Soft and Fluffy Homemade Sandwich Bread

4.91 from 10 votes

Soft and Fluffy Homemade Sandwich Bread

Soft, fluffy and absolutely delicious, this is the best homemade white sandwich bread. This beginner friendly sandwich bread recipe is percet for sandwiches and toast. Your whole family will love it!

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Rise Time:2

Total Time3

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Servings: slices (2 loaves)

Author: Amy Coyne

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

Honey: This recipe calls for a lot of honey and it is a sweeter sandwich bread. You can cut the honey in half with good results. You will need to reduce a little bit of the flour in the dough to compensate.

Bread Flour: For a chewy, tall loaf, use bread flour. All-purpose flour can also work well, but you may need to add a little extra flour to the dough. I have also substituted half of the bread flour for whole wheat flour with good results.

Coconut Oil: I love how soft this bread is with coconut oil. If you prefer not to use coconut oil, any neutral-flavored oil will work - avocado oil, olive oil or even melted butter.

Overnight Rise: You can perform one of the rises in the refrigerator (either the bulk rise or the rise after the dough has been shaped). Dough can be refrigerated for up to 12 hours.

Nutrition