This healthy High Rise Sandwich Bread Recipe makes a wonderfully slice-able sandwich bread and is extremely versatile. You can add ALL SORTS of wonderful flavors, if you do it at just the right time! I will include instructions for when and how to add your favorite ingredients!
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I adapted this from a recipe I found on page 10 of the Better Homes and Gardens All-Time Favorite Bread Recipes. I changed half the flour to wheat, added my secret ingredient (which is no longer a secret) Sunflower Lecithin Granules (affiliate link), and swapped out sugar for honey and shortening for butter. This way it better fits my family’s nutritional needs and has a lighter, yet more slice-able texture. We think it is better than any store bought sandwich bread and so much cheaper!
Couple Notes Before You Start:
- If you don’t have a kitchen aid mixer, you can still make this High Rise Sandwich Bread Recipe — although, you will have to know how to kneed it by hand. Just make sure the texture of the dough is no longer sticky to the touch when you set it to rise.
- While sifting is not required, I do it because it makes for a lighter, airier texture. You can skip that part, but assume it will make the bread heavier. Sometimes, I even double sift my flours … I really believe it makes a difference. But it is up to you. If you don’t have a sifter, just use a strainer/sieve with metal mesh (like the one in the photo below) and shake it. It does the same thing.
- 3 cups white flour
- 3 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 tsp Sunflower Lecithin Granules* (my no-longer-secret ingredient)
- 1 scant Tbs yeast (I use bulk yeast but I BELEIVE 1 packet is one scant Tbs)
- 2 1/2 cups tepid** water
- 1 stick butter melted and cooled
- 2 heaping Tbs honey (be generous)
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1-2 Tbs coconut oil melted (or other suitable oil for coating)
- 1-2 Tbs butter melted (for brushing on top when done) or a stick of butter to rub on
- Cinnamon
- Craisins or raisins
- Orange or lemon zest
- Vanilla
- Herbs (such as rosemary or garlic powder)
- Grated cheeses
- Whatever floats your boat! Sky is the limit!
- Instructions For Adding Optional Ingredients: If it is a liquid (like vanilla) add it in step #5. If it is dry ingredient (like raisins, herbs, or Parmesan cheese) add in step #6 so they are incorporated evenly through the dough.
- Instructions
- Melt butter and set aside to cool.
- Grease a large bowl with melted coconut oil, melted butter, or other suitable oil. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flours and Sunflower Lecithin Granules. Set aside.
- In your mixing bowl, add tepid water, melted (and cooled!) butter and turn the mixer on low. Add yeast. The yeast will likely clump a bit, but that is okay.
- Add sugar and salt to the yeast, butter and water mixture. (If adding optional liquid ingredients like vanilla, do it now.)
- Add the flour/Sunflower Lecithin Granules mixture one cup at a time mixing well in between cups. After four cups, scrape the flour off the side of the bowl and continue adding the flour mixture. (If adding optional dry ingredients like raisins or cinnamon, do it now.) The flour is well mixed and ready when it pulls away from the edge of the bowl and clings to the dough hook.
- Lift the dough out of the mixing bowl and into the greased bowl set aside earlier.
- Turn the dough over and around several times making sure the dough is well covered with the oil.
- Cover the bowl with a clean cotton dish cloth and set in a warm place to double (about an 1 hour).
- Grease two loaf glass loaf pans (you can use metal ones, but glass is better so you can watch that the bottom is cooking evenly with the top) and set aside.
- When the dough has doubled in size, gently push your fingers in. It should make a dent and not stick to your fingers. (If not, it is not ready yet.)
- Lift your dough out of the bowl and divide it in half with your hands. Place the two halves on the counter.
- Gently work the dough by rolling it and shaping it to fit your loaf pans. Kneed it enough to get all the air bubbles out but be careful not to over work the dough.
- Place each loaf in a greased pan and cover.
- Let rise again until it comes a bit over the top of the bread pan (15-30 minutes).
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes until they are golden brown and sound hollow when you tap on them. Since every oven is different and humidity plays a role, start checking at 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and immediately turn them out of the pans. Place them on a cooling rack.
- Brush a little melted butter on the top of the loaves or simply rub a butter stick on them. If topping your loaves with an herb or herb blend, you can substitute butter with olive oil.
- Let cool completely before slicing!
- *Why Sunflower Lecithin Granules? It makes the bread ... no, really! There is something about it that causes this bread to be light, fluffy, and perfect for sandwiches. Without it, the results are just not the same. Also, it contains lecithin (found in sunflower seeds) which is a phospholipid and a natural source of phosphatidylcholine, a natural constituent in the brain and nervous system. So this secret ingredient provides wonderful nourishment for the brain. Think of it as "brain food." I prefer Swanson Premium Brand(R) Sunflower Lecithin because it is all natural, non-GMO and soy free.
- **Important Note About Tepid Water: To ensure the water's temperature is correct, stick your finger in the water. It should simply feel wet; neither cold nor warm. Be careful, because if it is too warm, it will kill the yeast and then your High Rise Sandwich Bread won't be so high.
Time Saving Tip For The Constant Baker
If you bake a lot of bread and you like your flour sifted (I do, although I know you don’t HAVE to), you can pre-sift your flours and place them in a clean ice cream bucket or other food grade bucket with a tight fitting lid. If you use a recipe often that calls for a combination of different flours (like this recipe) you can also pre-mix in the proper proportions at the same time. You can even add any “secret ingredients” you use to the mix at this stage and save a lot of time when you go to actually bake. I find that if I take the time to sift a second time, the results are even better.
And below is our usual photo montage with captions so you can see how it should look as you go through the process!
Sifting with a strainer works just fine.
When it is no longer sticky, it is well mixed enough.
Let rise in a greased bowl.
What it should look like when doubled.
Test it by poking gently. If it doesn’t stick to your fingers and leaves a dent, it is ready.
Separate into halves and work it into loaves.
Place in loaf pans and let rise again.
When nicely golden brown, if it sounds hollow when you tap on it, it is done.
Coat in butter or olive oil and your favorite seasonings!
Wait until COMPLETELY COOL to slice.
So simple, versatile, and so easy to slice! We like cinnamon and craisins, sliced, toasted and topped with homemade apple butter (recipe coming soon)! Soon I plan to try it with rosemary and Parmesan cheese. What optional ingredients are you thinking of using?
Meet Rachelle
Contributing Author
Welcome to our newest Contributing Author, Rachelle. So happy to have her on board! Rachelle is homesteader and homemaker who is firmly founded in her Christian faith and married to her best friend. (The photo to the left is the two of them on their wedding day!) She loves gardening, crocheting, Christmas, and cooking. After years of gardening experience, she still learns new things every year and is eager to share her experiences with you. She goes organic as much as possible, but admits there are times when it is just not possible. She is interested in eating as healthy as possible and does about 95% of her cooking from scratch. She loves a good DIY and MYO (make your own) project and works hard to do most things for herself. Self-sufficiency at its finest! We are thrilled for the opportunity to learn from her experience! Welcome, Rachelle!
This looks delicious! Can’t wait to try this recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Be sure to let us know how it worked out for you!
ok Jo…..I am scared to death of yeast (because I kill it – WITHOUT FAIL), but I trust you, so I’m going to give this a go!
Just do what Rachelle said and make sure the water is TEPID! Neither hot nor cold. Only wet! Good luck and let us know how it worked.
Tammy, just make sure that your liquids are not too warm. Truely that is where most people mess up. Just warm enough that you can feel it when you put your fingure in it.
I’ll be baking this for my vegan daughter. Can I use maple syrup or coconut sugar, and if so how much sugar ?
Thanks. This looks awesome.
I would think so, Michelle … but, I will let Rachelle reply to this. She is the bread expert around here. I think she is tied up today though. Check back tomorrow and see if she replied! Thanks!
Michelle,
I really dont know much about the conversion for maple syrup or coconut sugar instead of regular or honey. What the sweetener does in feeds the yeast so it will rise. I would try a 1-1 to start with and keep working with it untill you get the taste and texture that fits your needs.
Thanks. I was wondering whether the original recipe, which called for sugar, used 2 TBLS –the same amount of honey that you use in this recipe.
THANKS!!
I hope to try this over the weekend.
YUM! Looks divine! Nothing better than homemade bread.
Mandy, make sure you get the secert ingredient and follow the recipe and you will have the best home made bread you have ever made.
Okay. This has me drooling…alot. Lol. Looks so yummy 🙂
It is really worth the time to make this one!
yes!! I have made a lot of bread but this is the best so far. Very light and soft.
Has anyone ever made this in a bread maker? Maybe 1/2 the recipe?
I have never used a bread maker so am not sure-Maybe try half. How do the measurements compare to the recommended ones for your machine? Your most important thing is to get the sunflower lecithin. It makes the wheat lighter. Hope this helps.
Looks delicious Rachelle!
Thanks Deb! It has really turned out well for us. We are basically off store bread with this recipe. Husbands favorite is cinnamon/craisin!
Made this bread and it is wonderful! Stayed soft and didn’t dry out like like mine normally does after a couple of days. The only thing I did different with this recipe is that i ground my whole wheat flour so it was fresh and I soaked the whole wheat overnight in the 2 cups of warm water with 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar. Then used 1/2 cup water to put the yeast in. I found when using fresh ground flour it is better for me to soak it overnight. Not so hard on my stomach then
I’m so glad you liked it Rose! I want to get to the point of grinding our flour and soaking also. The ‘sercet’ingredient really does amazing things! I generally slice a whole loaf and store it in a tupperware bread box in the fridge.. We have found that this is a much more filling bread and seems to last us as long as a store bread, and ot course the taste is so much better! Thank you for coming back and commenting after trying it!