Made with only 6 ingredients, this simple, no-knead soft sandwich bread is such a treat to have on hand for sandwiches of all kinds. No mixer is required — if you can whisk and stir, you can make this bread.

A slice of soft sandwich bread.

Several years ago, I published a recipe here for a simple sourdough sandwich bread recipe, and I have long wanted to add a yeasted version to my collection of bread recipes … here it is!

It’s a no-knead, 6-ingredient recipe that takes about 5 minutes to stir together. Thanks especially to my oldest daughter, who brings a turkey sandwich to school for lunch nearly every day and who has no reservations sharing her opinions, the recipe has gone through many iterations these past few months.

It started with the basic bread ingredients: flour, water, salt, and yeast. In an effort to make it softer for sandwiches, I added some olive oil. When my daughter told me the bread didn’t hold up very well — that it began breaking down by lunch time — I began researching. First I added honey, then I added milk, then I took away the honey, and finally I swapped in melted butter for the olive oil.

The loaves made with a mix of water and milk, butter and no olive oil, and no sweetener at all tasted the most like the sandwich bread I was after: soft but sturdy and well seasoned but not sweet.

Depending on your timeline, you can use more or less yeast — I’ve been in the habit of using 1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) and employing a long, slow overnight rise, but if you need to speed up your timeline, there are notes in the recipe on how to do so.

As always, I am here if you have any questions. Hope you love it 🍞🍞

How to Make Soft-Sandwich Bread, Step by Step

First gather your ingredients: bread flour, salt, instant yeast, water, milk, and butter. (See notes in the recipe for using other flours.)

The ingredients to make sandwich bread on a counter top.

Ideally, you will measure everything with a scale. I love my dual-platform Ooni scale for its precision, especially when measuring smaller quantities of salt and yeast.  

A digital scale.

Place the flour, salt, and yeast in a bowl:

Flour, salt, and yeast in a large glass bowl.

Whisk until combined:

Flour, salt and yeast whisked together in a large bowl.

Add the water, milk, and melted butter:

Butter and milk added to the dry ingredients to make sandwich bread in a large glass bowl.

Stir with a spatula until you have a shaggy, sticky dough ball — this is an 80% hydration dough and the dough will feel sticky upon mixing… this is right!

Just mixed sandwich bread dough in a large bowl.

Cover the bowl and let rest for at least 30 minutes or as long as an hour; then use a wet hand to stretch and fold the dough into a cohesive mass. Here’s a quick video:

After the stretches and folds, the dough will transform from being sticky and shaggy to smooth and cohesive:

A ball of sandwich bread in a large glass bowl.

Drizzle lightly with olive oil, cover the bowl, and let rise …

An oiled ball of soft sandwich bread in a large glass bowl.

… until the dough doubles in volume:

Sandwich bread dough risen in a large bowl.

Deflate it:

Sandwich bread dough risen and slightly deflated.

Then turn the dough out onto a floured work surface:

Sandwich bread dough turned out onto a floured work surface.

Pat the dough into a rectangle roughly 8 inches wide — the length isn’t as important, but keeping the width to 8 inches will allow the coiled dough to fit into its loaf pan.

Stretched out sandwich bread dough on a floured work surface, ready to be coiled up.

Coil up the dough:

Coiled sandwich bread dough on a floured work surface.

Here’s some video guidance:

Transfer the coil to a greased loaf pan:

Sandwich bread dough in a loaf pan ready to rise.

Let the dough rise until it crowns the rim of the pan:

A loaf pan filled with sandwich bread dough rising and ready for the oven.

Then bake at 375ºF for 45 minutes:

A freshly baked loaf of soft sandwich bread still in its loaf pan on a cooling rack.

Turn out onto a cooling rack and let cool completely before slicing:

A freshly baked loaf of soft sandwich bread on a cooling rack.
A loaf of soft sandwich bread, sliced on a cutting board.
A loaf of soft sandwich bread, sliced on a cutting board.
A loaf of soft sandwich bread, sliced on a cutting board.

Such a treat to have on hand:

A slice of soft sandwich bread.
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A slice of soft sandwich bread.

Simple Soft Sandwich Bread (6-Ingredients, No-Knead)

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Description

Made with only 6 ingredients, this simple, no-knead soft sandwich bread is such a treat to have on hand for sandwiches of all kinds. No mixer is required — if you can whisk and stir, you can make this bread.

Notes:

  • As always, for best results use a scale to measure. I love this Ooni scale for its precision, especially when measuring smaller quantities of salt and yeast.  
  • Pan: A 9×5-inch loaf pan is ideal for this recipe. I love this USA pan.
  • Salt: The rule of thumb with bread is that the weight of the salt should be 2 to 3% the weight of the flour. For this recipe that is 10 to 15 grams. I always use 15 grams of salt, and I do not find the bread to be too salty, but, as you know, I have a high salt tolerance. Use an amount appropriate to your tastes and preferences. Finally, I always use Diamond Crystal kosher salt, but you can use fine sea salt or whatever salt you like. 
  • Flour: I conducted most of my experiments with King Arthur Bread Flour. I also have made many loaves using 100% Petra 0102 as well as 100% Cairnspring Mills Glacier Peak bread flour. 
  • Yeast: SAF instant yeast is my preference. If you are using active dry yeast, sprinkle it over the water and let it bloom for 15 minutes before proceeding. 

Timing:

  • You can make this bread employing a long slow rise if you use 2 grams (1/2 teaspoon) of instant yeast or you can make it quickly if you use 8 grams (2 teaspoons). 
  • If you use 2 grams, the first rise will take 8 to 10 hours — this is what I usually do. I like to mix the dough at night, let it rise until I’m ready to tend to it in the morning; then proceed. The second rise will take 2 to 3 hours: wait until the dough crowns the rim of the pan before proceeding. 
  • If you use 8 grams, the first rise will take 2 to 3 hours and the second rise will take 1 to 2 hours. 

Ingredients

Please read all notes above before proceeding:

  • 500 grams (about 4 cups) bread flour, plus more for dusting
  • 2 to 8 grams (1/2 teaspoon to 2 teaspoons) instant yeast
  • 10 to 15 grams salt
  • 200 grams (about 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon) cold or room temperature water
  • 200 grams (about 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon) milk, 2% or whole
  • 57 grams (4 tablespoons) melted butter, salted or unsalted
  • softened butter or olive oil for greasing

Instructions

  1. Mix the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and yeast. Add the water, milk, and melted butter. Using a spatula, stir until you have a sticky, shaggy dough ball — this is an 80% hydration dough, and the dough will feel sticky upon mixing… this is right! Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes or as long as an hour.
  2. Stretch and fold: Fill a small bowl with water. Using a wet hand, stretch and fold the dough by grabbing an edge and pulling it up and towards the center. Repeat this stretching and folding process, moving your hand around the edge of the dough with every set of stretches and folds. As you stretch and fold, you should feel the dough transform from being sticky and shaggy to smooth and cohesive. (Note: you also will likely feel little bits of the butter solidifying — this is OK.) See the video above for guidance.
  3. Let it rise: Drizzle the dough lightly with olive oil and rub to coat. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise at room temperature until it has doubled in volume: depending on how much yeast you are using, this could take as long as 10 hours (if using 2 grams of yeast) or 2 to 3 hours (if using 8 grams of yeast).
  4. Prepare a loaf pan: grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with softened butter or brush with olive oil — if you are at all worried about your dough sticking to your pan, grease it with butter. If you are using a USA pan or nonstick pan, you can get away with using olive oil alone. Brush the pan with 2 teaspoons of olive oil. For ease, I have been using olive oil alone, and it works beautifully. 
  5. Coil up your dough: Deflate the dough using your hand or a flexible bench scraper, then turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Pat it into a rectangle roughly 8 by 16 inches (Note: the length isn’t as important as the width: don’t go much wider than 8 inches or you will have to squish it into your loaf pan). Starting at the small end, roll the dough into a tight coil. Transfer it to your prepared pan. Pour 1 teaspoon of olive oil over the surface and rub to coat.
  6. Final rise: Let the dough rise until it crowns the rim of your pan: this can take as long as 3 hours (if using 2 grams of yeast) or 1 hour (if using 8 grams). When your dough begins approaching the rim, preheat your oven to 375ºF.
  7. Bake it: Bake for 45 minutes.
  8. Turn out onto a cooling rack and let cool completely (if you have the patience) before slicing — it is much easier to slice the bread into thin, uniform slices when the bread has cooled completely.
  9. Store the bread in an airtight bag or vessel at room temperature for 3 to 4 days or freeze for up to 6 months.
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Category: Bread
  • Method: no-knead
  • Cuisine: American