I'd hazard a guess that a lot of people's first and most frequent exposure to bread comes in the form of a sandwich. For a lot of us, the bread is merely the vessel that helps transport the internal goodness to our mouths. The fillings, the condiments, the tricky little ingredients that make it a special, tasty meal. When you buy a sandwich at the deli or a restaurant, you may not give a whole lot of thought to what kind of bread it comes on - even when you're asked "white, wheat, or rye" you may just blurt out whatever first comes to mind. And when you're at home, you almost certainly just reach for whatever is in the fridge! That's completely understandable. After all, it's not like we name the sandwich off of the type of bread it's made on! My issue with this, though, is that the bread selected can really make or break the rest of your meal; and beyond that, the nutrients, vitamins, and all that other good body stuff isn't magically discounted just because you chose the best, healthiest makings! Everything you put in your mouth makes it to your belly and keeps your body keeping on. So, why not make sure all of it is good?

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So much store bought bread is loaded with fillers, preservatives, added sugars, and all kinds of nasty stuff we don't really want. Of course, there are great options out there, but personally I wince at the idea of dropping almost six bucks on a loaf made with just real ingredients when I can use those same ingredients at home for mere pennies on the dollar.

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Now, admittedly, it took me some time before I was able to find a solid, vegan recipe that I could easily make at home. I have no problem sinking literal days into making a beautiful sourdough loaf to enjoy every now and then, but I can't set aside every weekend for that jazz. Many of the recipes I tried early on were super labor intensive or time consuming, or turned out dense, flavorless, or flat. The lack of dairy just seemed to give everything a weird texture that resulted in a less than perfect mouthfeel while eating, or somehow rendered toasted bread strange and grainy (but not in a good way).

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I've been playing with this recipe for a little over a year now, having based it on the combined methods from several other vegan sandwich bread recipes, a lot of research, and a lot more failures. What I love about this stuff is that it's light, fluffy, and very forgiving. You'll see in the recipe below that there are a couple places you can take shortcuts or cut out steps altogether, and you'll still get a great final product. Additionally, when I first started this endeavor, I went against my own rule and actually measured by volume instead of weight. Now, I use weight, but for those of you who don't have a scale, the volume measurements are actually the OG option here, so you can be sure that you won't lose anything by taking that route! Additionally, should you choose NOT to mix in oats or seeds, or don't want to use whole grain flour, that won't be a problem at all. These certainly add something to the bread, but are absolutely not necessary.

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If you try this out, please let me know how it goes. I'm very interested to see how this works at other elevations or with any extra flair you decide to throw in!

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The Method

Yield: 1 loaf / about 12 slices, depending on thickness

Total Time: About 6 hours

Active Time: About 30 minutes

Baking Time: 25-35 minutes

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Special Tools

• Loaf pan (I use a 9" x 5" one)

• Sharp serrated knife

• Oven-proof metal or cast-iron pan

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Ingredients

• 1 packet / 2.25 tsp yeast (I've had equal success with active dry and fast-acting)

• 2 tbsp agave, maple syrup, or other thick, liquid sweetener

• 1.5 cups warm water

• 0.5 tsp salt

• 1 tbsp / 7 g flax meal (you can just grind 1 tbsp flax seeds in a coffee or herb grinder)

• 2 cups / 305 g whole wheat flour

• 1.75 cups / 240 g all purpose flour (see note at bottom if you only want to use all-purpose)

• 1 - 2 tbsp / 5 - 10 g rolled oats (optional. I prefer whole grain rolled oats)

• 1 - 2 tbsp / 7 - 14 g sunflower seeds, extra flax seed, hemp hearts, etc. (optional. I'm extra fond of hemp hearts for this recipe)

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Instructions

• Make the dough. Add the yeast, agave, and warm water in a large bowl and mix it all up. Let it sit for a moment or two while you pull down all the other ingredients. Add in the salt, flax meal, and flours, and stir with a wooden spoon. Once the spoon quits being useful, dive on in with your hands and kneed until all the flour is incorporated. Eventually, the dough will still be a bit wet, but should stop sticking to the sides of the bowl.

• Rest the dough. If you're not worried about dishes, grease a second bowl with olive oil (or cooking spray) and pop the dough back in there. If you are worried about creating extra dishes, lift the dough out (you can quickly set it aside on a super lightly floured surface, or just hold it in one hand while cleaning with the other), wipe the mixing bowl down so it's fairly clean, and then lightly grease the bowl. This is what I typically do, because I hate doing the dishes. Cover the bowl (see notes for some info on this), and let the dough rest at room temperature for about 2 hours. Then, move it to the fridge and let it rest for another 2 hours. If you don't have 4 hours to let the dough sit, don't fret. You can skip the cold rise and the bread will still be fine, but I've found that the longer rise results in a better mouth feel and floofier bread.

• Add in your mixings. Using your fingers, make a hole in the top of the dough and add in your oats, seeds, or whatever mixings you've decided on. I almost always add in 1 - 2 tablespoons of oats, and have had success with adding whole flax seeds, sunflour seeds, pepitas, and (a personal favorite) hemp hearts. You can be creative here, just make sure whatever you add isn't too big (for example, make sure you chop up large nuts) or moist.

• Knead and shape. Carefully turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and start to knead that bad boy until it gets a little elastic and your mixings are well incorporated throughout the dough. Generally, this takes around 20 turns of the dough, but if you feel like you need a few more to get all the extra stuff incorporated, give it a few more good kneads. If the dough is too sticky for your taste, try flouring your hands a little bit. Then, shape the dough into a loaf, and place it into a lightly greased loaf pan, seam-side down.

  • A note on shaping: There is the "right" way to form a loaf, which requires that you roll the dough out, roll it up like a wrap, then pinch a seam. Then there's how I form a loaf, which is basically just cramming the dough into a log-like shape​, folding the bottom under a bit, and plopping it into the loaf pan. I have never rolled out my sandwich bread and still manage to get a nice rise, good shape, and fluffy, soft texture. It's up to you if you want to take the extra leap into doing it "right," but if you don't have the space to do this, then don't worry, just cram away. Admittedly, I never get a "perfect" shape, but I have also never noticed any major issues with the end product.

• Rest the dough again. Lightly dust the top of the dough to keep it from drying out. Cover with something less breathable than a kitchen towel, and let the loaf rest at room temperature for around an hour.

• Pre-heat the oven. Towards the end of the rise, orient one oven rack in the middle, and one on the lowest level. Place a metal or cast iron pan in your oven on the lowest rack (do NOT use glass or pyrex. They will explode when you perform one of the next steps) and preheat to 425° F (about 220° C).

• Score the dough. Get 1 cup of warm water ready. Slash the dough 2 - 3 times across the top, about half an inch deep to help release steam (this is an important step - do not forget to score!). Using a sharp, serrated knife gives you the best score without messing up the dough - or you can use a bread lame if you have one on hand.

• Bake it into bread. Place the dough on the middle rack. Carefully pour the cup of hot water into the metal or cast iron pan on the lowest rack, and close the oven door. You can expect the water to bubble and steam - this is exactly what we're looking for, so try to close the door quickly but carefully. Bake for 25 - 35 minutes, until it's a deep golden brown and risen. You can do that thing where you jam a skewer into the middle of the loaf to see if it comes out clean to know it's done. You can also tap the top of the loaf to see if it sounds a little hollow. Or, you can just trust yourself and pull it out and hope for the best. I have never had this come out under-baked, and usually, only go for the 25-minute mark.

• The hardest part. Remove the bread from the oven and let it sit in the pan for about 5 minutes. Then, remove from the pan and let it rest on a cooling rack until completely cool or for at least 2 - 3 hours. I know, it sucks to wait, but trust me on this. There is still a lot going on baking wise during this step. If you cut into the bread too early, it's probably going to turn out gummy, or with big ol' holes that don't work so swell for making a sandwich on. I usually end up pulling my loaf out of the oven around 9 PM because I'm lazy and wait until later in the day to start this process - then I'll let it cool on the counter overnight.

• Storage. Store in a plastic bag. I know plastic is kinda unsavory, which is why I always use re-purposed produce bags from back before I started using cloth, reusable options to do my grocery shopping (some of these things are going on 5 years old, and still keeping strong). To reduce sun exposure, I tie off the plastic bag and place it in a cloth flour sack and store it in a cabinet. This bread also does well in the fridge, if that's what you prefer. It definitely keeps longer in the fridge, and this bread is moist enough that it certainly can fester faster than you'd expect, depending on ambient temperature (I've had a couple of very unpleasant, very blue surprises on occasion). This bread is also freezer-friendly, and while I haven't actually tried this, it should keep for about a month.