Sandwich bread recipe with step by step photos – a soft sandwich bread made from whole wheat flour or atta.
Sandwiches are often made at home. Though I do not add many sandwich recipes, but I do make them as a quick snack or brunch. So I often end up baking breads at home. Thus when I plan to make sandwiches, I bake the loaf a day or two before.
Most of the times I bake bread at home. But yes on rare occasions due to time constraints, I do buy whole wheat or multi-grain loaf from outside. On a side note, I will be adding some more variety of bread recipes as I do get a lot of requests for various types of bread recipes.
This whole wheat sandwich bread is similar to the Wheat bread i had posted earlier. With just using whole wheat flour and yeast, you can get a nicely soft textured sandwich bread. 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.
Tips for making sandwich bread
- Depending on the quality of flour, you can add less or more water.
- Instead of sugar, you can use jaggery. If you want, you can reduce the sugar to 2 to 3 teaspoons. Avoid adding honey as a sweetener, as honey becomes toxic when heated.
- You can also use dry active yeast or fresh yeast. Measurements are given in the ingredient list above. With both dry active yeast and fresh yeast the leavening time will increase for the first and second rise.
This recipe does not use vital wheat gluten or any other agent 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 this gives a soft & light crumb in the bread. The heaviness or denseness is not felt in the bread. Thus making it very good for sandwiches.
You can make plain, toast or grilled sandwiches with this whole wheat sandwich bread. Since no milk product is used in the bread, the bread can be easily freezed or stored for more than a week in the refrigerator.
The recipe yields one loaf, but you can even double the recipe and make two loafs. If you have a stand mixer, then you can use it to knead the dough.
I had made the dough in the evening. After the second rise, I kept the dough in the fridge and baked the bread in the morning. If you want you can also follow this method. Keeping the dough overnight in the fridge helps in better leavening. The method uses the sponge method and then the dough is kneaded. So there is some waiting time between leavening the sponge and then for the two rises.
I have also used instant yeast. You can even use fresh yeast or dry active yeast . Do note that will fresh yeast and dry active yeast, the rising time of the bread will increase. with this whole wheat sandwich bread you can make any sandwich or bread snacks recipes.
How to make sandwich bread
1. Add ½ teaspoon instant yeast & 1 tablespoon sugar in 1 cup warm water. Stir and mix very well. The water should be lukewarm and not even slightly hot or on the cooler side.
2. Then add 1.5 cups whole wheat flour.
3. Mix the flour in the water+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 to this sponge mixture. Mix again with a spoon.
7. Add 1.5 cups whole wheat flour.
8. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice. If you do not have lemon juice, you can use 1 tablespoon vinegar or butter milk 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. 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 is 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.
11. A pic below of the dough after 55 minutes.
12. Lightly knead the dough again.
Shaping 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. A below pic of the dough after 32 minutes. I did not bake after the second rise. I kept the dough in the fridge. i sealed the pan with an aluminium foil and then covered it with a kitchen cotton towel and kept the pan in the fridge.
16. 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 pic. So if you have time you can follow this method. But do cover the pan well, so that the dough does not dry out in the fridge.
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 them so that they stick on the dough loaf.
Baking sandwich bread
19. Bake the loaf in a preheated oven at 200 degrees celsius with the only bottom heating element on. The preheating time is 20 minutes. Keep the loaf in the center rack.
20. Bake sandwich bread for 30 to 40 mins 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 sandwich bread to bake.
21. After 5 to 6 minutes, gently remove the bread loaf from the pan.
22. 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 it is cooled, you can keep it in a bread box or in an airtight container. If living in a warm and humid climate, then I suggest to refrigerate or freeze the loaf.
23. Slice the sandwich bread and you can make sandwiches. or use it for your regular toasts with butter or jam or any spread or dip. I made guacamole sandwiches with the whole wheat sandwich loaf.
More bread recipes for you!
Sandwich Bread
Ingredients
for sponge
- 1 cup warm water, 250 ml or add as required
- ½ teaspoon instant yeast or ¾ teaspoon dry active yeast or ½ tablespoon fresh yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1.5 cups whole wheat flour , 180 grams
to be added later
- 1.5 cups whole wheat flour , 180 grams
- 2 tablespoons oil - i added sunflower oil
- 1 teaspoon salt or add as required
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, can also add vinegar or buttermilk or curd
Instructions
preparing sponge
- Add ½ teaspoon instant yeast & & 1 tablespoon sugar in 1 cup warm water. Stir and mix very well.
- Then add 1.5 cups whole wheat flour.
- Mix the flour in the water+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 curd. 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 soft 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 is 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.
- Lightly knead the dough again.
- 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.
- Make a diagonal slit on the dough.
- Sprinkle some sesame seeds and gently press them so that they stick on the dough loaf.
baking sandwich bread
- Bake the loaf in a preheated oven at 200 degrees celsius with only bottom heating element on. The preheating time is 20 minutes. 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. In my oven it took 38 minutes for the bread to bake.
- After 5 to 6 minutes, gently remove the bread loaf from the pan.
- 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. I made guacamole sandwiches with the whole wheat sandwich loaf.
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 [email protected]
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.