Hawaiian Sandwich Bread Recipe
You’ll love the taste of this bread – it’s perfect for sandwiches or to snack on. Plus, it’s easy to freeze, so you can always have some on hand.
This recipe is simple to make at home. You can do this if you’ve made any bread before (or even if you haven’t!).
Sweet Hawaiian Sandwich Bread Recipe

Ingredients
- ¼ cup instant potato flakes
- ¾ cup milk
- ½ cup pineapple juice
- 2 tablespoons softened butter
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2½ teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 egg for brushing the top off the loaf
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Instructions
- Knead. Combine all ingredients in bread machine, stand mixer, or large bowl. Mix for a few minutes and check to make sure that dough is not too dry or too wet. It should be soft and smooth but still clear the sides of the bowl. Knead for at least 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. (If using bread machine, simply select the "dough" cycle and skip to step 4).
- First rise. Shape dough into a ball and place in a clean, lightly oiled bowl. Cover with greased plastic wrap or damp tea towel and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled.
- Shape. Remove dough from bowl and place on counter or cutting board. To shape into a sandwich loaf, form into ra ectangle that is the width size as the long side of your loaf pan. Fold into thirds, pinching the seams. Tuck the ends under and flip the loaf over so the seam is on the bottom. Place into a greased loaf pan.
- Second rise. Cover the dough with greased plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise. The dough should rise 1 1/2 inches over the top of the loaf pan. Brush with beaten egg white. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the center.
- Bake. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the loaf is very golden brown and internal temperature is 195-200 degrees. Allow to cool on a wire rack. Slice when completely cool.
Video
Notes
Nutrition

Table of contents
🧂 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You’ll find the full measurements and instructions in the printable recipe at the bottom of the page.

You’ll need the following for this soft and sweet bread recipe:
- instant potato flakes
- milk
- pineapple juice
- butter
- sugar
- salt
- all-purpose flour
- instant yeast
- egg
🥣 Equipment
- 8.5 x 2.5 x 4.x5 loaf pan
- pastry brush
- stand mixer
🍴Instructions
Step One: knead

Combine all the ingredients in a bread machine, stand mixer, or large bowl. Mix for a few minutes and check to make sure that the dough is not too dry or too wet. It should be soft and smooth but still clear the sides of the bowl.
Knead the dough for at least 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. (If you are using a bread machine, just select the “dough” cycle and skip to step 4).
Step Two: the first rise

Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a clean, lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with greased plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and let the dough rise in a warm place until it doubles in size.
Step three: shape

Take the dough out of the bowl and put it on a counter or cutting board. To make a sandwich loaf, make it into a rectangle that is the same width as the long side of your loaf pan. Fold it in thirds, with the seams pressing together. Tuck the ends under and flip it over so that the seam is on the bottom. Put it in a greased loaf pan.
Step Four: the second rise

Spray the plastic wrap. Then, put the dough in a warm place so that it can rise. The dough should be 1 1/2 inches above the top of the loaf pan when it is done rising. After the dough has finished rising, brush it with beaten egg white and then preheat the oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the center.
Step Five: bake

Bake the loaf for 35-45 minutes, until it is a very golden brown color. Make sure the internal temperature is at 195-200 degrees. Let it cool on a wire rack before slicing it when it is completely cool.
🥫 Storage instructions
If you wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or foil, the bread will stay fresh for a few days.
You can also freeze it for longer storage. Just make sure that it is completely cooled before wrapping. It will freeze well as a whole loaf or already sliced.
🔍 FAQs
Well, a few things contribute to soft bread. In my experience, powdered milk, potato flakes, and an egg are some of the best ingredients for a soft and fluffy loaf.
Brioche has more fat and a lot of eggs.
👩🏻🍳 Expert tips
- The top will look very brown because of the egg wash and all the sugar in this recipe. You may want to check the internal temperature with a thermometer to ensure it is thoroughly baked. It should be between 195 and 200 degrees.
- I typically double this recipe and make one batch of rolls and one sandwich loaf. To shape buns, I simply pinch the bottoms of a ball of dough until the top looks nice and smooth.
- And once you’re ready to try another bread recipe, here’s our version of Big, Soft Italian Loaf Bread.
📘 Related Recipes
🍽 Serve it with
- A turkey sandwich topped with homemade coleslaw.
- Broccoli salad with raisins and red onion
By Katie Shaw

Katie shares simple, reliable recipes from her home in Virginia, where she lives with her husband, three daughters, a chocolate lab, and over thirty chickens.
do you take the temp in the center of the loaf like a cake or where do you insert it? thank you, I can’t wait to try it. I already make my own bread.
Hey Wenda, yes, check the temperature in the center. It should be 190-200°F. Hope you love it!
Can it be made in the bread machine? If yes what weight and which setting is best?
hi ty, yes bread machine is fine. i would use 1.5 pounds and the white bread setting. i prefer to just use the dough cycle however, then shape it an bake in the oven so i can brush it for a shiny top
My kids favorite bread! Absolutely delicious and the texture is phenomenal! Sometimes I sub half the flour for whole wheat flour and it still turns out great.
you do not list that you need to activate the dry yeast prior to adding to the other ingredients. how does the bread rise if the yeast wasn’t activated first?
you do not need to activate yeast. just mix it in. I am in the process of editing a video about this actually! i NEVER activate my yeast and bake bread 3-4 times a week :). i use instant yeast but even with active dry you don’t need to do it.
What do the potatoe flakes do for this recipe, my son has asked me to find a good Hawaiian bread recipe toake for him. So I would like to know if leaving it out makes a big difference and if so what do you replace it with
sheila… i think it makes the bread super soft, like potato bread. if you don’t have them, you could leave them out and do 2 tablespoons more flour and 2 tablespoons powdered milk. but they’re super cheap i’d just grab a box! that. way you can make really good potato rolls too!
Love, love, love this recipe!! I found it a couple of years ago. Now I make it (as rolls) for every holiday!! They taste amazing and are so easy to make using my bread machine!!
Hi sherrie! Im sooooo glad you. told me this! I think i’ll make them tomorrow!
I’m making this hawaiian bread but dint have potato flakes. The bread will then be used for a breakfast casserole what do you suggest I use
you can just leave them out
Is there a reason that you don’t bake it in the machine?
It needs those two long rises so the machine cycle is just too fast. You could Try adding a teaspoon of yeast and running a basic baking cycle
My kids love Hawaiian bread! I’ve tried other recipes for a version of it, but they were disappointing! Will have to try this one!