Man cannot live on bread alone, but it sure makes sandwiches easier to hold! This was one of the very first salt free recipes I created. As suggested by the title, this bread makes great sandwiches, but is also a terrific all around white bread – and my father’s favorite. I think it’s heavenly toasted for breakfast, slathered with unsalted butter and honey. But it’s equally good with homemade preserves, marmalade, and anything else you can imagine!
Recipe yields 2 regular or 1 king size loaf.
SODIUM CONTENT: 153 mg per recipe
INGREDIENTS
4 1/2 t. (2 pkgs) dry active yeast
1 c. warm milk
1 c. warm water
1/2 c. honey
1/4 c. vegetable oil
5-6 c. all-purpose flour
DIRECTIONS
Measure yeast into a large mixing bowl. Pour in milk and water and stir gently. Let rest a minute or two, then add remaining ingredients. Stir until dough begins to form, then turn bowl out onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Knead dough by hand until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Butter a clean mixing bowl and place dough inside. Cover bowl – I use clear plastic wrap with a rubber band around the rim to keep it in place – plastic hotel shower caps also work remarkably well for this purpose (so make sure you don’t leave em next time you travel!) Set bowl in a warm place and allow dough to rise until doubled in size, about 2-3 hours. Note: If your house is cool, you can always turn the oven on to 250 degrees and set the bowl on top.
Once dough has doubled in size, gently turn bowl out onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Knead dough 8 minutes. Form dough into a loaf shape and place into a well-buttered loaf pan. (If two loaves are desired, cut into two even pieces and repeat procedure with 2 pans.) Cover pan loosely with plastic wrap or a dish cloth, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1-2 hours.
Once dough has risen, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place pan or pans on middle rack in oven and bake until bread is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Remove pan(s) from oven and cool 5 minutes before removing bread from pan and placing on wire rack to cool. Cool fully before slicing.
Hi Christy, I got a breadmaker for Christmas and I was wondering if this recipe could be used in it?
Merry Christmas, Stacey! And congrats on your new bread maker! I’ve never used one myself, so can’t say whether or not this recipe will translate verbatim. My advice? If your bread maker came with a few recipes of its own, try following one first, until you get the swing of how it operates. After that I’d say GO FOR IT. I wouldn’t imagine it’ll be that different, but don’t want you to wreck your new baby!! And please, let me know how it goes. Happy New Year!
I will Christy, Thank you and Happy New Year to you and yours!
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Sounds delicious. This is my first Thanksgiving that I’ll be cooking around my husband’s Meniere’s and I’m going to attempt stuffing from scratch. Does this recipe yield one or two pounds of bread? Thanks!
Hi Kate! Best of luck with your first low-so Thanksgiving! Not sure about the exact weight of the finished loaf or loaves, but the recipe yields 2 regular or 1 king-size commercial loaves of bread — equivalent to those sold in supermarkets in terms of size. Really hope this helps!
That is helpful Christy, thank you!
The bread is delicious, Christy! I had to make a second batch for the stuffing b/c we ate the first one!
Happy Thanksgiving.
AWESOME, Kate!!! Hope you had an amazing Thanksgiving!
Hi Christy,
Your website is a God-send. I am now on low sodium due to vestibular issues (no dx yet) and was missing so many things- especially pizza! I was THRILLED when I found your recipe blog. My question is when it says 153mg per recipe–that means the whole loaf, right? Also, just as a helpful tip- I found no sodium wheat bread at Trader Joe’s! It’s a little hard/dense but hey, it’s food
Thanks a bunch!
Hey Michele!
You’re so welcome! And thanks so much for taking the time to write. I love hearing from readers.
Yes, the 153 mg is for the entire loaf. You can calculate per slice by dividing 153 by # of slices.
Have tried the Trader Joe’s whole wheat bread. It’s a bit bland, but truly YUMMY when topped with things, like PB&J, etc.
Hope you’re feeling well!
This was my first attempt at making bread. It looked delicious but when I cut into it it was chewy and doughy. I guess I didn’t knead the dough enough, have a big enough pan, or bake it long enough. The small part that was baked enough tasted really good so I will try this again!
Ugh Anna – so sorry to hear this! The bread needs to be baked in an extended pan (the equivalent of a full-size loaf length – like when you buy bread from the supermarket). I bought two extendable pans specifically for this purpose. If you only have a “regular” size pan, you can either use two or try halving the recipe. I would definitely try it again, though I know it’s labor intensive. So glad you liked the taste though. Best of luck on your next try! Christy
I made this today and I was blown away at how soft and wonderful it is. I had tried a salt free bread recipe from a different site and its just was a very dense hard to enjoy bread. I only made 1 loaf so i halved the ingredients and its so good I will be making this again. Thank you for this awesome recipe!
You are SO welcome, Cheryl! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! All the best to you. Christy
What size loaf pan would I buy for this? When you mention a regular pan, are you talking about a 9×5 pan?
Hey TMM,
Yes, a regular loaf size would be roughly 9 x 5- inches. You’ll need two of them for this recipe. You can also use a single king-sized loaf pan for this recipe (roughly double the length, same width). I bought two extendable pans specifically for this purpose, so I can use them either way. If you only have a single regular sized pan, try halving the recipe. Hope this helps!
Best wishes to you,
Christy
Great tasting bread! I was shocked at how much it rose in my biggest mixing bowl (I was afraid it would run over!).
The only thing I would change – I was unsure whether to use my 2 8.5″x4.5″ pans or my 9.25″x5.25″ pans. After reading the comments where you recommended a 9×5 (and seeing how much I had) I went with the bigger one. I wish I had used the smaller one. My bread turned out a bit “squatty.” Looking forward to trying it again, though!
Hi Heather! Yikes! Sorry to hear about your squat loaf! Thanks for the comment though; very helpful to those making this after you. Glad you enjoyed the taste!
Best wishes, Christy
I was recently diagnosed with menieres and and trying to figure out this whole low sodium thing. I was so excited to find your site and an looking forward to trying out your recipes. I’m starting with bread. I order a 13x4x4 pan so I’m hoping this works. Not sure if I should try a full or half recipe.
Well I tried this today. I definitely should have only done a half recipe for my pan. Also, mine rose really fast next to your times…1 hour and then half hour once in pan. It seemed to taste fine though.
Hi Trina! Glad you enjoyed the bread. My apologies if it overfilled your pan! It does make a “jumbo” loaf equivalent. Rise times will definitely vary by place. Here in Maine.. not so hot right now. Hahah Wishing you all the best, Christy