To make two loaves, let the dough rise for 90 minutes the first time. Divide into two loaves before kneading and shaping, and then let it rise for another hour or so.

WHITE SANDWICH BREAD TIPS & TRICKS

Anytime I talk about food, my inner self is actually teaching about food (which kind of explains why I created a course teaching you how to eat real food on a budget!). Making homemade bread is not hard, but, I don’t want you to jump into this recipe without a few bits of advice:

WORKING WITH YEAST IS NOT HARD

This recipe includes proofing the yeast, which is basically making sure your yeast is active. If you mix yeast and water (milk in the case of this recipe) and honey and get bubbles, keep going. If you don’t, get new yeast. (Read more in my Beginner’s Guide to Using Yeast.)

KNEADING BREAD IS NOT HARD EITHER.

The purpose of kneading bread is to work the strands of gluten. Gluten is what makes bread light, fluffy, and sponge-y. This recipe calls for kneading twice. Your mixer can do the first, but you’ll do the second after the first rise.

There is an art to kneading, but if you focus on folding in thirds and pushing the air bubbles out, you’ll be fine. Spreading it on a lightly floured surface is helpful too.

SHAPING THE LOAF OF BREAD IS PROBABLY THE HARDEST PART.

I’m not an expert at shaping, and I’m not pleased with the shape of my loaf in these pictures, BUT know this: even ugly bread tastes good.

My method for shaping bread is, once I’ve kneaded it well enough (usually 3 times the folding in thirds method above), I roll the bread as tightly as I can and then place it in loaf pans. This probably isn’t the professional way, but I’m not a professional so it works for me!

SANDWICH BREAD RECIPE FAQS

OTHER FAVORITE BREAD RECIPES

Here are a few other bread recipes that the family loves (and that are easy!).

• No-knead Artisan Bread
• Rosemary Sea Salt Flatbread
• Maple Oatmeal Bread
• Homemade Hamburger Buns
• And, of course, Man Bread

AND A FEW BAKING-HACK POSTS TO HELP YOU IN YOUR BREAD ENDEAVORS:

• How to Make Bread Machine Recipes By Hand
• Ultimate Guide to Freezing Bread
• Ultimate Guide to Troubleshooting Bread
• How to Cook Bread in the Slow Cooker

Watch How to Make the Best White Sandwich Bread

Easiest White Sandwich Bread Recipe

Print Recipe

★★★★★4.9 from 18 reviews

A perfect fluffy homemade white sandwich bread for toast, sandwiches, and PB&J! This white sandwich bread recipe is so quick & easy to make and doesn’t require a machine. My picky eaters love it!

• Author: Tiffany
• Prep Time: 2 hours
• Cook Time: 23 minutes
• Total Time: 2 hours 23 minutes
• Yield: 1 loaf 1x
• Category: Breads
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale

• 1 ½ cups milk, warmed to 105-110F
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp yeast
• 4 – 4 ½ cups all purpose flour, divided, plus more for dusting
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• Vital wheat gluten – 1 Tbsp per cup flour (optional)

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

1. Whisk together milk, honey, and yeast in a large mixing bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer. Allow the yeast to proof until the surface is covered with bubbles. If you don’t see bubbles, your yeast has gone bad.
2. Add 1 cup of flour and either mix by hand or on low until the flour is mostly combined.
3. Next, add coconut oil, salt, and 3 ½ cups of flour and knead by hand or on medium-low until the dough is soft and smooth. Add additional flour if necessary. I consider the dough done when the bowl is mostly clean and it is tacky to the touch (not sticky).
4. Cover with a towel and place in a warm spot to rise for about an hour.*
5. Meanwhile, butter and flour in a loaf pan.
6. When the dough is about double in size, lightly flour the counter or a baking mat. Turn the dough out onto the mat and knead for a few minutes to get rid of the excess air bubbles (see my method in the post).
7. Shape the dough (again, see the post for my method) and place it seam down in the loaf pan.**
8. Cover the dough with a towel and let it rise for about an hour.*
9. Preheat the oven to 350F. Bake the bread for 20-23 minutes, until it is golden brown on top and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
10. Let it cool on a cooling rack before cutting, about 20 minutes.

Notes

* The rise time of this recipe is very flexible, but you get a softer crumb (the inside) when it rises for at least an hour. You could shorten the rise time to 30 minutes each, but the dough will be more dense.
** To make two loaves, let the dough rise for 90 minutes the first time. Divide into two loaves before kneading and shaping, and then let it rise for another hour or so.
***Vital wheat gluten is optional but helps create a more pliable, softer loaf.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 slice
• Calories: 157

Keywords: sandwich bread