Amish White Sandwich Bread

Last Updated on June 10, 2024 by Kiersten James, BS, RN

Learn how to make a fresh loaf of Amish white sandwich bread right in your home kitchen without any fuss.

There is something about the smell of fresh bread baking that brings people together. Whether its childhood memories or a favorite restaurant, the feelings are always warm.

Making homemade can be intimidating if you have never done it, but I assure you, you can!

The pictures in this post are from a loaf of bread that my 5 year old daughter made almost entirely by herself yesterday. I only helped with oven safety and transferring the dough in and out of the different containers. If she can do it, so can you!

Although this recipe hails from Lancaster, you most likely already have the ingredients in your pantry.

Amish White Sandwich Bread Ingredients

• 3.5 cups bread flour
• 1 1/3 cups warm, filtered water
• 2.5 teaspoons active yeast
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon honey or cane sugar
• 1 egg, room temperature
• Oil or shortening for greasing

Helpful Notes

How to Make Bread Flour: If you can’t find bread flour at your local store, you can make it yourself by mixing regular all-purpose flour with vital wheat gluten. Use 1 teaspoons of vital wheat gluten for every cup of all purpose flour.

Active yeast: Sourdough is wonderful and in a perfect world, all of my bread products would be made from fermented or ancient grains. That being said – active yeast allows me to have a loaf of bread on the counter 3 hours later when I forget the grilled cheese I promised my toddler while feeding the chickens. Active yeast is not the same thing as Instant Yeast and must be “activated” prior to adding to the dough.

Water: Use warm filtered water around 100-110 degrees F. Anything too hot will kill the yeast and anything too cold will prevent it from activating.

Egg: Eggs make up part of the liquid element in baking. One egg is equivalent to 1/4 cup of liquid. It also helps to add volume, color, and bind the ingredients together.

Salt: Salt helps to regulate the activity of the yeast to produce a consistent, slow rise. Too much salt will stop yeast activity altogether while not enough salt will cause the dough to rise too fast.

How to Make Amish White Sandwich Bread

Combine the active yeast, sugar, and warm water in a glass or pint-sized mason jar. Set aside until it looks bubbly and smells like beer – about 5 minutes.

Add all ingredients to the stand mixer bowl and attach the dough hook.

Run the mixer on the lowest setting until the ingredients are just combined. This usually takes about 2-4 minutes.

Increase the speed of the mixer to level 2 for a KitchenAid (check your manual if you have a different manufacturer) and leave it there until a dough ball forms around the hook and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

*In lieu of a stand mixer, combine all of the ingredients together after activating the yeast and knead by hand for about 5 minutes of a lightly floured surface.

Form the dough into a smooth ball and place it into an oiled container or bowl.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in a warm place for about 2 hours for the first rise.

Remove the dough from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Gently spread the dough out into a rectangle with your finger tips.

Fold the short side in almost half way and do the same with the other side. Roll the dough with the long edge towards you to form a log of dough and tuck the sides under so the seam is on the counter.

Place the log into a well greased loaf pan. If your pan is not non-stick, line with parchment paper first.

Cover the loaf pan with a clean, damp dish towel and allow it to go through the second rise. This takes about 45 minutes to an hour. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

When the dough has risen to an inch or two above the loaf pan, put it in the oven to bake for 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let the bread cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then turn out onto a wire cooling rack. Slice when completely cool.

Storing Amish White Sandwich Bread

Wrap the loaf twice in plastic wrap – once horizontally and once vertically. Then place the double-wrapped loaf in a glass cake dome or store it in the microwave. Microwaves are airtight and good for bread storage.

Only slice what you need to use

Keep the rest of the loaf intact and wrapped well in plastic wrap. There are no preservatives included so it will become stale or moldy after just a few days. The less contact with air the bread has, the better.

Don’t refrigerate

Refrigerating the bread may prolong shelf life by a few days but will kill the fluffy texture. Storing at room temperature is best.

Homemade Breadcrumbs From Failed Loaves of Bread

Cut the loaf of bread into small cubes. Bake on a cookie sheet at 400F until dried out. This can take anywhere from 30-60 minutes.

Run the dried cubes through a food processor or blender then season with garlic powder, salt, and dried herbs.

Store the homemade breadcrumbs in the refrigerator in an air-tight container for up to 10 days.

More Amish Recipes to Make at Home

Amish Chicken Pot Pie Recipe (With Square Noodles)

Amish Blueberry Lemon Muffins (Pennsylvania Dutch Recipe)

Amish Raisin Filled Cookie Recipe (Step by Step With Pictures)

Amish Sweet Pickles (Recipe for Canning)

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