This is the perfect White Sandwich Bread. This soft white bread has milk and butter in the recipe. It’s the perfect loaf for your next BLT or PB&J.
To celebrate the sandwich I’m offering a recipe for quintessential sliced white sandwich bread.
Though I often prefer a whole wheat or rye bread for the flavor and texture, I think certain sandwiches work best with a soft white bread with a nice soft crust. Think BLT, PB&J or grilled cheese.
But just because it’s white bread doesn’t mean it has to have the lackluster taste and squishy texture of a certain “wonderous” bread that many of us ate growing up.
Scroll through the process photos to see how to make soft White Sandwich Bread:
I like to start my bread with a sponge for the best flavor and texture. This step also helps the gluten development. Good gluten equals good “oven spring” for a light loaf
Warm the milk to 100°F.
The dough should gather on the hook as you knead. The dough will be quite soft.
The loaf is ready for the oven when it’s doubled in size. Cut a slash down the middle to help the bread rise evenly.
Tips for making this soft White Sandwich Bread recipe:
- Start the dough with a “sponge” made from water, yeast and a little flour.
- Leave the sponge to rise for at least 30 minutes, preferably 60 minutes. This time will allow the gluten to start forming and will give the yeast a head start.
- Adding milk and butter to the recipe creates the perfectly soft crumb and soft crust.
- A little bit of sugar in the dough not only adds a subtle sweetness, but also help to tenderize the crumb and keep the bread moist after it’s baked. The sugar also promotes browning for a golden crust.
- To work ahead, you can make the bread and put it in the pan, cover the pan and refrigerate the dough over night. In the morning, take the loaf out of the refrigerator and let it warm to room temperature while the oven preheats. Bake as directed in the recipe.
- At any point if the dough over rises, even after you’ve formed the loaf, you can knead the air out of the dough and continue with the recipe.
If you maintain a sourdough starter, check out this recipe for Sourdough Sandwich Bread with a Soft Crust.
Looking to make a great submarine sandwich? You can make Homemade Hoagie Rolls!
If you love this recipe as much as I do, please consider leaving a 5-star review.
White Sandwich Bread
The perfect sandwich loaf made with milk & butter for softness.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (4 oz, 120ml) warm water
- 1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons, 7g) instant dry yeast
- 3 cups (15 oz, 420g) all purpose flour, approximately
- 1 cup (8oz, 240ml) whole milk
- 2 tablespoons (1 oz, 28g) unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Instructions
- Combine the warm water, yeast and a 1/2 cup of the flour in the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl. Mix to form a loose batter. Cover the bowl and set the sponge aside for 30-60 minutes.
- Warm the milk in the microwave to about 100°F. Stir the butter into the warm milk to melt.
- Uncover the bowl with the sponge. Add the milk, sugar and salt and stir to combine. Add 1.5 cups of the flour and stir until the batter looks like thick pancake batter. If using a stand mixer, change to the dough hook.
- With the mixer running, slowly add the remaining flour until the dough gathers on the hook and clears the sides of the bowl. If mixing by hand, stir in as much flour as you can then turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead in the remaining flour. Knead for about 5 minutes to develop the gluten in the dough.
- Remove the dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky. Knead to form a smooth ball. If the dough is very sticky sprinkle a little more flour as you knead.
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl, turning once to coat the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot to rise for about 1-1.5 hrs hours, until doubled in size.
- Lightly grease a 9"x 5" loaf pan with a light film of vegetable oil or baking spray.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and without kneading out the air, gently push the dough to a rectangle then roll the dough from top to bottom to form a log shape.
- If the log is shorter than the loaf pan, gently roll and push the log from the center out to the size of the pan. Set the dough into the pan and cover with a damp kitchen towel. Set in a warm place and rise until the dough almost doubles in size and fills the pan, about 1-1.5 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Use a sharp knife or razor to cut a 1/2" deep slash down the center of the loaf. Brush the top of the loaf with milk.
- Bake about 30-35 minutes until golden brown and and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The interior temp should be about 200°F.
- Cool in the pan about 5 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack. Finish cooling to room temperature before slicing,
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Kathy
Friday 8th of January 2021
May I use skim milk instead of whole milk?
Eileen Gray
Friday 8th of January 2021
Yes.
Vivien Wessels
Monday 17th of August 2020
This is a wonderful bread. The dough comes together very well and is easy to handle. Could part of the flour be replaced with Semolina ? I South Africa only coarse ground semolina is available
Eileen Gray
Monday 17th of August 2020
Yes, certainly. I also have a recipe for crusty Semolina Bread.
Pam
Saturday 25th of July 2020
I have made this recipe and it is wonderful! If I want to double the recipe to make 2 loaves, do I need to double the sponge ingredients too?
Eileen Gray
Saturday 25th of July 2020
Yes. If you don't have enough starter, do a double feeding to up the amount available then mix the sponge.
Debra Olson
Friday 3rd of July 2020
Do you have the carb count on the sandwich bread?