Homemade Sandwich Bread

Create a delicious golden homemade sandwich bread loaf that is soft and fluffy, and perfect to have on hand. My go-to bread recipe is perfect for bread makers at all skill levels, and creates a bread that is soft yet won’t tear when is spread upon.

After years of making homemade bread, testing out butters and oils, and baking my loafs in various pans and ways, I feel I have finally created the ideal bread loaf!

I often experienced my bread loaves being too soft that spreading butter, jelly, or mayo on it would squish it down or tear it. Or my loaves being too dense that the bread was overwhelming and thick. After testing and testing, I have measured each ingredient down to the gram, ensuring the “perfect” consistency every time.

HOMEMADE SANDWICH BREAD INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup water (112g)
• 2 teaspoons yeast (10g)
• 1 teaspoon sugar (5g)
• 1 egg + 1 egg white (store yolk in fridge for egg wash: 1 egg yolk + 1 tsp water)
• 2 tablespoons sugar (31g)
• 1/4 cup oil (53g)
• 2.5 cups flour (365g)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (6g)

HOMEMADE SANDWICH BREAD INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a medium sized mixing bowl or measuring cup, combine water, yeast, and sugar. Whisk until thoroughly dissolved. Let sit for 5 minutes or until the yeast mixture appears “foamy”.
   • 1/2 cup water (112g), 2 tsp yeast (10g), 1 teaspoon sugar (5g)
2. Whisk egg, egg white, sugar, oil, and salt to a mixing bowl. Whisk until egg and other ingredients are thoroughly combined.
   • 1 egg + 1 egg white, 2 tbsp sugar (31g), 1/4 cup oil (53g), and 1/2 tsp salt (6g)
3. Using a dough hook or your hands, gently knead in flour. Knead until completely smooth (15 minutes).
   • 2.5 cups flour (365g)
4. Knead dough into a ball, place back into mixing bowl, and allow dough to rise for 1-2 hours (or until it has doubled in size). Place your dough in a warm area of your house and cover the top with a towel.
5. Once dough has completed its bulk rise (first rise), remove the dough from the sides and shape it into a rounded rectangle (roughly the shape of the bread pan).
6. Place dough into a greased (butter or oil) bread loaf pan (I use Caraway and cast iron), and allow to rise for an additional hour (until it reaches 3/4 top of the loaf pan).
7. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
8. Once the bread dough has risen a second time, top lightly with an egg wash (remaining egg yolk + 1 teaspoon water).
9. Cover the bread with aluminum foil for 20 minutes.
   • Be careful it does not stick to the dough. If the dough has risen to high that it will stick, bake for 5 minutes first, then cover the bread for the remaining time.
   • If you do not fold the tinfoil over the sides of the bread, they will become a deeper brown color and may end up harder than the top.
10. Uncover the bread and bake it for 5 minutes without the foil.
    • If you remove the tinfoil and see that the bread is already the ideal golden brown color, keep the bread covered for the remaining 5 minutes.
    • If you prefer a slight crisp to the crust, remove the foil regardless of the color.
11. Allow bread to sit for 3-5 minutes before removing it from the pan. Allow the bread loaf to cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting into it. NOTE: If you cut into a bread loaf that is too warm, it will collapse and “squish”. Bread needs time to finish setting up.

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