Classic Sandwich Bread Recipe
I love sandwiches. There’s something about surrounding food with bread that really speaks to me. I also love baking bread. I’m more partial to Italian rolls or a French baguette or even pita but I decided to venture out of my bread comfort zone — yum bread comfort zone.. like a cozy fort but instead of pillows and blankets it’s bread. yes, please! — and try a classic sandwich bread.
I scoured the inter-webs, my cookbooks and the cookbooks my mother-in-law gifted me for a classic sandwich bread recipe. I wanted something reminiscent of the Wonder Bread I loved as a child but slightly elevated. I tried four different recipes — the best kind of recipe testing — and ended up taking pieces from each of them and adding my own twist. Ry had his own standard peanut butter and jelly test for each recipe as well. This recipe passed all of our tests with flying colors. It is soft and chewy on the inside, can be toasted, can be cut thin or thick and holds up as toast or as a sandwich.
While you could use bread flour for this recipe, I found that unbleached all purpose flour gave me a fluffier bread. I use organic cane sugar in all my baking because I like the taste and if I have to use sugar I want it to be a “better for me” option but white sugar would work just fine. You could also substitute honey or maple syrup if you aren’t using refined sugar. I use avocado oil as my light oil as it’s a healthier option than canola or vegetable but either of those will work as well.
This recipe makes two loaves. I usually bake them both and slice and freeze one. I slice the bread before freezing so I can take out whatever I need without defrosting the whole loaf. If you don’t have any open freezer space, you can half the recipe to only make one loaf. We typically will finish a loaf within three days but if we don’t, I’ll slice the remaining bread and pop it in the freezer.
This bread is sturdy and versatile. Use it to make a sandwich, toast, french toast, grilled cheese, I’ve even used it as a binder for meatballs and as breadcrumbs for chicken cutlets! Let me know what you make with it! I’m always looking for new ideas!
Notes:
This is the kitchen scale I use to ensure both loaves are equally sized.
My tried and true loaf pans — I use these for my sandwich bread and all my fruit/dessert breads as well.
Classic Sandwich Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm water about 110°F (43°C)
- 1/3 cup organic cane sugar can sub white sugar, maple syrup or honey
- 1½ tbsp active dry yeast or instant yeast
- 1½ tbsp kosher salt
- ¼ cup avocado oil can sub canola or vegetable oil; plus more oiling for the bowl and loaf pans
- ~6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour may be more or less
Instructions
- In large bowl, dissolve the sugar in warm water and stir in yeast. Let it sit until mixture is a creamy foam. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in sugar and let sit until yeast has dissolved and the mixture is creamy and foamy. I usually give it 10 minutes.
- Add salt and oil to the yeast mixture.
- Mix in flour one cup at a time being cautious of the texture. You may need more or less than 6 cups of flour to get to the right dough consistency.
- Knead dough until smooth. It usually takes me about 5 minutes of kneading until the dough is smooth and solid. Form dough into a large ball and place in an oiled bowl, turning dough to coat. I use the same bowl for every step – there may be some residual flour stuck to the sides but it doesn’t interfere with the rise and I’m all about less dishes.
- Cover with a cloth and allow to rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
- Deflate dough and knead for a few minutes. Divide the dough in half – I use a kitchen scale to get perfectly equal loaves but you can eyeball it if you don't have one
- Shape into loaves and place into 2 well oiled 9×5 inch loaf pans. Let them rise until the dough has risen 1 inch above the pans, about a half hour.
- Bake at 350°F (165°C) for 30 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in the center of the bread reads 190°F (88°C).
- Remove from loaf pans and let cool on a wire rack. I run a knife around the edges and give the pans a gentle shake to loosen the loaves. If you leave them in the loaf pan, the bottom will steam and get soft and soggy.
- Slice and enjoy!
