Sandwich Bread (Classic and Homemade)
If you are a Sandwich lover, just like I am, then you should know about the different varieties of breads that can be used to make them. One of the most common choices apart from the regular white bread is actually the Sandwich Bread, which is a particular choice for the same. On this post, I have shared a recipe for the same, which if followed well, can help you bake a nice whole meal sandwich bread at home that can be used to make all your lovely sandwiches and otherwise too. The recipe has minimal ingredients and is vegan too.
About Sandwich Bread
This recipe is my tried and tested way of baking a good soft Sandwich Bread at home, that too, with whole wheat flour (or atta). I often make sandwiches at home.
The recipe does require precision and some efforts, but if followed to the T, it results in the perfect bread.
Though I may not add as much sandwich recipes here, but I do make them as a quick snack or for brunch.
And since I totally support homemade products, I also end up baking my own breads at home. When I plan to make sandwiches, I bake the loaf a day or two before.
Most of the times I bake breads at home. But yes, on rare occasions, due to time constraints, I do buy whole wheat or multi-grain loaves from the market too.
On a side note, in addition to this recipe of Sandwich Bread, I have also added some more bread recipes on my blog that you must try.
This Sandwich Bread is similar to this recipe of Whole Wheat Bread on my blog. With just using wholemeal flour and yeast, you can get a nice soft-textured and wholesome Sandwich Bread too.
I do not use vital wheat gluten as I am not comfortable adding it to breads. I might as well use some all-purpose flour instead, if required.
Sandwich Bread Essentials
This Sandwich Bread recipe does not use vital wheat gluten or any other ingredient to help make the bread soft. You just need to knead the dough well.
A tiny amount of lemon juice added in the dough helps in the gluten development and gives a soft, light crumb in the bread. Without any signs of heaviness or denseness. Thus, making it perfect for sandwiches.
When I made the Sandwich Bread dough at home, I prepared it in the evening. After the second rise, I refrigerated the dough and baked it in the morning. If you want, you can also follow this method.
Refrigerating the Sandwich Bread dough overnight helps in better leavening. This method uses the sponge method, after which the dough is kneaded. So, there is some waiting time between leavening of the sponge and then for the 2 rises.
I have also used instant yeast in this recipe of Sandwich Bread. You can even use fresh yeast or dry active yeast. Remember that with fresh yeast and dry active yeast, the rising time of the bread will increase.
You can make plain, toast or grilled sandwiches or other bread snacks with this wholesome Sandwich Bread. Since no milk product is used in the bread, the bread can be easily frozen or stored for more than a week in the refrigerator.
This Sandwich Bread recipe yields one loaf. But you can even double the recipe and make 2 loaves. If you have a stand mixer, then you can use it to knead the dough.
How to make Sandwich Bread
Make Sponge Mixture
1. Add ½ teaspoon instant yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in 1 cup warm water. Stir and mix well. The water should be lukewarm and not even slightly hot or on the cooler side.
2. Next, add 1.5 cups whole wheat flour.
3. Mix the flour in the yeast solution very well. Cover and let this mixture sit for 45 minutes to an hour.
4. Here is the sponge mixture after 50 minutes.
5. When you stir the mixture, you will see that it has leavened very well. With small tiny air pockets in it.
6. Now, add 2 tablespoons oil and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix again with a spoon.
Make Dough
7. Add 1.5 cups whole wheat flour again.
8. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice. If you do not have lemon juice, you can use 1 tablespoon vinegar, buttermilk or yogurt or curd.
If using vinegar, then use regular white vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
9. Begin to mix and then knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes. You can also use a stand mixer for kneading the dough.
10. Knead to a smooth, soft dough. Flatten and keep the dough in the same bowl or in another bowl. Cover with a lid and keep for 45 minutes to 1 hour for the first rise.
The dough is slightly sticky. If the dough feels too sticky, you can add some more flour and knead.
I have not added any water later. In case the dough looks dry and stiff, you can add some water.
11. The picture below is of the dough after 55 minutes. The dough will leaven resulting in an increase in the volume.
12. Lightly knead the dough again.
Shape Sandwich Bread
13. Make into a log shape.
14. Place the log shaped dough in a well-greased loaf pan ( 8 x 4 x 2.5 inches). Allow for the second rise for 30 to 45 minutes.
15. The picture below is that of the dough after 32 minutes. I did not bake after the second rise, and kept the dough in the refrigerator.
I sealed the pan with an aluminium foil, covered it with a kitchen cotton towel and then kept the pan in the refrigerator.
16. This the dough next day. You can see the difference in the way the loaf has risen and has covered the whole area of the pan as compared to the above picture.
So, if you have time, you can follow this method. Do cover the pan well, so that the dough does not dry out in the refrigerator.
17. Now, make a diagonal slit on the dough, not more than ¼ inch deep. This will give the dough more room for expansion while baking.
18. Sprinkle some sesame seeds and gently press so that they stick on the dough loaf.
Bake Sandwich Bread
19. Bake the loaf in a preheated oven at 200° C/390° F with the only bottom heating element on.
The preheating time is 20 minutes at the same temperature of 200° C/390° F.
Place the loaf pan in the center rack.
20. Bake Sandwich Bread for 30 to 40 minutes or till the tops and sides are golden.
Also, on tapping the bread, it should sound hollow. In my oven, it took 38 minutes for the bread to bake.
21. After 5 to 6 minutes, gently remove the bread loaf from the pan using oven mittens or oven gloves.
22. Keep the Sandwich Bread loaf on a wired rack to cool down to room temperature. If not using the bread immediately, then once it is cooled, you can keep it in a bread box or in an airtight container.
In case living in a warm and humid climate, then I suggest to refrigerate or freeze the loaf.
23. Slice the Sandwich Bread and use it to make sandwiches, regular toasts with butter, jam, any spread or dip. I made guacamole sandwiches with it.
Sandwich Bread vs Regular Bread
Although, if you refer to my recipes for both the Sandwich Bread and the regular White Bread, you might find similarities in the ingredient list for both.
Also, the final products may resemble each other in shape and size too. But technically, there are some differences between the two, which make each unique.
So, what exactly are the factors that make them different? To begin with, as the name goes, a Sandwich Bread is actually baked keeping in mind the ease with which it can be used to just make sandwiches. Though at home, you may use it for other purposes too.
Mostly this bread also has a even texture throughout, unlike some artisan breads which have an uneven crumb and texture with holes. There is a soft texture throughout in this bread as compared to some other breads which have a chewy texture.
A traditional Sandwich Bread should have thinner slices as compared to that of the regular bread. Thinner slices means that you can prepare your favorite sandwich that has a better proportion of bread to ingredients that get stuffed between the slices. This way, you get the best of both the things – bread slices and the filling.
Another obvious differentiator between a Sandwich Bread and regular bread is that the former usually has slices cut into a more squarish form. Whereas, a basic white bread loaf can have rounded or dome-shaped edges on the top or flat square edges, both.
The square slices of a Sandwich Bread helps in giving a uniform shape to an assembled sandwich. Thus, making it look even.
This also adds to the ease of consuming a sandwich on the whole. However, if you are making the Sandwich Bread loaf at home, you can even keep the edges otherwise, as I have done in my recipe.
Expert Tips
- Flour: Easily swap the wholemeal flour with all-purpose flour or bread flour. Depending on the quality of flour, you can add less or more water. The dough has to be supple, pliable, elastic like and slightly sticky. If the dough is too sticky, add some more flour and knead.
- Sweeteners: Instead of sugar, you can use palm sugar, raw sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar and jaggery. If you want, you can reduce the sugar to 2 to 3 teaspoons. Avoid adding honey as a sweetener, as it becomes toxic when heated.
- Acidic Ingredients: In case you don’t have lemon juice, use 1 tablespoon vinegar, buttermilk or curd (yogurt). You can either use apple cider vinegar or white vinegar.
- Yeast: You can also use dry active yeast or fresh yeast. With both dry active yeast and fresh yeast, the leavening time will increase for the first and second rise.
- Storage: Once the bread cools, store in an airtight container or box, if not using immediately. You can refrigerate or freeze the bread loaf if living in warm, hot and humid weather conditions.
Step by Step Photo Guide Above
Ingredients
For sponge
- 1 cup warm water or add as required
- ½ teaspoon instant yeast or ¾ teaspoon dry active yeast or ½ tablespoon fresh yeast
- 1 tablespoon raw sugar or regular sugar, add your preferred sweetener
- 1.5 cups whole wheat flour – 180 grams
To be added later
- 1.5 cups whole wheat flour – 180 grams
- 2 tablespoons oil – any neutral flavored oil or olive oil, I added sunflower oil
- 1 teaspoon salt or add as required
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice can also add vinegar or buttermilk or yogurt (curd)
Instructions
Preparing sponge
- Add ½ teaspoon instant yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in 1 cup warm water. Stir and mix very well.
- Next add in 1.5 cups of the whole wheat flour.
- Mix the flour in the water and yeast solution very well. Cover and let this mixture sit for 45 minutes to an hour.
- When you stir the mixture, you will see that it has leavened very well, with small tiny air pockets in it.
Preparing dough
- Now add 2 tablespoons oil and 1 teaspoon salt to this sponge mixture. Mix again with a spoon.
- Add 1.5 cups whole wheat flour.
- Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice. If you do not have lemon juice, you can use 1 tablespoon vinegar or butter milk or yogurt. If using vinegar, then use regular white vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
- Begin to mix and then knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes. You can also use a stand mixer for kneading the dough.
- Knead to a smooth, supple, soft, elastic like dough. Now flatten and keep the dough in the same bowl or in another bowl.
- Cover with a lid and keep for the first rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The dough will be slightly sticky. If the dough feels too sticky, then you can add some more flour and knead. I have not added any water later. In case the dough looks dry and stiff, then you can add some water.
- After the first rise, the dough will increase in volume. Lightly knead the dough again after the first rise.
- Make into a log shape.
- Place the log shaped dough in a well greased loaf pan. Allow for the second rise for 30 to 45 minutes.
- After the second rise, make a diagonal slit on the dough.
- Sprinkle some sesame seeds and gently press them so that they stick on the dough loaf. This part is optional.
Baking sandwich bread
- Bake the loaf in a preheated oven at 200° C/390° F with only the bottom heating element on. The preheating time is 20 minutes at the same temperature. Keep the loaf in center rack.
- Bake the bread for 30 to 40 minutes or till the tops and sides are golden. Also on tapping the bread, it should sound hollow.
- After 5 to 6 minutes, gently remove the bread loaf from the pan with oven mittens or oven gloves.
- Keep the sandwich loaf on a wired rack for it to cool down at room temperature. If not using the sandwich bread immediately, then once its cooled, you can keep it in a bread box or in an air tight container. If living in warm and humid climate, then I suggest to refrigerated or freeze the loaf.
- Slice the bread and you can make sandwiches. Or use it for your regular toasts with butter or jam or any spread or dip.
Notes
- Feel free to swap in all-purpose flour or bread flour with the whole wheat flour. Add water as needed to make a soft, supple and elastic like dough.
- If you have used dry active yeast or fresh yeast, the dough will take more time each for the first rise and the second rise.
- The recipe can be scaled up to make more sandwich bread loaves. Use a stand mixer to knead the dough if doubling the quantity.
Nutrition
This Sandwich Bread from the archives, originally published in November 2016 has been updated and republished on February 2023.
Is there a substitute for yeast while making bread? If yes, what and how much?
there is no substitute. soda breads are there but the texture is very different.
Hi Dassana,
I am planning to bake a bread for the first time and what better recipe to follow than yours. Frankly, I am very scared but anyway could you tell for a beginner like me which recipe should I try first 100% whole wheat or whole wheat sandwich. What is the difference between the two. Thanks for helping me out every time.
thanks garima. try whole wheat sandwich as in this method sponge technique is used, which gives very good texture and also the chance of anything going wrong is very less or minimal. the recipe shared is made with instant yeast. if you use fresh yeast or dry active yeast, then the timing for first rise and second rise will double or triple and this depends on the temperature conditions. also if using instant yeast, then do make sure that it is instant yeast. some brands in india label dry active yeast as instant yeast as this causes a lot of confusion. a way to distinguish between both is that instant yeast has granules similar to the size of poppy seeds (khus khus) and dry active yeast has granules which are slightly bigger and resemble yellow mustard seeds.
Thanks a ton Dassana. Anyplace I can get instant yeast online (if you know)?
garima, check on amazon.in. you should get some other brand there. check the reviews before buying.
my bread doesn’t become spongy from inside. it becomes bati like in texture from centre and hard on top
thats due to the bread dough not getting leavened and the cause here is the yeast not getting proofed well or poor quality of yeast. dissolve yeast in lukewarm water+sugar solution for 10 to 15 minutes. the solution should become frothy and bubbly. if not then discard this solution and make again.
Hi My oven doesn’t have a setting where i can select only the bottom heating element. Should i cover the top of the bread with butter paper from the starting and let it bake as usual with both the heating elements? Thanks
yes you can do this way. after baking the top will not be that browned. so during the last part of baking, for some more browning, you can remove the butter paper and bake till the top gets browned.
hello mam …
one question from where do I these kind of loaf tins and please guide me about dimensions of loaf tins also
rashmi, you can search on amazon.in. try to buy a metal one. they come in different dimensions depending upon the type of load you want to make small, medium or large. the one which i have give a regular medium sized loaf. i don’t know the dimension.
Hi Dassana,
I love all your north indian gravy recipes. Every dish I have made is a success. I’m very new to baking & would like to try this recipe. If I want to half the recipe, do I still bake for around 40 mins? Or will the baking time reduce?
thanks anuradha. if you halve the recipe, then the baking time will reduce. so it can be around 20 to 30 minutes.
Thanks a lot. I’ll try this & let you know how it turns out.
Welcome Anuradha. Yes do share your feedback.
Hi Dassana,
I am a big fan of your blog. I always look up at your website for any recipe. Your recipes are a big hit at my home. I tried whole wheat sandwich bread but it didn’t come out soft. It was dense and outer crust was hard.Until the second rise, it was good. When I kept it in the fridge, loaf didn’t rise in the fridge. Also, my mixture was not as spongy as yours. It was bit dry.Could you please let me know the reason for dense bread. Appreciate your help if you can give me any tips for next time. Thanks
thanks somya for the positive words. bread coming out dense is most of the times due to the yeast not getting activated or the yeast solution not proofing well. the yeast solution not proofing well is due to the quality of yeast. some indian brands of yeast do not give a bubbly and frothy solution. as a result the bread dough does rise, but does not rise well. the sponginess is also because of the same reason. since the dough was not leavened well, the outer dough also has become hard. another point is add water as required. even as slightly sticky dough is fine. kneading is also important. the dough has to be kneaded very well. try with a good quality of yeast like gloripan/mauripan or red star or any good brand.
Hello Dassana! I like that this recipe uses minimum ingredients and it looks amazing. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I have a question:
— I buy Sujata multi grain atta to make rotis. Can I use that to make this bread?
neeta, with multi grain atta, the texture becomes dense. for multigrain atta, the proportion of whole wheat flour should be more as compared to other flours to reduce the denseness. then you can use the multigrain atta. whole wheat flour has gluten which is responsible for the texture in bread. gluten is not present in other millet and lentil flours. thats why the multi grain bread becomes dense. some maida or more wheat flour or gluten powder needs to be added in the dough.
Hi Dassana I am a big admirer of your blog since two years. I am very fond of your healthy baking receipes.Iam very new to baking and your blog inspired me to learn baking. As a beginner I would like to know which type of oven would you suggest me to buy. I live in Riyadh I tried all your Ramadan receipes.
thank you asifa. glad to read that the blog inspired you to learn baking. you can also invest in a few baking books which can further help you in baking. i use bajaj OTG 35 litres oven. i am not sure if it will be available in riyadh. so far it has been a good investment for baking and i use it very often.
Thank you Dassana for your suggestions will check for OTG
welcome asifa and happy baking.
hi Dassana!sugar is mentioned in the ingredients list but not whilst preparing sponge.there seems to typo error.if u can plz check on it.
oh yes. i will add in the post. thanks for letting me know meveera.
hi Dassana! does the sugar need to be dissolved in yeast solution?
yes meveera. when you stir the yeast in water+sugar solution, then during stirring the sugar will also dissolve.
Hi, do we have to bring the dough to room temperature before baking?
yes dee, the dough has to be at room temperature before baking.
Hi I have recently brought an Richard and MURPHY OTG totally new to baking.how do u keep only the bottom rod on .
it depends on the recipe. usually i keep both the rods on. but in this recipe i had kept only the bottom rod on. even for pizzas i keep the bottom rod on at times. in the OTG i have, it is suggested to use only the bottom rod on for baking. but i do use keep both the rods on for cakes and even breads at times.
Hello. First of all thanks a ton for this amazing platform & most amazing simple to follow recipes.
I baked the bread. Left it overnight outside the refrigerator because the temperature in Delhi is quite low. Didn’t have loaf pan so kept it on the bake tray n baked.
It’s outer covering has come out hard & inside portion is soft but not spongy. Bottom is harder than upper bit. Placed it in the middle rack. Where could I have gone wrong? The
Also it’s upper layer had big crack. 🙁
welcome ridhi. since you have not used loaf pan, thats the reason the outer covering has become hard. the loaf pan gives structure to the loaf and hence the texture is even, if everything else has been followed correctly. in the third rise, did you shape the dough as a loaf. this shaping should be correctly done and should be tight, when placed in the pan. as here also the dough rises again. if the shaping is not done correctly, the texture of the bread does not come out well. in the absence of loaf pan, you can always make bread rolls or pav. just roll and shape them into rounds, place them with 1 to 2 inches apart from each other. cover and let them rise. then you can bake them.
Thanks for your response. I did shape it as a rectangle to the best possible capacity. Could this hardening be possible because of over baking? What is the reason of the crack on the upper layer?
hardening could be due to a few reasons. one of them is over baking. another reason would be the dough has not been kneaded very well. yet another reason could be that the dough is slight dry or does not have enough moisture in it. a fourth reason could be that the yeast has not proofed well which has in turn not leavened the dough very well. cracks can be due to dryness in the dough or due to over baking or due to temperature fluctuations in the oven – which means opening the oven door many times. so while baking anything including breads or cakes, do not open the door during atleast during the first half of the baking. the oven also has to be preheated for 15 to 20 minutes before you place the pan in it.
Thanks so much! Will take care of these next time. You are superb!
welcome ridhi 🙂
Hi I tried this recipe today, taste was good but the outer cover turned out to be a bit hard, can you tell me what would have gone wrong
the outer crust had got baked too much. since the timing varies from oven to oven, it could be that the time taken to bake is faster in your oven. so whenever baking, always check the time as per the oven you have. no two oven bakes at the same time. next time you can reduce the time for baking. also if the pan is kept close to the top heating element, the the outer crust will get hard. in this case, covering the pan with a foil helps the crust not to get overdone.
Thanks… Finally I made wit n it turned out well…how can I give you a picture
thanks tina. you can send me the pic at vegrecipesofindia@gmail.com
Hi Dasanna, great recipes. Appreciate the way you explain. Can we bake all your cake recipes in convection microwave? Pl. Let me know as I don’t have an oven.
thanks syama. you can easily bake all the cakes recipes i have added in convection mode of a microwave oven. just reduce the temp to 10 or 20 degrees less for cake and bread recipes, except the white bread, chocolate banana cakes, cheese biscuits, easter biscuits, pita bread, herb bread and veg pizza i have posted. since these recipes i had baked in then convection mode of microwave oven.
Can you please share the brand of instant yeast used by you? Do you buy it online?
linnet, i had purchased online some time back. but the website from where i had purchased has closed now. the brand is mauripan brand of instant yeast. gives very good results.
Hello Dassana,
Feel like i know you so well as have been trying most of your recipes for quite some time now. Baking your eggless cakes at home makes me so happy.
My heartfelt thanks to you for your efforts and hard work in making this blog a special place.
I tried this wholewheat bread recipe yesterday using instant yeast. Everything was fine till i kept the dough in the fridge overnight. Early morning the dough had not risen and seemed to have deflated a bit. Unable to understand the reason for the same. After the first rise you had mentioned to lightly knead the dough and make into a log. I think maybe the kneading was not correctly done and i would have applied more pressure. Is that the reason, Please help.
Thanks and Regards
Lathika
thanks much lathika. did you keep the dough in the fridge after the second rise? if its kept after the second rise, then it should not get deflated. also i hope you did not cover the top firmly and tightly. then the top will get pressed and thus deflate slightly. the foil has to be loosely sealed on the top. if the kneading is not done correctly, then also it affects the leavening. what i suggest is remove the dough from the pan. knead again. then shape into a log and keep it outside for some minutes till it rises. about 20 to 25 minutes. then bake in a preheated oven.
Can you please tell me which wheat flour you use? The reason I also is cause I once used the regular roti atta for muffins…though they turned out great couldn’t take the wheat smell n taste really… So i want to be sure and avoid using white flour.
tina, i use organic atta flour. i usually use 24 letter mantra chakki ground atta or organic india whole wheat flour. i make breads, cakes and muffin often with flours from these two brands. the organic india whole wheat flour also gives very soft chapatis and parathas. whatever products i buy from organic garden – all are good. even their besan and basmati rice is good.
Hi, can we use convection microwave for making this?
pavani, you can use the convection mode of microwave oven. then bake at 190 or 200 degrees celsius. also if the top starts browning fast, then cover the bread with aluminium foil and continue to bake.
I loved this recipe of making bread at home at it will be more hyegenic and yumy . i am going to try this myself.
thanks.
I just loved the way you explained the entire recipe…..specially the oven part …..please keep posting more bread and loaf making recipes…..i love baking bread …
thanks a lot archana for the lovely feedback. i will be adding more bread recipes.