Soft and Fluffy Sandwich Bread — 🥪❤️🙌 This sandwich bread is soft, fluffy, and light. It’s made with a secret ingredient that keeps it moist and fluffy — oatmeal! It’s the perfect bread for a PB&J or grilled cheese sandwich!
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Easy Sandwich Bread Recipe
The best sandwich bread recipe you’ll ever make, this bread is soft, fluffy, and light and will make you feel like a professional baker. It’s made with a secret ingredient that keeps it moist and fluffy: a cup of oatmeal is kneaded into the dough, which also lends a bit of chewiness and texture. When you bite into the finished bread, you definitely don’t think, oh there’s oatmeal in here. It’s a stealth operator ingredient.
It’s the homemade, healthier, vegan version of store-bought bread like Wonder bread. I’ve never been a crusty baguette person. Give me soft and tender over jaw-ripping crustiness any day.
It’s so soft and fluffy, with a slight chewiness, thanks to the oatmeal. You’d never know oatmeal was the secret ingredient and even when mixing the dough, you’ll think there’s no way this whole cup of sloppy oatmeal is going to just disappear, but it magically does.
Far better than your average white sandwich bread, it makes French toast or grilled cheese, and it’s wonderful toasted with melted butter, jam, or honey. I made BLT’s minus the bacon and used cheese, and they were met with rave reviews, too.
Up next, is using it for a homemade peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
What’s in Homemade Sandwich Bread?
To make this soft and fluffy bread recipe, you’ll need:
- Water
- Old-fashioned oats
- All-purpose flour
- Canola oil
- Light brown sugar
- Instant dry yeast – I use Red Star Platinum Yeast. Make sure to use fresh yeast or your bread won’t rise properly
- Salt
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Sandwich Bread
If you’ve been too intimidated to try your hand at making homemade bread, this simple sandwich bread recipe is the perfect place to start. It comes together with just a few simple steps!
- Pour boiling water over the oatmeal, and let it cool to about 130 degrees or to the recommended warm water temperature for your yeast.
- Combine the ingredients, and knead with a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or your hands until a shaggy dough forms. Transfer the dough to a large, greased bowl, cover it with plastic wrap or a towel, and let the dough rise until it doubles in size. Note that the rise times will change slightly depending on the warmth of your environment.
- After the first rise, punch the dough down, transfer it to a lightly floured surface or Silpat mat, and knead. Then, shape it into a rectangle, and use your hands or a wooden spoon to fold in the short sides to create a tight cylinder.
- Transfer the dough to a greased loaf pan, cover it with plastic wrap, and allow it to rise again.
- Bake until the bread is domed, puffy, and golden brown. Then, let it cool for 5-10 minutes in the pan before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely. It’s vital to let your finished loaf of bread cool completely before slicing, or you’ll flatten it as you cut through the crust.
Achieving fluffy sandwich bread
The dough is fairly moist and sticky, but resist the temptation to add additional flour, unless it’s so moist that it won’t combine. Conversely, if it’s too dry, add up to one-quarter cup of water. Erring on the side of too moist is always preferable to dry in bread doughs.
Storage
Store cooled bread at room temperature for about 5 days. To keep it fresh, I recommend wrapping it in plastic wrap and placing it inside a gallon-sized Ziploc bag.
Freeze leftovers for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge or at room temperature to serve.
Recipe FAQs
I don’t know. I don’t have one and have never tried it, but I’d love to know how it goes if you try it out!
I used all-purpose flour because I wanted really soft bread. Bread flour will produce a loaf that’s chewier. I don’t know how whole wheat flour would work. If you try it, I suggest not using more than 1 cup (50% of the total amount). I fear it won’t rise well and could get very heavy and dense.
I haven’t tried this soft sandwich bread recipe with gluten-free flour. So, I cannot comment or make recommendations. I’ve never baked homemade yeast bread with gluten-free flour. So, it’s out of my wheelhouse entirely. I’d use your favorite blend and hope for the best!
I have only made this recipe using the yeast mentioned and haven’t tried it with other forms of yeast. So, I can’t speak to your results if you use active dry yeast that’s not labeled as instant. I use Red Star platinum instant yeast with great results.
If you want to flavor your sandwich bread, sprinkle it with cinnamon, nutmeg, or ground ginger when rolling the dough. Or, go for savory options like dill, chives, or thyme.
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Soft and Fluffy Sandwich Bread
Equipment
- 1 Small Bowl
- 1 Stand Mixer Fitted with a Dough Hook
- 1 (8×4 inch) Loaf Pan
- 1 Wire Rack
Ingredients
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 cup old-fashioned whole rolled oats, not quick cook or instant
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, bread flour may be used and will create a heartier, chewier bread
- ¼ cup water, from the tap, not hot and not cold
- 2 to 3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
- 2 ¼ teaspoons instant dry yeast (one 1/4-ounce packet, I use Red Star Platinum
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
Instructions
- In a small bowl, pour boiling water over oatmeal, stir to combine. Set aside and let cool until temperature reaches about 130F, about 15 minutes. (I use Red Star Platinum Yeast which necessitates this temperature; allow mixture to cool to the ~100F range for other types of instant dry yeast, or to package directions).
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook (or a large mixing bowl and knead by hand for about 10 minutes), combine flour, 1/4 cup water, oil, brown sugar, instant dry yeast, and cooled oatmeal.
- Knead for 5 to 7 minutes on low speed, or until a moist, shaggy dough forms. The dough is fairly moist and sticky, but resist the temptation to add additional flour, unless it’s so moist that it won’t combine. Conversely, if it’s too dry, add up to one-quarter cup water. Erring on the side of too moist is always preferable to dry in bread-making.
- After kneading, turn the dough out into a large, greased bowl, cover with plasticwrap, and let it rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 90 minutes, or until doubled in size. Create a warm environment by preheating your oven for 1 to 2 minutes to 400F, then shutting it off. This creates a 90F-ish warm spot. Slide the bowl in and wait while the yeast works. Just make sure your oven is off.
- After the dough has doubled, punch it down, turn it out onto a floured surface or Silpat and knead it for about 3 minutes. With your fingers, shape it into a 10-inch by 6-inch rectangle, just eyeball it. The long side should be slightly longer than the baking pan. Then, fold the short sides in so that dough is about 8 inches in length. Roll to form a tight cylinder. There’s not much to roll, about 3 turns. Optionally, when rolling, sprinkle with cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger. Or go savory with dill, chives, or thyme.
- Spray an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan with floured cooking spray (or grease and flour the pan) and place the cylinder in the pan, seam side down. Cover with plasticwrap, and allow dough to rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled, about 60 to 75 minutes.
- In the last minutes of rising, preheat oven to 350F. Bake for about 30 minutes or until domed, golden, and puffy. When tapped, it should sound hollow. The internal temperature should reach 210F. Let bread cool in pan for 5 to 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- I store bread by wrapping a fully cooled loaf in plasticwrap, and place it inside a gallon-size Ziplock, where it stays fresh for about 5 days.
- Bread freezes very well and can be made from start to finish, cooled, and placed in a freezer-safe airtight container or a ziplock for up to 3 months.
- I like this bread toasted and with butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon-sugar or Cinnamon-Sugar Butter. It makes great Grilled Cheese, French Toast, and Homemade Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Originally published April 9, 2013 and republished May 16, 2020 with updated text.
This bread looks so great! I was so excited that it was vegan because my son is allergic to so many foods. But Alas he is allergic to oats too! I will try it one day for myself and hubby. Thanks so much for sharing!
the best all around bread i make. its fluffy and flavorful. i add molases and honey and gonna add some seeds too next time i make it. Tonight!
I have had the hardest time choosing a bread recipe, and I finally settled on this one. I was so happy with the results that I won’t be searching for new recipes anytime soon! I did use 1 tsp. salt, instead of a pinch, but otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly. The second time I made it I realized that if I used my bench scraper I could manage with more stickiness while kneading by hand. Thank you so much for the recipe- my family loves it!
I made this loaf today and finally, my search for the perfect white loaf is over. I’ve been looking for a soft and fluffy loaf without milk or butter. I can’t believe it has oats in them. BTW, I used quick cook oats. Thank you for formulating and sharing this recipe ;-)
I am so glad to hear you loved this bread. Me TOO!! It’s so hard to find a soft AND fluffy loaf, that’s vegan. I know the part with the oats is unreal because you just can’t believe it while you’re making it that it’ll work, but it just magically does! And good to know quick oats work. Thanks for sharing your experience with it!
Hello Averie! I made this bread today and it was delicious! It didn’t look as good as urs, especially because the top was flat rather than round and the top surface had small “craters” that formed after the second rise. Still, it was really good and soft! And I love the fact that it yelds only one small loaf which is perfect for our little family. Thanks for the recipe! :)
Craters..hmm, sounds like a reaction between the yeast and something. Some times I’ve had that happen and I never know what to make of it. More with quick breads than yeast breads; normally I attribute it to a reaction with baking powder and something. Baking, science…always a bit of an experiment! So happy you enjoyed this one small loaf!
Averie, I’m embarrassed I keep on asking you questions but I’m about to make this bread and I just realized that I only have the quick 1 -minute oats. Is that a problem for the dough?
Although I haven’t tested it, I’m sure it will be fine in a pinch. You may need to add slightly more/less – not sure – but overall, I’m sure it will be fine.
Thanks for the advice,Averie! I will definitely let you know how it comes out when I try it.
Please do!
This bread sounds perfect! And with your easy to follow directions,it would actually be a sin not to try it! Just a question, can this be made ad an overnight bread?( like do the prep work at night and bake it in the morning?)
Although I haven’t tried it that way, I think you could let the dough rise the first time, punch it down, shape it and put it in the loaf pan, then cover that with plastic and refrigerate it overnight. Put on counter in morning and let rise about an hour or so, then bake as directed. I think you’d be safe – although haven’t tried personally. But with most bread doughs I can get away with that!
Thanks for the recipe!
I was just wondering…on the second rising where you mention preheating the oven in the last few minutes to 350, do you mean to take the dough out of the oven or leave it in during the preheat?
Yes, you take it out while it’s preheating if you were using the oven as your incubator for the 2nd rise. Once oven in hot, put loaf bake in and bake as directed. I’ve clarified the recipe in step 6 to reflect this. LMK how your bread turns out!
Really disappointing, one-dimensional, flat-tasting bread… albeit beautiful. Needs salt badly! Hubby and I shared the first piece and will be throwing the rest in the trash. Bummer.
Christine I’m sorry you found the bread one-dimensional but inherent in ‘sandwich bread’ is a bread that’s a good old-fashioned all-purpose bread, a blank canvas if you will, on which to put everything from coldcuts to PB&J to butter and honey. It’s not flashy and loaded with all kinds of seeds and nuts.
The recipe calls for salt, to taste. You should have added it, to taste.
When you embarked on making it, did you really read the ingredients list? – Water, oatmeal, white flour. There’s nothing about those things that screams multi-dimensional flavor.
You could always make an overnight bake or French toast with it. Something along these lines https://www.averiecooks.com/hawaiian-bread-and-maple-banana-baked-french-toast/
Pls tell me the quantity of fresh yeast
I use instant yeast in a packet, not fresh yeast. I use a standard one-quarter ounce packet, 2 1/4 teaspoons.
I love the recipes for the breads you featured! But since I am trying to eat with no oil, I will try substituting the oil with whatever I have on hand (applesauce/ pureed banana/pureed avocado/ maybe even pureed olives?) I will definitely be experimenting!
Thank you also for making a recipe for ONE loaf!
Not sure how pureed fruit will work with the yeast and the flour/dough rather than using a tiny bit of oil, but if you try it, LMK how it works for you!
Just coming from the name of it, Soft and Fluffy Bread I’m sure that my kids would love this. The bread from the picture totally looks good, and I’m sure that it also taste good. This is a very wonderful bread not only delicious but also nutritious.