King Arthur's Classic White Sandwich Bread
This signature white sandwich loaf, an updated version of King Arthur's popular Walter Sands Basic White Bread, is the "go-to" bread for breakfast toast, brown-bag PB & Js, or a grilled-cheese-and-soup supper for many of us here at King Arthur Flour. Just like King Arthur Flour itself, this bread is classic, reliable, and your best friend in the kitchen.
And who was Walter Sands? The Sands family became associated with King Arthur Flour in 1820, 30 years after the company's founding. Walter headed up the company from 1943 to 1968, when his son, Frank, took over as president. Frank led an effort that made King Arthur a national brand by the turn of the 21st century; several years ago he and his wife, Brinna, sold the company to us, the employee-owners.
Frank and Brinna are still the inspiration behind King Arthur's long-time quest: to serve our community, do the right thing, and provide Americans with the best flour in the world. We honor their legacy with this bread.
Ingredients
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons to 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water*
- 1 heaping tablespoon honey
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 3/4 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons soft butter
- 4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1/3 cup Baker's Special Dry Milk or 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk granules
- *Use the lesser amount in summer or humid climates; the greater amount in winter or drier climates.
Instructions
- Mix all of the ingredients in the order listed, and mix and knead — by hand, or using a stand mixer — to make a smooth dough. It won't be particularly soft nor stiff; it should be smooth and feel bouncy and elastic under your hands.
- Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, or large (8-cup) measuring cup. Cover it, and let it rise for 60 to 90 minutes, till it's become quite puffy, though not necessarily doubled in size.
- Gently deflate the dough, and shape it into a fat 9" log. Place it in a lightly greased 9" x 5" or 10" x 5" loaf pan.
- Cover the pan, and let the dough rise for 60 to 90 minutes, till it's crowned 1" to 1 1/2" over the rim of the pan. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake the bread for 20 minutes. Tent it lightly with aluminum foil, and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, till it's golden brown. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center will read 195°F to 200°F.
- Remove the bread from the oven, and turn it out onto a rack to cool. When completely cool, wrap in plastic, and store at room temperature.
- Yield: 1 large loaf, about 18 servings.
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size 1 slice
- Servings Per Batch 18
Amount Per Serving:
- Calories 120
- Calories from Fat 15
- Total Fat 1.5g
- Saturated Fat 1g
- Trans Fat 0g
- Cholesterol 5mg
- Sodium 240mg
- Total Carbohydrate 22g
- Dietary Fiber 1g
- Sugars 3g
- Protein 4g
* The nutrition information provided for this recipe is determined by the ESHA Genesis R&D software program. Substituting any ingredients may change the posted nutrition information.
Tips from our bakers
- We call for a fairly wide range of water here due to two variables: how bakers measure their flour, and climate/season. Flour is drier and will absorb more liquid in winter, and/or in a dry climate; in summer or in a humid climate, it's moister and will absorb less. So generally speaking, you'll use more liquid in your bread in winter, less in summer. In addition, some bakers measure their flour by dipping the cup into the bag or canister, tapping the flour to pack it down, and leveling it off. The way we measure flour here at King Arthur Flour is to stir/aerate the flour, sprinkle it gently into the measuring cup, and level it off. If you're of the scoop/tap/level school, which measures a "heavier" cup of flour, you'll need to use more liquid. At any rate, for this recipe, start with a smaller amount of water and move up, if necessary; it's easier to add water than to take it out! Your goal is a dough that starts out a bit sticky, but as you knead becomes soft (but not sticky) and smooth, not "gnarly."
- Want to make this bread using a bread machine? See our Walter Sands' Favorite Bread — Bread Machine Version.
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Reviews
I won with this recipe at our county fair last year! It turned out really well for me. I have a question though What would happen if I made this recipe with bread flour instead of all purpose flour?Congrats, Erin! Using Bread Flour would give you a higher rise and a chewier texture. You'll want to add approximately 2 teaspoons of additional water for every cup of flour to make up for the extra absorption. Annabelle@KAF
I've baked bread for decades. Because of my husband's recent health issues, we are having to adjust to low sugar, gluten free recipes. While I found this recipe to reflect very little yeast, very little fat and sweetening close to the salt amount, I was determined to mix, rise and bake exactly as recommended. What a disappointment. Very little rise and heavy. As I read many glowing reviews along with some that were similar to mine, all I could do was shake my head. Really?We're sorry to hear this gave you trouble, Carolyn. You mentioned you're baking gluten-free, did you use a gluten-free flour for this recipe? If so, we'd recommend using a recipe that's designed to be gluten-free, such as our Gluten Free Sandwich Bread recipe. We'd love the chance to talk through the recipe with you, so we encourage you to reach out to our free and friendly Baker's Hotline staff to help troubleshoot at 855-371-BAKE (2253). Kindly, Annabelle@KAF
I made this today. It rose nicely but fell a bit in the oven also after cooking it the amount of time indicated it was anemic looking and not to 190 degrees. I have made other loaves in this oven and haven't had an issue. Any suggestions?We're happy to help out, Islay! It sounds like a few things may have happened. You noted that the loaf sank in the oven, which most commonly happens if the dough has over-risen. Avoid this by shortening your final rise time by 10 minutes or so. You'll know your loaf is ready to bake if you poke it with your finger and the indent stays. If the indent pops back out, it needs to rise for a few more minutes. If it deflates, the loaf has already over-risen, so, deflate it, re-shape it, and let it rise until it's puffy. This will happen fairly quickly, usually within 30 minutes or so. Feel free to check out our blog article "Over-proofed dough" for additional tips and helpful visuals.
You also mentioned that the loaf didn't quite reach the ideal internal temperature. It sounds like your oven might be running a little cool, so we'd recommend testing that with an oven thermometer, adjust the temperature as needed in the future, and keep baked goods in the oven until you get the internal temperature you're looking for.
Lastly, you said that your loaf was pale in color. This could be a result of the over-rising, as the longer your dough rises, the more sugars your yeast will eat up. Sugars are what gives baked goods their golden color. It could also be a result of a cooler oven. Avoiding over-rising and baking at the suggested temperature should result in a browner loaf. If it still isn't as brown as you'd like, try moving it up a rack in the oven to be closer to the heat unit. We hope your next loaf looks as good as it tastes! Annabelle@KAF
I saw this recipe on KA's Facebook page and I had to try it. I had some home milled whole wheat flour that I wanted to use up, so I used half bread flour and half WW. It turned out AMAZING! One of the softest and fluffiest whole whole wheat breads I had ever made. I will definitely make this again!
Should I sift the flour? If yes, do I measure first then sift or vice versa?Hello! There's no need to sift our flour, it's all pre-sifted. If you wanted to sift it, you'd want to measure it first, then sift it. Happy baking! Annabelle@KAF
Love this recipe! Easy and tastes wonderful. I made it for the first time yesterday and it turned out perfect.
I have been making this bread every week for over a year now and it is my go to recipe.I love it for toast!
Hi.. I have just started baking breads.Till I get a hang of it,can I reduce the recipe by 50% and practice?In that case,what is the tin size recommended.. TIA..You should be able to cut this in half no problem, Raksha. Since there isn't really such a thing as a half-loaf pan (that we've found, anyway) if you have mini loaf pans, a half batch would probably make 3 small loaves that will bake in about half the time. Mini loaf pans are generally 4 3/4" x 2 3/4" x 1 3/4". Annabelle@KAF
Please advise me a specific time ( 1 or 2 minutes? )to knead. Thank youHi Margaret, rather than adhering to a specific time for kneading your dough, we recommend using the look and feel of your dough to tell you when it's properly kneaded. The dough should look smooth and feel slightly tacky to the touch. It should be "bouncy," and when you poke the dough with your finger, the indent should spring back readily. This usually takes about 7-10 minutes to accomplish by hand, or about 5-7 minutes if using a stand mixer. We hope this helps, and happy baking! Kye@KAF
