If you've been looking for the best vegan sandwich bread recipe, your search ends here. I've tried and tested this bread dozens of times so you can enjoy the foolproof results. It has a creamy flavor and a fluffy, tight-knit crumb that's good not just for sandwiches but also for a generous daub of vegan butter or dipping into soups and stews! If you're a new baker I'm sharing all of my best breadmaking tips here.
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Homemade vegan sandwich bread
Every vegan home baker needs a basic recipe for an excellent loaf of sandwich bread, and here's mine. It has a soft, golden-brown crust and a creamy, fluffy crumb that will win you over with its delicious flavor. And it slices beautifully.
It's easy enough to buy sandwich bread at your local supermarket or bakery. But I find there's nothing quite as satisfying as baking my own sandwich bread, with ingredients I know are good for me and without preservatives. Some store sandwich breads can also contain milk or eggs. Once you've made this bread you'll agree that no store-bought bread ever tasted this good!
I designed this bread recipe to make it very easy and foolproof for a new baker. But even if you are an experienced bread maker I guarantee you will love it. The dough is delightful to work with -smooth, supple and very versatile. You can shape it any way you want to, as a boule, a batard or a baguette-shaped loaf, and it will turn out perfect each time.
If you've been using my old recipe for sandwich bread, heads up that I've changed it to make it even better and more foolproof. This recipe makes one loaf (the old recipe was for two loaves). Just double the ingredients if you want to make two loaves.
This is now my go-to bread, one I make almost as often as my beloved sourdough sandwich bread. It is really soft the day it's baked and the day after, but if you don't use it up in a couple of days it makes delicious toast.
You can get this bread done in about three hours, including two one-hour proofing times. Here's the schedule I follow when I want it in time for dinner:
2 p.m.: Make the dough and let it rise for an hour.
3.15 p.m.: Shape the loaf and let it rise for another hour.
4.10 p.m.: Preheat the oven
4.20 p.m.: Put the risen bread in the oven and bake 35 minutes.
4:55 p.m. to 6 p.m.: Cool the bread on a rack.
Recipe card
Vegan Sandwich Bread
Ingredients
- 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (or instant yeast)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ¾ cup soy milk (or any nondairy milk, lukewarm)
- ½ cup warm water
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cups bread flour (360 grams. Measure with a scale or by gently scooping the flour into the cup measure and then leveling off. You might need a little more flour on a humid day.)
- 1¼ teaspoons salt (use less if on a low sodium diet)
Instructions
Make dough
- Mix the yeast and sugar in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the warm soy milk, whisk to mix and set aside five minutes until the yeast froths.
- To the yeast and milk, add water and oil.
- Add 3 cups of bread flour and salt to the bowl. With your hand or a stand mixer set to medium low speed, mix the flour into the liquid mixture until a dough forms.
- Continue to knead for seven minutes. When you are done the dough should feel just slightly tacky and soft but it should clear the sides and bottom of the bowl. If the dough sticks to the bottom of the bowl, add more flour, a tablespoon at a time, until you have the right consistency.
First proof
- Form the dough into a smooth ball and place in an oiled bowl, turning over once to cover the top with oil. Cover the bowl tightly and set it aside in a warm spot, like a cold oven with the light turned on.
- After an hour, the dough should have doubled.
Shaping and second proof
- Turn out the dough on your work surface and gently deflate it. You should have a disc.
- Roll the dough, like you would a jelly roll, and place it seam side down. Fold the sides down and under the loaf.
- Oil a 9 inch by 5 inch loaf pan (an 8-inch by 4 ½ inch pan is also fine, the loaf will dome higher). Place the loaf inside the pan.
- Cover the loaf loosely - a clean shower cap works very nicely for this. Set it aside in a warm spot to rise for another hour. After an hour the loaf should have risen and domed over the pan.
Bake bread
- About 10 minutes before you start baking the bread, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius. Place the loaf in the preheated oven and bake 35 minutes.
- Cool the bread on a rack for about 30 minutes, then unmold and continue cooling on the rack. Slice and serve after the bread has cooled thoroughly.
Nutrition Information
My top tips
- If using active dry yeast, make sure you "bloom" it first in warm milk to check it's alive. I can't stress this enough - bad yeast is the main reason why dough will not rise.
- Use any non-dairy milk for this bread but if possible, lean toward soy milk. Soy milk has more protein than most non-dairy milks and the protein will give the bread a softer, finer crumb.
- Bread flour will give you the best results for this sandwich bread. If you don't have bread flour, you can use all-purpose flour (I did in my old recipe) but the bread won't rise as tall. You will also need to reduce the amount of water in the recipe to ¼ cup and add more if needed.
- Proof the bread dough in a warm spot. Even in summer, an air-conditioned home can get quite cool so don't leave it on the countertop and hope for the best. The optimal proofing temperature for bread dough is between 72 degrees and 78 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees to 26 degrees Celsius). I usually proof the bread in a cold oven with the oven light on.
- If you are a new baker, practice my three keys to baking bread successfully: precision, patience and practice. Make sure you measure your ingredients precisely (weigh them if possible) and follow directions for kneading, rise times and baking as written. Be patient and take time to knead and proof the bread for as long as instructed. Finally, practice. Don't expect your first loaf to be perfect, and don't expect to get better if you don't keep at it. My own journey to becoming a home bread baker was laced with pitfalls and disappointments. The only reason I can bake great bread today - and create recipes good enough to share with you - is because I didn't give up.
Frequently asked questions about making vegan sandwich bread
You can substitute some of the bread flour with whole wheat flour. I would use no more than 1 cup. If you're looking for a fantastic, wholegrain recipe you might want to try this rye bread.
I use olive oil - I think it adds great flavor to the bread and it's healthier. If you are worried you will taste the olive oil, you won't. You can also swap it out for another oil, including avocado oil, grape seed oil and sunflower oil.
Yes! Follow the instructions on your machine for making sandwich bread.
Store the bread at room temperature for up to two days and in the refrigerator for up to a week. Freeze in a freezer-safe bag for up to four months.
Recipe first posted July 12, 2009. Updated and re-published on August 1, 2025.
Grace Martin says
Hello! Excited to try this recipe. What type of sugar works best?
Vaishali Honawar says
Any sugar, from white sugar to cane or turbinado is fine. You can also use maple syrup.