We got a breadmaker as a wedding gift. A few weeks ago now, we busted it out of the box and gave it a whirl. The first loaf I attempted was a disaster (it rose so much that it was pushing out the top of the breadmaker!), and I had to stop it in the middle of the cycle and trash it.
The second loaf was OK, but it wasn’t the best bread.
And then I found this recipe from Dinner with the Bickfords. I decided to give it a try, and I’m really glad I did. It is really good bread!
When I made it on Sunday, we used it to make really good turkey sandwiches for dinner (turkey with honey mustard, cheddar cheese, and thin slices of granny smith apple). It is perfect for sandwiches. Michael has been making his PB&J lunch sandwiches on it all week. Now it’s gone… I have to make another loaf tomorrow!
Breadmaker Wheat Bread
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups warm water (about 110 degrees)
1/3 cup olive oil (do not substitute with vegetable oil–use olive oil!)
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (if you wish to make white bread, substitute this for bread flour)
2 1/2 cups bread flour
’2 tbsp. and 2 tsp. white sugar
3 tsp. yeast (I used one of the packets)
Directions:
NOTE: This recipe is best suited for a 2 lb. breadmaker.
In the breadmaker pan, combine water, oil, and salt.
Add the flour on top of the liquids. Pour sugar into one corner of the breadmaker pan. Make a well (a dent) in the center of the flour and pour the yeast into it.
Set the breadmaker for a “basic” loaf (and I used the “light” crust setting), and press start. Walk away… in three hours, you’ll have delicious fresh bread!
21 Responses to Best Breadmaker Sandwich Bread
About
I'm Heather. I just turned 30. I'm happily married, and mommy to the most beautiful little girl in the world (what, you're saying I could be biased?). Determined DIYer and homeowner. Sarcastic. A perfectionist. A bleeding-heart liberal. Frugal. Loves a little dog way more than many humans. Loves food, hates exercise (it's an ongoing battle). A loyal football fan. I love to laugh. Value family and friends above all else. Vie to be a world traveler.Instagram
You were right about this being some good sandwich bread. I have jhad very little success finding something that would cut well, then be able to be toasted.
Thanks so much for labeling it in your blog so well. It was the number 2 result for my search in google.
My husband and I have been trying to find the perfect bread recipe for a while now. This is by far the best breadmaker sandwich bread I’ve ever had! We have stopped buying bread at the grocery store, and instead make two loaves of this per week. Thank you!
I can’t figure out how to ask Heather a question in private. It is not crazy just a worldview sort of thing. Any suggestions?
Thank you so much for this recipe! Finally a loaf of bread that is not dense. Light and delicious.
Hi everyone – I love this recipe – thank you! Just wanted you to know that I accidentally had to vary the ingredients slightly and the difference was amazing!!! Instead of olive oil I had to use Safflower oil – the difference in the rise of the bread AND the moisture was astounding.
Tried this recipe and love, love, loved it! I’ve got a 6 year old son who lives to make fresh bread each day and this has quickly become his favorite sandwich bread. Thanks so much for sharing.
Yep, this is it! I have been trying a new bread recipe every day for about a month, in search of THE ONE. Most of them I have chucked out and what we have eaten we have not enjoyed and eagerly awaited the next attempt. THIS is the one that we will use from now on! Great bread!! THANKS!
How do you store this bread? I usually put mine in a ziploc bag on the counter, but was wondering if anyone tried keeping it in the refrigerator to ease cutting?
I do the same as you, just in a ziploc bag. I’ve never tried to put it in the refrigerator. I just use a nice serrated knife to cut it and don’t have many problems.
I only have a 1- 1.5 pound loaf breadmaker, a small one, will this be too big of a batch? I can’t find anything on how big your breadmaker is! Help!
same question as above… 1.5-lb or 2-lb loaf?
Hi Angie (and Lizzie), I’m sorry, but I don’t know how big my breadmaker is. I thought they came in a standard size. This is the one I have, and it doesn’t say anything about size. But maybe you know more than I do, and this info will help? Again, I apologize I don’t know more.
Heather, your Oster 5838 ExpressBake Breadmaker bakes up to a 2-pound horizontal loaf according to Amazon. I use a similar recipe with Whole Wheat flour in my older Hitachi 1.5 lb machine that has a vertical 7″ by 5 and 1/4 inch square Pan and I have never had the loaf expand over the top. It stops safely near the 3/4 mark. Whole wheat does NOT rise as much so you can use more flour in total than your normal all white Flour recipes. You should be safe, especially with your .2-pound Oster 5838. You may find that this loaf on your machine is 3/4 high as well only in a Horizontal form which makes better slicing for sandwich bread instead of vertical bread machines like mine.
I must say though after looking back at your baked loaf picture above and the sliced bread, it seems like your loaf is tall which might imply the narrow width sides makes the loaf rise taller than expected.
This is the best recipe!
It’s doing it’s thing in the machine.. Hope it’s as great as the reviews. So far, all my ‘sandwich loaves’ have been coming out too dense. Great expectations!! :)
You might want to let people know this recipe is for a 2lb machine. My machine is smaller and now I have a mushroom topped loaf that won’t bake through. :( Next time, I will just make the dough in the machine and bake it separately. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Samantha, sorry for the trouble the recipe gave you. I know very little about breadmakers and sizes, as you’ll see from the previous comments before you. But yeah, it sounds like I have a 2 lb. breadmaker, so I’ve never had any problems with any recipe being too big. It never crossed my mind, and wasn’t part of the original recipe or I would’ve included it here as well. Again, sorry that it didn’t turn out. I hope you’ll try it again knowing what you know now!
No problem Heather! I actually finished it up in the oven and, aside from the mushroom top (that i ate!), it was perfect!! Makes a great grilled cheese! :)
Yes! This is IT! I am new to bread making….this is my fourth loaf….I am wanting a healthier preservative free alternative to the store bought kind. I don’t eat alot of bread but my kids are at the PB&J stage. So……I was beginning to think this a daunting task after three prior loaves that were just average. I just cut into this loaf and it is wonderful! Perfect texture for sandwhiches, way better than the 3 prior loaves. I baked mine in the oven since I have already returned my bread machine (way too bulky and I couldn’t bear to give up my counter space to it). I kneaded by hand for 10 minutes after mixing the dough in my mixer with a dough hook. I let it rise until doubled in size. I baked it in a glass loaf pan for just under 40 minutes at 350 degrees with tented foil over the top for a large part of the baking so the crust would not get too hard. I did add 2 TBSP of powdered milk to the dry ingredients and 1 TBSP of raw honey. I used 1 packet of rapid rise yeast. I couldn’t help but notice as I was kneading this by hand that it felt very similar to a cinnamon roll dough I make because it is so elastic. I knew that was a good sign! Love Love Love! **As a side note it did mushroom at the top slightly and the very center could have been a little more done. I believe a slightly larger/longer pan will remedy this as I will be able to make the loaf a little less compact. Then I will have the perfect homemade sandwhich bread! There is no doubt this can be done in the oven with a little tweaking** Thanks for sharing :)
This bread turned out perfectly! I’ve been looking for a whole wheat bread machine recipe that would slice well for a while now. I’m thrilled. I only made a couple of substitutions. I don’t have bread flour so I used all purpose and I like multigrain flour instead of whole wheat so I used that. It came out absolutely perfectly.
Thank you!