White Sandwich Bread

5 from 5 votes

This homemade white sandwich bread is soft, fluffy, and perfect for sandwiches and toast. A simple recipe made with pantry staples!

Prep Time20

Cook Time50

Resting/Rising Time4

Total Time5 10

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Keyword: homemade bread, white sandwich bread

Servings: slices

Calories: 170kcal

Author: Kasey Schwartz

Equipment

Stand Mixer Fitted with a Dough Hook Attachment
Mixing bowl
(9x5 Inch) Loaf Pans
Wire Rack

Ingredients

7 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp instant yeast
2 tbsp granulated sugar
4 tbsp butter softened
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 ¾ cup whole milk divided, room temperature
1 - 1 ½ cup water room temperature

Instructions

Add all the flour, instant yeast, sugar, butter, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. With the machine on a low speed, let the ingredients blend together, then slowly pour in 1 ½ cups of the milk. Next, slowly pour in one cup of the water.
7 cups all-purpose flour, 4 tsp instant yeast, 2 tbsp granulated sugar, 4 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp kosher salt, 1 ¾ cup whole milk, 1 - 1 ½ cup water
Once the mixture is fairly combined, gradually increase the speed to medium. If the dough looks very dry or the machine starts to labor, add in the reserved water.
Mix until the dough is smooth and starts to stretch and pull away from the sides of the bowl.
Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead by hand for a couple of minutes or the dough starts to come together into a smooth ball.
Place the dough into an oiled mixing bowl and cover loosely with a damp towel or plastic wrap. Put in a warm place and let rise until it is roughly doubled in size, about 1 to 2 hours.
Gently turn the dough onto a floured surface and form into a rough rectangle, taking care not to deflate the dough too much. Cut into two equal pieces.
Roll each piece into a log, roughly 9 inches long, pinching down the seam to seal.
Place each log into a greased 9x5 loaf pan, making sure the seam side is on the bottom.
Cover loosely with plastic wrap and place in a warm place and let rise until the dough reaches almost the top of the pan, another 1-2 hours.
While the dough rises, preheat the oven to 350F.
When the dough has fully risen, gently brush the tops with the reserved milk using a pastry brush. Be gentle so as not to deflate the dough.
Bake the loaves for 40-50 minutes until golden brown in color. If desired, you can check the internal temperature as well, they will be fully cooked at 195F.
Turn out the loaves immediately onto a wire rack to cool. The internal structure of the bread is still developing at this stage of the process, so wait until the loaves are fully cool before slicing.

Notes

It’s very important to be accurate when you’re measuring dry ingredients for bread. Never scoop your measuring cup into the flour! Instead, use a food scale or the scoop and level method, lightly spooning flour into your measuring cup. Then, use a butter knife to scrape off the excess. Too much or too little flour can affect how your sandwich bread turns out.
If you want to make even slices, I recommend getting out a ruler and setting it right on your cutting board so you can see where you want to make your cuts. Use a serrated knife, and saw back and forth gently, using very little downward pressure to avoid smashing the bread.

Nutrition