Everyday Sandwich Bread (No Knead)
Super soft and easy sandwich bread made with a handful of ingredients and without a mixer. This is a no-knead dough that rises on the counter overnight. A second rise in the am and a 30 minute bake later you’ll have a super soft and tender loaf bread that is easily sliced for sandwiches or toast.
This no knead sandwich bread recipe is, by all accounts, a recipe for anyone at any skill level and for any day. It’s easy and needs very little attention. I’ve incorporated much of my sourdough bread learning into the method and while it doesn’t have the delicious tang of sourdough, nor quite the same structure, it is a yummy and reliable sandwich bread recipe to make any time, any day.
I realize I run the risk of sounding a little cheeky with the name of this recipe considering all the everyday cakes I’ve published in the past year, but – it just really is a recipe for every day. I love that it’s an easy loaf I can use to make sandwiches for my daughters’ school lunches, and I know (and can pronounce, lol) every ingredient going into the bread.
The edges are golden and chewy, the interior is so unbelievably soft. And, one of the perks of this recipe is that the ingredients are so simple: yeast, water, flour and salt. Nothing you cannot understand or pronounce and that makes me happy to eat it and serve it to my kids.
Recipe Origins
I started working on a non-sourdough version of this cranberry nut sourdough loaf and it led me here. I started by leaving out the starter, adjusting the amounts to fit into a smaller loaf pan and adding commercial yeast (just a bit) and giving it a very long bulk rise. Some sourdough-like folds help give the dough structure for a stronger gluten formation.
Btw – The cran nut bread recipe will come to you eventually, I just figured I’d get the basic one out there first as it might have a wider appeal.
Recipe Ingredients
Water: cool tap water.
Yeast: active dry yeast. Rapid rise works too.
Flour: bread flour, a high protein flour (13% or more).
Salt: fine sea salt. If using table salt, halve the amount.
Syrup: maple syrup. This is optional, it gives the bread a touch of sweetness.
How to make No Knead Sandwich Bread
Around 12 hours before you aim to bake the bread
In a large bowl whisk together the yeast and the water:
Add in the flour and salt.
Use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to mix until you have a shaggy dough.
Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rest for 45-60 minutes.
First fold
Lift the plastic wrap and let it hang loosely to the side (we’ll use it again in a minute). Wet your fingers and lift one side of the dough (see pictures and video below for guidance) and fold it over the dough. Repeat this step around 5-6 times, until the dough is starting to resist and is forming a smooth ball. Some of the folds will just be tucking the dough over itself. Leave to rest for another 45-60 minutes.
Second fold
Repeat the same lift and fold with the dough until it again resists, tucking and folding as much as you can. The dough ball will be smoother now. Leave it to rest overnight.
Optional: third fold
If you have time, do a third fold after another 45-60 minutes.
The next day
In the morning, the dough will have risen considerably and be very bubbly (rather like focaccia).
Butter and oil a loaf pan and shape the dough to fit into it with a few gentle folds and tucking in edges, trying not to deflate all of the bubbles, to make a short log shape:
Oil the top of the dough and cover with the plastic wrap.
Let rise for about 2 hours until the dough has risen above the rim of the pan.
Preheat the oven to 425 F and set a secondary cake pan filled with ice in the oven
Bake the bread for about half an hour, until deeply toasted all over (a thermometer inserted will register 190 F).
Let cool for an hour (if you can wait =) ) before slicing. The crust is hard when the bread is first out of the oven but softens as it cools.
Sandwich Bread (No Knead) Recipe
Sandwich Bread (No Knead)
Ingredients
- 360g or 1 ½ cups cool tap water
- ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast
- 430g or 3 and a scant ¼ cups bread flour if using cups, shake the flour over the cup and level. do not scoop or pack the flour into the cup!
- 1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup optional, adds a touch of sweetness
- Olive oil & butter for preparing the baking pan
Method
The night before, (I usually start around 8pm: doing a turn/fold around 9pm and another around 10pm)
- Measure the water into a large bowl and sprinkle the yeast over it. Gently stir to combine.
- Measure the bread flour into the bowl and add the salt. Stir to combine until you have a shaggy dough. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 45-60 minutes.
- We’re going to do some folds: wet your fingers and lift one side of the dough and fold it over the center. Turn the bowl 45 degrees and lift from another side and fold again. Keep doing this until the dough starts resisting and you have a tight dough ball. Cover with the plastic wrap and set aside.
- After an hour do another fold, and like the first, keep going until the dough starts resisting again and you have a smooth ball. If you have time, do a third fold after another hour. Cover the bowl with the plastic wrap and leave to rise for about 8 hours.
The morning of baking
- In the morning the dough will have risen quite a bit and be very bubbly. Butter a 9x5 inch loaf pan ver well and then rub it with olive oil (both butter and oil are necessary so the dough doesn’t stick).
- Like you did the night before, fold the dough over itself (it will deflate - this is ok), until you have a taut dough. Tuck the sides in to make a rectangular shape and set it into the prepared loaf pan and rub the top with oil. Cover with the same plastic wrap. Leave to rise until the dough has risen over the rim of the pan by at least half an inch, this can take up to two hours, depending on the temperature in your kitchen.
- Preheat the oven to 425 F. Once preheated, fill a cake pan (any size - I use a round 9 inch) with ice and set it in the oven. After 5-10 minutes of the ice being in the oven, set the bread to bake until it has risen considerably and is a deep brown color all over - about 30-35 minutes.
- Transfer the bread to a cooling rack. It’s best to give the bread time to cool out of the oven before slicing it for at least an hour as it continues to ‘cook’ out of the oven and the crumb will be nice and tender.
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Love the idea of the bow slicer! Is there a brand you like and recommend? And do you like adjustable vs non-adjustable? Thanks, Sam!!
Not really – I got mine off etsy a few years back, had great reviews and has done me well. I’d just look for something that looks practical to use and will fit your hand well.
This looks like the perfect sandwich bread! The only thing that makes me hesitant to start baking sandwich bread for the fam (aside from the fact that we go through so much bread I might never leave the kitchen, haha) is the *slicing.* I’m a notoriously poor slicer of cakes, bread, brownies, you name it. I have a great serrated knife- the problem is me! How do you get perfect slices, and if it’s just your God-given talent (respect!), any gadget recs for the rest of us that could yield consistent slices?
Hi Kate, I totally feel you as I’ve been there. A few years ago I bought what’s called a bow bread knife/slicer and does a great job of getting neat slices.
Loved this one! It was so easy and my kids liked it! This will by my next go to sandwich bread until Sam makes a Butter Bread Loaf recipe for me to try..hint hint!
lol! I’m on it!
I discovered this recipe last week, and I’ve already made it twice! It is the perfect low-effort sandwich recipe for a beginner baker like me. I love how hands-off it is with the simple folds and long proofing time, and it’s very forgiving (no specific water temperature or kneading). Could not recommend it more. 🙂
I’ve made this four times so far. It is so delicious! Definitely had to just trust the process, but it is really just that easy and turns out wonderfully every time. My husband’s only complaint is that because I have this recipe, your pita recipe, and my sourdough; I’m making too many breads and not making your shiny top brownies as much anymore 🙂
loololol I LOVE that you’re making these breads though! Brownies are a treat, these are staples 😀
I was really excited to try this, and it didn’t work out at all for me. Firstly, the dough didn’t tighten into smooth balls during the folds (I got anxious during the second fold and tried adding flour but it didn’t help). This morning the dough wasn’t bubbly at all, just a loose mass that I don’t think I will try to bake 🙁
I’ve had mixed results with bread in the past so this recipe for “any skill level” was enticing. Any tips are appreciated for if I try this again.
Hi Victoria, did you try watching the instructional video that’s above the recipe card? That might help guide you to how to do the folds and what the ‘tight ball’ looks like (it’s a very soft ball shape really). I think if you can, try to bake that mass anyway: it sounds like it has risen and if you try to shape it (use oiled hands so it it doesn’t stick so much to you) into a little log then place it in the loaf pan and see it rise a bit more then bake it.
would it be possible to make this with whole wheat flour or 1/2 whole wheat 1.2 white? I want to try this but I’m not really a fan of plain white bread
Yep – the texture changes a bit (more whole wheaty if you know what I mean). I sometimes do 100g whole wheat and the rest bread flour but you can go up a bit more if you like.
As I was making this, I was extremely skeptical and certain I went wrong somewhere. The dough was just so much softer than I was used to and even after 3 hours, it didn’t rise to the rim of the pan. I ended up baking it when the tallest part juuuuust peaked above the rim and it turned out FANTASTIC. Kids love it, I love it, will definitely make again. Normally I make milk bread for their school lunches, but this is a nice low effort way to switch things up!
Ahhh, I’m so happy it worked out! It is definitely much less effort than milk bread (although I love that stuff too). Love that it’s making its’ way into regular rotation for your family =)
wow by far the best soft white bread recipe I have found! it tastes so delicious and I loved watching it transform. thank you so very much! finally found my go to recipe.
!! I’m thrilled to hear it Amy =D