This recipe will show you just how easy it is to make a loaf of sandwich bread at home! While a lot of sandwich bread recipes contain milk and butter, this one is completely dairy-free making it the perfect baking project for anyone when stuck indoors.
Making bread at home is something that I always wanted to do but thought it was too hard and I was sure it would just end up being a great baking fail. I don’t really know why I thought this, but it was enough for me to just decide that I wasn’t going to even give it a try.
I started to try and ease myself into it last year when I was making these greek pita breads, but that sadly is as far as I got.
Until now.
As we know, because it’s hard not to know right now, the supermarkets are under huge amounts of pressure to remain stocked amid the increased purchasing by consumers as the country heads towards an inevitable lock down. Bread has become impossible to buy much like toilet paper and rice.
I think it’s important to mention that while I had these ingredients in my pantry already, I totally appreciate that you might not. If you do, then excellent, this post is going to help you put them to good use. If not, then I know they might be difficult to get right now. But if you can, then I promise the search will be worth it.
I eat toast with vegemite for breakfast most days (I know, how very Australian of me) and the idea that I would not have fresh bread for my toast was enough of a push to get me to finally have a go at making bread, from scratch.
It was such a fun experience and one that I am excited to share because it really was so much easier than I had expected, plus homemade bread tastes so so so much better than anything store bought.
How to make homemade sandwich bread
You will need 7 ingredients to make this loaf of bread:
- Yeast
- Sugar
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Flour
- Milk
- Water
For me, I need this bread to be dairy-free so for the milk I use oat milk as that is what I always have on hand however any dairy-free milk such as soy or almond will work here to provide the softness that characterises this sandwich bread.
I also use bread flour as its higher gluten content gives a softer result however if this is unavailable to you, regular plain flour will work just fine.
Olive oil gives the bread added softness and richness that makes it delicious. I wouldn’t recommend anything different here as this is going to help with the flavour. As does the salt. It might seem like a lot but it is absolutely essential to making your bread taste amazing.
To start, grab the bowl of your stand mixer and add in the yeast and sugar along with the warmed milk and water. The liquid must be warm, but not hot, to activate with the yeast. Mix together and cover with a kitchen towel and let sit for 5 minutes until foamy.
Add in 1 cup of flour and then using your dough hook attachment on your standmixer, mix until combined. Add in the second cup and again mix until just combined. Add in the third and final cup of flour and continue to mix on medium speed until the dough starts to pull away from the sides.
If you have a solid standmixer such as a Kitchen Aid, you can continue to knead the dough in the mixer for a couple of minutes. Otherwise, if your mixer is struggling, you can turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand.
Shape into a ball and place back into the bowl that has been greased with olive oil. Turn the ball of dough to make sure it is covered in the oil to prevent drying out as it rises. Cover with a damp kitchen towel or plastic wrap and leave in a warm spot to rise until the dough has doubled in size (usually around an hour).
Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and knead it on a lightly floured surface for a couple of minutes until smooth. Shape into a log and place into a greased loaf pan. Cover again with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and again let rise for about an hour or until the dough is about an inch higher than the pan.
Place in a preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Let cool and slice and enjoy the best loaf of bread ever.
There is something really wholesome about making bread from scratch. I ate the end piece warm from the oven with a smear of dairy-free butter and it was such a moment of pleasure.
This bread takes time with the double rise, but there really isn’t much of it that’s hands on, making it the perfect project while stuck at home.
While making bread at home is not always the most convenient, if you have the time it can be super rewarding and I encourage you to give it a go.
Also, while the situation that has led us here is not ideal, the silver lining is that we all have more time to finally take on those activities that have previously felt too hard, or that we didn’t have enough time for. Collectively we all have the opportunity to be more connected and present in each moment, and who knows, maybe come out of this as masters of bread making.
If you do make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and rating below! And tag any of your creations on Instagram with #eightforestlane as I would love to see.
Homemade Sandwich Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup water warmed
- ¼ cup dairy-free milk warmed
- 1 standard packet (7 grams) dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 3 cups bread flour
Instructions
- Mix the warm water, warm milk, yeast, and sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
- Add the oil, salt, and 1 cup flour. Beat on low speed with a dough hook until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then add another cup of flour. Continue to beat on medium speed until incorporated and then add in the final cup of flour and beat on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes.
- Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 2 minutes or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 2 minutes.
- Remove the dough from the bowl so you can lightly grease the bowl with olive oil. Place the dough back into the bowl, turning it to completely coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel and allow the dough to rise in a warm environment for 1-2 hours or until double in size.
- Punch down the dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a couple of minutes until smooth. Shape into a log and place into a greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Cover again with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and again let rise for about an hour or until the dough is about an inch higher than the pan.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C and place the bread into the oven to bake for 30 minutes, until the top is golden brown. It will be done when you gently tap the top of the bread and it sounds hollow.
- Allow the bread to cool a bit before slicing, otherwise your bread knife may tear the bread. Place leftover bread in an airtight container and store at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Notes
Nutritional information is provided as a guide only and is calculated using automated online tools, therefore we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We encourage you to make your own calculations based on the actual ingredients used in your recipe.
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Kate Lake says
This is brilliant
Sally says
So glad you enjoyed it!