Perfect Oatmeal Sandwich Bread

A recipe for perfectly soft oatmeal sandwich bread, sweetened with honey and brown sugar, then topped with old-fashioned oats.

One of the best bread recipes when you want something special for everyday sandwiches ❤️.

❤️ Why you’ll love this recipe

• Kid-friendly. Even kids who are picky will love this soft and slightly sweet loaf.
• Perfect for the freezer. Make a double batch: one for now, one for later.
• Beautiful. There’s something about the wheat flour and the oats on top that make this loaf gorgeous.

🧂 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.

• Old fashioned oats, (not instant or quick)
• Honey
• Brown sugar
• Salt
• All purpose flour
• Whole wheat flour
• Butter
• Instant yeast (SAF brand is my favorite.)

🥣 EQUIPMENT

• Large mixing bowl
• Pyrex cup for heating water
• Large spoon or spatula
• Stand mixer or bread machine (optional)
• Pastry brush
• Loaf pan

Sandwich bread is hard to get right. So many of us are used to impossibly soft and additive-laden store-bought bread, and that texture is hard to duplicate at home. I have served many a sandwich on homemade bread that my kids have turned up their noses at.

But this recipe will delight you over and over again because it’s perfect for everyday use. It’s a soft and tender bread that kids and adults will both love, and delicious with any sandwich. And there’s enough whole wheat and natural sweeteners to make you feel about serving it to them.

They say homemade bread changes your life, and so it does. There’s no feeling like pulling a beautifully browned loaf out of the oven. We make this recipe week after week, and there’s something magic about it every time.

You’ll need the following

This includes all the equipment needed for canning

Step One: Mix the oats and hot water and add remaining ingredients when cooled

Measure out your ingredients and allow the butter to come to room temperature.

Before the oats can go into the dough, you need to soften them with the hot water. Pour the hot water right on top of the oats, then stir. Let the oatmeal cool to lukewarm or cooler before you add the rest of the ingredients. This will take about 5-7 minutes.

Once the oatmeal is cool, you can just add it with all the remaining ingredients to a large bowl.

Step Two: knead into a smooth dough

The dough may seem a little dry at first, but it should absorb all the flour as it kneads.

You are looking for a smooth dough that clears the sides of your bowl. If it doesn’t hold together and still seems dry and crumbly, add a little water a teaspoon at a time. If it’s too wet, and sticks to the bowl, add flour a teaspoon at a time.

If you want to knead the dough in your bread machine, simply select the dough cycle and it will come out beautiful. If you want to use your stand mixer to knead, that’s a little more hands-on. This dough took about 15 minutes of kneading on low with the dough hook.

To check when the dough is done kneading, grab a golf ball-sized piece of dough and try to stretch it thin. If it tears, it needs to knead some more. If it stretches out and translucent “windows” appear, it’s ready.

Step three: the first rise

Shape the dough into a ball and place it into a clean, lightly oiled bowl. Cover it and let it rise in a warm and cozy place for about an hour, until it has doubled in size. You can warm your oven just a tad, turn it off, and tuck the bowl in there.

Step Four: shape into a loaf

Don’t fear shaping a sandwich loaf! Pull out your loaf pan and flatten out the ball of dough so that it is a rectangle with one side as long as the long side of the pan. Tuck the “shoulders” (the top corners) into the rectangle, then start rolling down.

Pinch all the seams and flip the dough over so the main seam is on the bottom.

Place the loaf into a lightly greased loaf pan. Bruush the top lightly with water and sprinkle with whole oats. You’re almost done!

Step five: the second rise

When bread is going through its final rise, you want to cover it with something that won’t stick. My preference is plastic wrap sprayed heavily with non-stick cooking spray. Lightly drape it on top, and tuck that little loaf back into the warm spot to rise again. Don’t rush this stage. The second rise will be a big factor in how fluffy the bread is in the end. It will take about 45 minutes to 1 hour for the second rise. You can preheat the oven toward the end of that time period, but don’t forget to take the dough out if its rising in there!

When it has risen 2 inches over the top of the pan, it’s ready.

Step six: bake

Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the pan immediately and let the loaf cool on wire rack. Make sure it cools at least an hour before you slice it.

🥫 STORAGE instructions

This recipe will keep well at room temperature for up to four days. Make sure you let it cool completely, then wrap it tightly.

For longer storage, double wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for up to two months.

Homemade sandwich bread stays fresher if you freeze a whole loaf rather than a sliced one.

🔍 FAQs

👩🏻‍🍳 Expert tips

• Be absolutely sure to cool the hot water and oats to lukewarm before you add the remaining ingredients. Hot water will kill the yeast and your bread won’t rise.
• Start with a lesser amount of flour and add more if your loaf is too sticky.
• Despite what you might have heard, bread is rarely over-kneaded. Be sure to keep kneading until your dough reaches the windowpane stage for the very best results.

📘 Related Recipes

• Farmhouse white bread is another favorite sandwich loaf of ours: it’s less sweet and more of a hearty texture than this recipe.
• If you love super-soft bread, you’ll be a big fan of this brioche sandwich loaf, made with plenty of eggs and sugar.
• Got a sourdough starter? My sourdough sandwich bread produces a high-rising loaf that you can make either with or without yeast.

❤️ Our story with this recipe

Sandwich bread is hard to get right. So many of us are used to impossibly soft and additive-laden store-bought bread, and that texture is hard to duplicate at home. I have served many a sandwich on homemade bread that my kids have turned up their noses at.

But this recipe will delight you over and over again because it’s perfect for everyday use. It’s a soft and tender bread that kids and adults will both love, and delicious with any sandwich. And there’s enough whole wheat and natural sweeteners to make you feel about serving it to them.

They say homemade bread changes your life, and so it does. There’s no feeling like pulling a beautifully browned loaf out of the oven. We make this recipe week after week, and there’s something magic about it every time.

📖 Here’s the recipe