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This is the super Soft Homemade Sandwich Bread recipe every home baker needs. It’s easy to make, perfect for beginners, and gives you the kind of tender, slightly sweet loaf that’s ideal for toast, sandwiches, or just slathering with butter. Say goodbye to store-bought bread—this homemade version is better in every way.
This isn’t just any white sandwich bread, it’s the absolute best—soft, fluffy, and irresistibly delicious. My teenagers make this homemade sandwich bread recipe on repeat, and it’s a staple in our kitchen. Whether you’re brand new to baking or just want a dependable go-to, I know you’ll love this bread as much as we do.
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Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Soft Sandwich Bread
- Easy – This homemade bread recipe is so simple! It’s perfect for any baker—new or experienced. My teenagers make it on REPEAT! If you want to try a variation of this loaf that includes sourdough discard, then check out The Best Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread too.
- Soft & Fluffy – Just like my Soft French Bread, you’ll love the pillowy texture of this sandwich bread.
- Versatile – This bread makes excellent sandwich bread—of course—but it is also perfect for toast and just plain too! For a whole wheat sandwich bread alternative, try my Honey Whole Wheat Bread.
- This loaf is perfect for classic PB&J, grilled cheese, French toast, or just slathered in butter. It’s also sturdy enough for loaded sandwiches—BLTs, club sandwiches, you name it.
Amy’s Bread Baking Tips
If you’ve never made bread before (or only ended up with hockey pucks), here are a few simple tips to help you out:
1. Temperature Makes a Big Difference
The temperature of your liquid and your dough affects how quickly it rises. Warmer dough rises faster. If your dough isn’t rising, try warming it up—placing it in a cozy spot can make all the difference.
2. The Type of Yeast You Use Is Important
Instant yeast is my go-to. It’s easier to use and activates more quickly than active dry yeast. Dry active yeast works too, but you need to ACTIVATE it first.
3. Weigh Your Ingredients When You Can
Using a scale gives you more accurate results, especially when you’re learning. If you’re using cups, hold back about a cup of flour and add it gradually. The dough should feel soft and tacky, but not overly sticky.
4. Don’t Add Too Much Flour
It’s tempting to keep adding flour if your dough feels sticky, but resist! Bread dough is supposed to be a little tacky. Adding too much flour will give you dry, dense bread.
5. Cool Before Slicing
I know it’s hard, but let your bread cool completely before slicing. Cutting into hot bread can make the inside gummy and ruin the texture you just worked so hard for.
Bread Tools You’ll Need
I am a big believer in using what you already have in your kitchen. With that said, these are a few items that I find very helpful in baking a loaf of bread:
- Bread Pans – I like an 8.5 by 4.5 or 9 by 5-inch metal pans for sandwich loaves. Metal bakes more evenly, but any loaf pan will do.
- Stand Mixer: You can knead by hand (about 10–12 minutes), but a stand mixer with a dough hook saves your arms. If you’re considering one, check out my honest review of stand mixers to find the best fit for your kitchen.
- Kitchen Scale: I know cups often feel more familiar, but if you’re new to bread dough, I recommend using a scale. It’s more accurate, easier to scale recipes up or down, and takes the guesswork out of getting the dough just right. Try it—you might never go back!
- Proofing Container – This can be a large kitchen bowl, or you can even use the bowl of your stand mixer. Just make sure you have something to cover it with – plastic wrap or a lid to a bowl work really well.
- Cooling Rack – Helps prevent soggy bottoms, which is especially important for soft sandwich loaves.
Important Ingredients
- Instant Yeast: This bread requires instant yeast to rise. If you want to use dry active yeast, make sure to activate it in some warm water/honey before incorporating into the dough. And if you don’t want to use instant yeast, try my soft sourdough sandwich bread instead.
- Honey: This is quite a bit of honey and that is part of the appeal of this bread. It’s on the sweeter side of a sandwich loaf and it is absolutely delicious. You can reduce the honey by half for a less sweet bread or substitute sugar for the honey. Both options will need a little less flour in the dough.
- Coconut Oil: I love the super soft texture that coconut oil gives the dough. Add cold or liquid coconut oil to the mixing bowl. The heat from the mixer will help the coconut oil absorb fully into the bread dough. You can substitute any neutral-flavored oil (butter, olive oil, avocado oil, etc…)
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities
Substitutions
- Egg: If you have an egg allergy, leave the egg out and decrase the flour just a bit in the recipe (hold back about a cup of flour and add it in as needed).
- Bread Flour: For tall, fluffy loaves, I love using an unbleached bread flour. However, you can substitute all-purpose flour if desired. You may need a little more flour than the recipe calls for.
- Whole Wheat Flour: I love substituting about half of the bread flour for whole wheat or kamut flour for a nutrient-packed loaf. It won’t rise quite as high, but tastes delicious with the whole wheat.
How to Make Homemade Sandwich Bread
Mix & Knead the Dough
Step 1: To the bowl of a stand mixer, add the warm water, honey and instant yeast. Look for the yeast to give off a “yeasty” smell and start clumping together (Image 1). This is a sign that your yeast is active and ready to raise dough. Add the egg, coconut oil, salt, and most of the bread flour—holding back about a cup. Add the remaining flour gradually as you knead to avoid over-flouring the dough, especially if you’re measuring by cups.
Amy’s Tip: Warm water will help increase the activity of the instant yeast. I don’t recommend going much over 100ºF because hotter temperatures can kill the yeast and lead to negatively affect the structure of the dough.
Do You Have to Let Instant Yeast “Activate?” Nope—you can mix instant yeast straight into your dough. That’s one of the perks of using it! That said, I still like to let it sit in warm water for 10 seconds or so, just to make sure it’s alive and kicking. There’s nothing worse than making a full batch of dough only to realize your yeast wasn’t working.
Step 2: Knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is tacky and strong (Image 3). The dough will not be overly sticky. If you pinch off a chunk and roll it in your hands it should form a ball with little to no residue left on your fingers. For the best crumb, continue kneading until you reach a windowpane stage.
The windowpane test helps you know when your dough is kneaded enough. If you can stretch a small piece of dough until it’s thin enough to see light through, without it tearing, that means the gluten is well-developed and your dough is ready for the next step (Image 4).
Do You HAVE to reach windowpane? For best results, yes—aiming for windowpane means your dough is well-developed and will rise nicely. But here’s the truth: I’ve made plenty of delicious bread over the years without always hitting perfect windowpane. As long as the dough is cohesive and strong, it’ll still bake up beautifully. Don’t let this one step keep you from baking great bread.
Proof & Shape Sandwich Loaves
Step 3: Remove the dough to a bowl or container (Image 5). Cover with a plastic shower cap, plastic wrap, the lid or a kitchen towel and place in a warm place (80ºF ) to rise for about an hour or until doubled in size (Image 6).
The amount of time it takes for the dough to double in size will vary based on how warm the dough is. If you are struggling to get the dough to rise, stick it in a warmer place. You can use your oven with the light turned on (don’t turn the oven on!) or use a dough proofing mat to speed it up.
Step 4: Once the dough has doubled in size, divide it into two equal portions (Image 7). Gently pat each one into a rectangle. You can use a lightly floured surface if needed, but it’s not always necessary, especially if your dough isn’t too sticky and you’re working quickly.
Starting with the edge closest to you, roll the dough up into a log (Image 8), pressing the dough in slightly at each turn. When you get to the end, pinch the seam closed (Image 9), then tuck and round the ends a bit to form a uniform loaf. Place it seam side down in a greased 8.5 x 4.5-inch loaf pan and cover. Repeat with the second piece of dough (Image 10).
Need help? You can watch my shaping video here.
Shaping Tip: I shape my rectangle so it’s slightly narrower than the length of my loaf pan—usually around 6–7 inches wide and 12–14 inches long. As you roll it up, it stretches a little and ends up just the right size to fit your pan.
Step 5: Let the loaves rise at warm room temperature (around 80ºF) for 1–2 hours. You’re looking for the dough to rise up and over the rim of the loaf pan and fill it out nicely (Image 11). If your dough is cooler, the rise will take longer—just be patient and warm the dough up if you can.
To check if the dough is ready to bake, gently press a finger into the dough (Image 12):
- If it springs back slowly and leaves a slight indentation, it’s ready for the oven.
- If it springs back quickly, it needs more time.
- If it doesn’t spring back at all and the dough feels overly soft or deflated, it may be over-proofed. It will still bake, but the texture may be a little more fragile or the loaf may not dome as nicely.
Amy’s Tip for An Over-Proofed Loaf: If your dough has over-proofed slightly (very soft, no spring back, or starting to collapse), you can gently reshape the loaf: turn it out, re-roll it, and place it back in the pan for a shorter second rise—about 30–45 minutes. It won’t be quite the same, but it can still bake up beautifully and save the loaf.
Bake the Sandwich Bread
Step 6: Once loaves have doubled in size, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Place the loaves in the oven and bake for about 40 minutes until the bread is golden brown and reaches an internal temperature of 190-195ºF. Pull the loaves out of the oven and top with melted butter if desired. After about 5 minutes, gently release the bread from the pans and remove to a cooling rack. Allow the loaves to cool completely before slicing.
How to Store Leftovers
Once the sandwich bread has completely cooled, slice the loaves and store the slices in a bread bag or an airtight container. I like to freeze mine right away—just pull out a slice or two as needed. Freezing keeps the bread fresh and prevents it from drying out on the counter.
Amy’s Recipe Tip
If you want to prep this bread ahead of time—or just need to slow things down—you can refrigerate the dough during either the bulk rise or the final rise after shaping. Cover it well and place it in the fridge for up to 12 hours. When you’re ready to bake, make sure the dough has doubled in size and risen before baking.
Frequently Asked Questions
To use active dry yeast, activate it in warm water with a little bit of sugar first. To do that, stir the yeast and sugar into warm water (about 100°F) and let it sit for 5–10 minutes until it’s bubbly and foamy. If nothing happens, your yeast might be dead—and you’ll need a new packet!
This bread does have sweet undertones from the honey. I love the flavor, but if you prefer a less sweet bread, you can cut the honey in half. If you do this, you’ll want to compensate by adding less flour to the recipe.
That’s called over-proofing. It happens when dough rises for too long—eventually, the gluten structure weakens and collapses. Next time, bake a little earlier, before the dough starts to deflate or feels overly jiggly.
If your dough feels too sticky to handle, lightly flour your hands and the surface—but don’t overdo it. Too much flour can make the dough tough. A quick chill in the fridge (10–15 minutes) can also make sticky dough easier to shape.
Usually, it’s from under-proofing, under-kneading or adding too much flour. The dough should feel soft and stretchy—not dry or stiff. Make sure you’re kneading long enough to develop the gluten and give it enough time (and warmth) to rise.
Yes! I have a sourdough discard version and a 100% sourdough version if you prefer baking with a sourdough starter.
Bread Recipes You’ll Love
If you tried this Light and Fluffy White Sandwich Bread or any other recipe on my website leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Happy Baking!
Soft and Fluffy Homemade Sandwich Bread
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 475 grams warm water, about 98-100ºF, about 2 cups
- 160 grams honey, 1/2 cup, see recipe notes
- 10 grams instant yeast, 1 Tablespoon
- 50 grams coconut oil, liquid, 1/4 cup, or any other neutral flavored oil, see recipe notes
- 1 large egg, 50 grams
- 16 grams salt, 2 teaspoons
- 1000 grams bread flour, about 6 cups
Instructions
- To the bowl of a stand mixer, add warm water, honey and instant yeast. Watch for the yeast to activate with a "yeasty" sweet smell and it should start to bubble a bit. Note: Technically, instant yeast doesn’t need to be bloomed or activated first. But I like to play it safe and make sure it’s active before mixing it into my dough—because nothing’s worse than finding out your yeast was dead after you’ve already measured, mixed, and waited.
- Add the coconut oil, egg, salt, and most of the bread flour and mix together. Gradually add the rest of the flour as needed and knead for 8-10 minutes. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl or gather all together as it kneads. It will feel tacky to the touch but should not be overly sticky. If it is very sticky, add a little bit more flour 10-20 grams at a time until it feels tacky and workable. Note: This dough can be kneaded by hand for about 10-15 minutes. If you are kneading by hand, use liquid coconut oil. If you are using a stand mixer, you can add the coconut oil in at any state and it will incorporate easily.
- Transfer the dough to a large container and cover with plastic wrap, a lid or a kitchen towel. Let dough rest for about an hour or two until doubled in size. How long this takes will depend on the temperature of your dough. To speed up the process, keep the dough in a warm place.
- After the dough has doubled in size, dump the dough out onto the counter. Separate into two equal portions of dough, around 850-900 grams per loaf.
- Pat one of the portions of dough into a rectangle (about 7 inches by 12-14 inches). Starting at the edge closest to you, roll up the dough. Take care to press in the dough at the seam after each roll and pinch the seam closed at the end. Pinch and round the ends of the dough just a bit to get a uniform loaf. Place in a greased 8.5 by 4.5 loaf pan and cover. Repeat with the remaining portion of dough. You can watch a shaping video here.
- Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let the bread rise in the pan for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until the dough has risen over the edge of the loaf pan. Press in gently on the dough with a finger. If the dough springs back immediately, it needs a little more time to rise. If it leaves a little indentation and springs back a little bit, it is ready to bake.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Bake the loaves of bread for about 40 minutes until golden brown and the dough reaches a temperature of 190-195ºF. Spread melted butter on the tops of the loaves if desired. Remove the loaves from the pan after about 5-10 minutes and place them on a cooling rack. Let the bread cool completely before slicing for sandwiches. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This bread was delightful! Soft with a nicely bronzed crust. The taste is lovely! I think the honey is a game changer. Thank you!
Thanks for your review – I’m glad you love the recipe.
Hi Amy! I love this recipe and don’t want to stop using it – do you have any tips for doing it in a bread maker?
I haven’t made it in a bread maker, so I’m not sure. This does make a fairly large loaf of bread, so you may have to adjust the amounts a little bit – that’s the one thing I would watch out for making it in a bread maker.
Is this a good loaf to make homemade uncrustables? Been trying to find a good loaf for that because my usual sourdough sandwich bread doesn’t do well for that purpose
Yes, I think it would work well for homemade uncrustables.
Amy, Thank you for this recipe. Do you think I could substitute maple syrup for the honey?
I think you could. It may need a little extra flour if the syrup has a higher water content than honey, so check that as you’re kneading but I think it will work.
Could you tell me what kind of coconut oil you use? I looked on Amazon & became confused. Thanks!
I buy the large jar from Costco. It’s organic virgin coconut oil.
Came out perfect, newby at bread making and this was perfect.
I’m so glad you loved this recipe! Thank you for sharing.
Have you done this in a pullman pan!
Just took my sandwich breads out of the oven. Made three from your recipe as all of my pans were different sizes. They look glorious. Still warm so haven’t cut into it. Looked for the page to post my pics but couldn’t find it.
So glad they look beautiful! Thanks for sharing.
Hi Amy…what if I don’t have a stand mixer 😢🤔
You can knead the dough by hand for 10-12 minutes.
Hi Amy, I’m curious why you’re blooming instant yeast?
It’s just a little extra “insurance.” Sometimes you don’t know if your yeast is expired or older and so taking a minute as a double check is worth it for me – but you technically don’t have to with instant yeast – you can just add it into the dough and mix it up.
Hi Amy! Is it ok to substitute AP flour for the Bread flour?
You can do that. You may need to add a little bit more flour to the dough and it won’t rise quite as high as bread flour, but will still taste delicious.