There is something real special about homemade sandwich bread. It is soft and fluffy with a thin, golden, crispy crust and when it’s fresh out of the oven, it fills our home with the most scrumptious smell!

When we began our homesteading journey, which wasn’t that long ago, the very first thing that I wanted to learn to make was… Sandwich Bread. At that time, I was working full time and, as with most families, we had a BUSY schedule. Because it became really important for us to limit processed food and eat clean, I needed recipes that could easily be incorporated into our daily chaos. With just seven simple, wholesome ingredients, this sandwich bread recipe is easy to bring together, in just a couple of hours.

This homemade bread is the star of every sandwich! I mean, besides homemade pickles. But, this easy sandwich bread isn’t JUST perfect for sandwiches. We often enjoy this bread as French Toast or as a snack with a homemade jam. And, lest we not forget to use the heels for croutons or breadcrumbs, too!

What i love about this recipe

It’s made with commercial yeast. While sourdough is made with a naturally occurring yeast, bacteria, this recipe calls for commercial yeast. Commercial yeast like Active Dry Yeast, Instant Yeast and Rapid Rise Yeast, is an ingredient readily available to everyone. You can skip the need for a sourdough starter and fermentation times but still have a darn good sandwich bread without all of the unnecessary ingredients in store bought bread.

It’s simple. Before I became a stay-at-home mom, I was working full time with two children in evening activities. It was a chaotic season for us and I didn’t really have extra time, or the mental capacity, to put forth dedicating hours of attention to baking bread. With just 7 wholesome ingredients and less than three hours, I had fresh baked bread, made from scratch on a Saturday morning or free evening.

prepare your supplies

Measuring Cups and Spoons
Stand Mixer
Loaf Pa n
Bread Slicer – Makes the perfect width slices.
Bread Knife – A really good knife makes a BIG difference.

gather your ingredients

All-Purpose Flour – I use King Arthur’s Unbleached All-Purpose Flour. I’ve tried several other brands over the years but love their flour for its natural color, light and airy consistency, and tender, yet strong performance.

Instant Yeast – A Rapid Rise, like Fleischmann’s Bread Machine Yeast, speeds up the process.

Unsalted Butter – Softened. The flavor that butter adds to this bread is so scrumptious.

Salt – For flavor.

Milk – Warm. I use Whole Cream Line Milk from our favorite milk delivery company, Cowbelle and Apple Valley Creamery. We adore Apple Valley Creamery’s practices and beliefs. With Whole Cream Line Milk, it is pasteurized but not homogenized, leaving the cream on top. Skim it from the top for coffee, to make butter, or leave it and shake the bottle well.

Water – Warm.

Raw Honey – I love to use honey, instead of sugar, especially raw honey. It is a natural sweetener and minimally processed.

let’s get to it: how to make Easy sandwich bread

Prepare the yeast. Stir together warm water, warm milk, yeast and honey in the bowl of your stand mixer, with the dough hook attached. Let mixture sit for 5 minutes while you soften the butter and prepare the remaining ingredients. Note: If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can whisk ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
Mix. Add softened butter, salt and flour to the yeast mixture and beat, on medium speed, for 2 minutes.
Knead. Turning the speed down to the #2 setting, knead dough for 3 minutes until dough is soft and should stretch without breaking. Note: If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can certainly knead the dough by hand on a floured surface for 5 minutes.
Let it rise. Lightly grease the stand mixer bowl or large mixing bowl with extra virgin olive oil. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm area for 1 hour, or until doubled inside.
Prepare to bake. When the dough has completed its first rise and has doubled in size, turn dough out on a lightly floured surface and punch it down. With your hands, shape the dough into a large rectangle, about 8 x 12 inches. Tightly roll the dough into an 8″ log and pinch the seam. Place the dough, seam side down, into a greased 9 x 5 loaf pan, cover with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm area for 1 hour, or until 1″ above the loaf pan.
Preheat the oven. Adjust your oven rack to the second position from the bottom and preheat your oven to 350°F.
Bake. Bake bread for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown on the top. To ensure it’s done, you can tap the top of the bread and should sound hollow or stick an instant thermometer in the middle of your bread loaf. It should read 195°F. Remove bread from the loaf pan and let cool on a cooling rack before slicing it.