Soft Italian Sandwich Bread with Olive Oil
This easy, homemade Italian sandwich bread is soft! The fluffy white bread with olive oil has a robust, earthy taste that is great for sandwiches.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Rising Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
Servings: 10 Slices
Ingredients
- 3 1/3 Cups (416.67 g) Flour
- 2 tbsp (2 tbsp) Olive Oil
- 2 1/4 tsp (2.25 tsp) Instant Yeast one packet
- 1 tbsp (1 tbsp) Sugar
- 1 tsp (1 tsp) Salt
- 1 1/4 Cups (295.74 ml) Water
Instructions
- Knead: In a bowl of a stand mixer, combine all the ingredients. Knead with the dough hook on medium-low speed for 5 minutes.
- The dough should be slightly sticky. If the dough is too sticky to handle, continue kneading and add additional flour one tbsp at a time. Be careful not to add too much flour.
- First Rise: Place the dough ball in an oiled bowl. Cover and place in a warm spot to allow for the dough to rise. Let the dough rise for one hour or until doubled.
- Lightly Grease an 8x4-inch loaf pan
- Shape the Bread: Once the dough has doubled in size, it is time to form it into a sandwich loaf. On a floured surface, place the dough ball and lightly flour the top of the dough. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a rectangle (8x15 inches) roughly about half an inch thick. Roll it up into a 7-inch log and place it into the greased loaf pan. It is okay if it's not perfect! (See pictures above for a visual)
- Second Rise: Cover the loaf pan with greased plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature. The dough should be one inch above the bread loaf pan. It will take at least 30-45 minutes.
- Adjust the oven rack to the bottom 1/3rd position and preheat oven to 350℉.
- Bake the Bread: Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown. If the top is browning too quickly, you can place aluminum foil loosely over the pan. For an accurate test, the internal temperature of the bread should read 195℉.
- Once ready, remove the bread loaf from the oven and allow to cool before slicing.
Notes
- Scroll up and check out the step by step photos on my post.
- If room temperature is too cold for your bread dough to rise, you'll need to find a warm place. You can microwave a cup of water for one minute; afterward, you can place the dough inside the microwave.
- No stand mixer? No problem! You can add the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and knead by hand for 10-15 minutes.
- Make sure not to add too much flour to your work surface before rolling out the dough ball. Only add just enough to stop the dough from sticking.