Soft and Yummy Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread Recipe (Must Try!)

Want to make whole wheat sandwich bread that’s actually soft and delicious? You’re in the right place! This recipe makes the perfect loaf – soft, fluffy, and a little bit sweet. It’s nothing like those hard, dry whole wheat loaves from the store that nobody likes.

What makes this whole wheat sandwich bread recipe so awesome? It uses a mix of whole wheat flour and regular white flour. This way, you get all the healthy stuff from whole grains, but the bread stays light and soft instead of heavy and dense. The secret tricks are: a little honey to make it naturally sweet, milk to make it tender, and the right amount of mixing to get that perfect sandwich texture.

This bread is super useful! You can make toast for breakfast, pack the best sandwiches for lunch, or eat it warm with butter at dinner. The whole wheat flour gives it a slightly nutty taste that’s way better than store-bought bread. Plus, you know exactly what’s in it – no weird chemicals or ingredients you can’t even say out loud!

Whether you’ve never made bread before or you’re already good at baking, this whole wheat sandwich bread recipe is easy and works every time. In just a few hours, your kitchen will smell incredible and you’ll have two beautiful loaves ready to slice. Let’s start baking!

Related Recipe: Whole Wheat Bread Machine Recipe

What You Need to Know About This Recipe

Recipe Name: Classic Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

What it is: Soft, fluffy whole wheat sandwich bread that’s perfect for sandwiches, toast, and everything else!

• Time to get stuff ready: 20 minutes
• Waiting time for the dough to rise: 2 hours (you don’t do anything during this!)
• Baking time: 35-40 minutes
• Total time: 3 hours
• How much you get: 2 loaves (about 24 slices total)
• Calories in each slice: About 120

Related Recipe: Yummy Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread

What You Need (The Ingredients!)

The Wet Stuff

• 2½ cups warm water (should feel like a warm bath)
• ⅓ cup honey (or you can use maple syrup)
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil (or melted butter)
• 2 cups warm milk

The Dry Stuff

• 4 cups whole wheat flour
• 4 cups bread flour (or regular all-purpose flour)
• 2 tablespoons yeast (that’s what makes bread grow!)
• 1 tablespoon salt
• ¼ cup vital wheat gluten (this is optional, but it really helps make the bread soft)

Important: This recipe makes 2 big loaves! We use half whole wheat flour and half white flour. This gives you a healthy bread that still tastes great and isn’t too heavy.

Related Recipe: Simplest Rustic Whole Wheat Bread Recipe

How to Make Your Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread (Step by Step!)

Mixing the Dough

Step 1: Wake up the yeast. In a big bowl, mix warm water, honey, and yeast. Stir it gently and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. It should get foamy and bubbly on top. This means your yeast is alive and ready to help make bread!

Step 2: Add the rest of the wet stuff. Pour in the warm milk and oil. Stir everything together. It should feel warm but not hot – kind of like bathwater.

Step 3: Mix in some of the flour. Add 4 cups of whole wheat flour, 2 cups of bread flour, and the salt. Use a big spoon to stir everything together. The dough will look messy and sticky right now – that’s exactly what you want!

Step 4: Knead the dough (This is the fun part!) Now add the last 2 cups of bread flour bit by bit as you knead. Kneading means pushing and folding the dough over and over. You can do this with your hands for 8-10 minutes, or ask a grown-up to help you use a stand mixer for 5-6 minutes. The dough should feel soft, smooth, and just a tiny bit sticky. If it’s too sticky, add a little more flour (one spoonful at a time).

Related Guide: Authentic Rougamo Bread Recipe

First Rise

Step 5: Let it grow. Put your dough in a greased bowl and flip it over once so the whole thing is a little greasy. Cover it with a damp towel or plastic wrap. Put it somewhere warm and let it sit for 1-1.5 hours. It should get about twice as big!

Step 6: Punch it down (Yes, really!) When the dough has gotten big, gently push your fist into it to let the air out. This helps spread the yeast around evenly so your whole wheat sandwich bread recipe turns out perfect.

Shaping Your Loaves

Step 7: Cut it in half. Put your dough on a counter with a little flour sprinkled on it. Cut it into 2 equal pieces using a knife or bench scraper.

Step 8: Shape it into loaves. For each piece, flatten it into a rectangle that’s about 9 inches wide. Then roll it up tightly from the short end, kind of like rolling up a sleeping bag! Pinch the seam closed and tuck the ends under.

Step 9: Put them in pans. Place each rolled-up loaf seam-side down (with the seam on the bottom) in a greased 9×5-inch loaf pan. The dough should fill about two-thirds of the pan.

Step 10: Let them rise again. Cover the pans and let the dough rise for 45-60 minutes. The dough should rise about 1 inch above the top of the pan. Don’t let it rise too much, or it might fall down while baking!

Related Guide: Bread Flour vs All-Purpose Flour

Baking Time!

Step 11: Heat up your oven. While your loaves are rising, have a grown-up preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

Step 12: Bake your bread. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the tops are golden brown. If you have a thermometer, the inside should be 190-200°F. If the tops are getting too dark, ask a grown-up to cover them with aluminum foil for the last 10 minutes.

Step 13: Cool down. Take the loaves out of the oven and immediately turn them out onto a cooling rack. Let them cool for at least 30 minutes before you cut them. I know it’s super hard to wait, but hot bread is difficult to slice and might be gummy inside!

Cool Tricks to Make Your Bread Even Better

Temperature is important. Your water and milk should be warm but not hot – between 105-110°F is perfect. Too hot will kill the yeast (oops!), and too cold won’t wake it up. Test it on your wrist – it should feel warm but comfortable, like a nice bath.

Don’t skip that wheat gluten stuff. Adding vital wheat gluten to your whole wheat sandwich bread recipe makes a HUGE difference! Whole wheat flour doesn’t have as much gluten as white flour, so this extra gluten helps make the bread soft and fluffy instead of heavy and dense. You can find it in the baking section of most stores.

Knead it until it’s right. Good kneaded dough should be smooth and stretchy. Here’s a cool test called the “windowpane test”: take a small piece of dough and stretch it gently. If you can stretch it so thin that you can see light through it without it ripping, it’s ready!

Watch your dough, not just the clock. The time it takes for the dough to rise depends on how warm your kitchen is. If it’s warm (like in summer), it’ll rise faster. If it’s cold (like in winter), it’ll take longer. The dough is ready when it’s doubled in size, and if you gently poke it, the dent stays there.

Grease those pans really well. Use lots of butter, oil, or cooking spray on your pans. Whole wheat bread can stick more than white bread, so you need extra grease to get the loaves out easily.

Wait before you slice it! This is the hardest part of making this whole wheat sandwich bread recipe! You have to wait at least 30 minutes before cutting into it. If you cut it too soon, all the steam inside will escape, and the bread will be gummy. Waiting an hour is even better!

Fun Ways to Change Your Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread Recipe

Honey Oat Bread: Add 1 cup of oats to the dry ingredients and add ¼ cup more water. Sprinkle some oats on top before baking for a pretty look!

Seedy Bread: Mix in ⅓ cup of seeds (sunflower, flax, sesame, pumpkin – whatever you like!) after kneading. You can also brush the top with egg and sprinkle more seeds on before baking.

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl: When you flatten the dough in step 8, sprinkle cinnamon sugar and raisins on it before rolling it up. This makes an amazing breakfast toast!

Herb Bread: Add 2 tablespoons of dried herbs (like rosemary, thyme, or oregano) and 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese to the dry ingredients. Great for dinner!

All Whole Wheat: Use 8 cups of whole wheat flour and no white flour. Add ½ cup more water, and definitely use that vital wheat gluten. The bread will be heavier but even healthier!

Molasses Bread: Use molasses instead of honey for a richer, deeper flavor. Only use ¼ cup, though, because molasses has a stronger taste.

How to Keep Your Bread Fresh

Storing it on the counter: Wait until your whole wheat sandwich bread recipe is completely cool. Then put it in a plastic bag or bread box. It stays fresh at room temperature for 4-5 days. Never put bread in the fridge – that actually makes it go stale faster!

Freezing it: Whole wheat sandwich bread freezes really well for up to 3 months! Here’s how:

• Slice the whole loaf before you freeze it (this makes it super easy to grab just one or two slices later)
• Wrap it really tight in plastic wrap
• Put it in a freezer bag and squeeze out the air
• Write the date on it
• When you want some, let it thaw at room temperature for 2-3 hours, or just pop frozen slices right in the toaster!

Making old bread taste fresh: If your bread gets a little old and hard, sprinkle a tiny bit of water on the crust. Have a grown-up warm it in a 300°F oven for 5-10 minutes. It’ll taste like you just baked it!

Don’t throw away stale bread! You can make croutons (those crunchy things on salads), breadcrumbs, bread pudding, French toast, or stuffing. Whole wheat bread makes especially yummy croutons!

What’s In Your Bread? (The Healthy Stuff)

Each slice from this whole wheat sandwich bread recipe has:

• Calories: 120 (that’s energy for your body)
• Fat: 2.5g (just a little bit)
• Carbs: 22g (gives you energy to play and think)
• Fiber: 2g (good for your tummy)
• Protein: 4g (helps your muscles and body grow)

Did You Make This Bread?

That’s awesome! I really want to know how it turned out! Please tell me in the comments below. Did you try any of the fun variations? What did you make with your fresh bread? Did your family love it?

If you loved this whole wheat sandwich bread recipe, give it 5 stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Share this recipe with your friends and family who love homemade bread. Maybe you could even have a bread-baking day together – that would be so fun!

Happy baking!

Questions and Answers About Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread (if you have these in mind)

Why is my bread heavy and dense instead of soft and fluffy?

Dense bread usually happens when you add too much flour, don’t knead it enough, or don’t let it rise long enough. Make sure you measure flour the right way – spoon it into the cup and level it off, don’t pack it down! Knead until the dough passes the windowpane test, and let it rise until it’s really doubled in size. The mix of half whole wheat and half white flour in this whole wheat sandwich bread recipe helps prevent heavy bread!

Can I make this in a bread machine?

Yes! Put the ingredients in your bread machine in the order it says to (usually wet stuff first, then dry stuff, with yeast last). Use the whole wheat or basic setting with medium crust. Remember: this recipe makes 2 loaves, so you’ll need to cut the amounts in half for one bread machine loaf!

How do I make my whole wheat bread soft like store bread?

Several things make soft bread: using milk instead of just water makes it tender, honey adds moisture, oil keeps it soft, and good kneading helps build structure. The 50/50 flour mix (half whole wheat, half white) and vital wheat gluten are super important. Also, don’t bake it too long – take it out when it’s 190-200°F inside. And always store it in a sealed bag to keep the moisture in!

Can I use regular flour instead of bread flour?

Yes! Regular all-purpose flour works fine in this whole wheat sandwich bread recipe. Bread flour makes a slightly better structure because it has more protein, but all-purpose flour will still give you good bread. If you use all-purpose flour, definitely add that vital wheat gluten for the best results!

Why did my bread sink in the middle?

Bread sinks when it rises too long (over-proofed), when the oven isn’t hot enough, or if there’s too much liquid in the dough. For the second rise, the dough should only rise about 1 inch above the pan – not more! Make sure your oven is fully heated to 350°F before you put the bread in. If your dough feels really wet and sticky, add a bit more flour when you’re kneading.

How can I make my bread last longer?

Store it in a sealed container at room temperature for 4-5 days. For longer storage, freeze it! The honey and oil in this whole wheat sandwich bread recipe naturally help it stay fresh by keeping it moist. Never put bread in the fridge – if you want to keep it longer, always freeze it instead!