Homemade Subway Bread Recipe
on Jul 13, 2017, Updated Aug 21, 2024
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Perfect Homemade Subway Bread recipe, just like the restaurant. This recipes makes a perfect copycat loaf of Subway bread for sandwiches at home.
I love making homemade bread. It’s easier than you think, makes the house smell amazing, and provides that little extra something for your meal. Plus I can put on as many banana peppers as my heart desires, so I’ll also be making up a batch of easy refrigerated pickled banana peppers, too.
The homemade Subway bread was just perfect. It had a very soft crust (thanks to a little butter and letting it steam in a towel as it cooled) and a light middle, and it kind of smashed into nothing when you ate it. Just like the real thing.
Your family will be shocked and amazed at your mad skills, and you can wow them with an amazing cheese steak sandwich served on this perfect sandwich bread. Mom for the win!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Soft crust and light as air in the middle – a perfect replica of Subway bread
- This is a great recipe to keep on hand for any future hoagie needs
- A simple bread recipe with basic ingredients you’ll likely find in your pantry
Recipe Ingredients
- Yeast – If buying yeast in the packets, you’ll need to open two to measure out the amount needed for this recipe
- Sugar – Plain old sugar to make the yeast happy!
- Olive oil
- All-purpose flour
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Popular Variation: Italian Herb & Cheese Bread
I have had a few people email me and say that just before baking they brushed the outside of the dough with olive oil or butter and then sprinkled on some Italian seasoning and some Parmesan cheese for a great homemade Subway Italian Herb and Cheese bread.
I can’t wait to try this myself on any number of creative sandwich recipes!
How to Make Homemade Subway Bread
- Mix wet ingredients with all dry ingredients except the flour. Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes.
- Add 1 cup of flour and mix for 3 to 5 minutes. Add an additional cup of flour and mix well, and then add rest of flour a little at a time, until a soft dough is formed. Knead until smooth.
- Place the dough in a bowl and cover. Allow to rise and then shape into 4 rolls, allowing these to rise again.
- Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, brushing with butter and covering when they come out of the oven.
Recipe FAQs
If you haven’t ever made a simple bread recipe before, the goal is to add just enough flour for it to be a soft but not sticky dough. If you add too much flour, you’ll end up with Subway bricks instead of bread.
No stand mixer? This recipe can be made by hand, just be sure to knead it for a full 8 minutes. That’s a long time but developing the gluten helps the bread to be soft.
This recipe works well with half whole wheat flour mixed with half all-purpose flour for whole wheat sub buns.
Expert Tips
- This bread froze just about as well as other breads. It was still soft but seemed a bit dryer after freezing. Fresh is best but they do freeze and thaw well.
- Do not skip rubbing with butter and covering the bread with a towel to cool. This is the key to the texture of this awesome bread!
- One of the awesome Bless this Mess readers, Kim, had great success using her bread machine to make this recipe. She let the bread machine run the full dough cycle, which is 1.5 hours long. After the cycle she shaped the loaves and let them rise for an hour before baking.
More Amazing Bread Recipes to Consider
Homemade Bread
100% Whole Wheat Bread Recipe
Homemade Bread
Soft Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
Yeast Bread Recipes
Brioche Bread
Yeast Bread Recipes
Challah Bread
Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ review and share it on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!
Homemade Subway Bread Recipe
Equipment
- baking sheet These are a go-to that every kitchen should have.
- KitchenAid stand mixer This classic KitchenAid always gets the job done!
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water, (110 degrees F)
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, add the water, yeast, sugar, salt, and olive oil. Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes.
- Add 1 cup of flour and mix with the dough hook for 3 to 5 minutes. Add an additional cup of flour and mix until well combined. Continue adding the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until a soft dough is formed. The dough should still stick to the bottom of of the bowl, but pull away from the sides. Let the dough mix for around 8 minutes total.
- When the dough has come together but is still sticking a bit to the bottom of the bowl, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth. The dough should be very soft. Shape the dough into a ball and return it to the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for a half hour.
- After the dough has risen, turn it out onto a clean surface and divide it into 4. Roll each piece of dough into a long skinny loaf that is about 9 to 10 inches long.
- Place the rolled loaves onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or a baking mat. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Allow at least 2 inches between each loaf on the pan.
- Cover the loaves with a greased piece of plastic wrap and allow the loaves to rise until doubled, about an hour.
- Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. When the loaves are ready, bake them in the preheated oven for 25 minutes.
- When the loaves come out of the oven, rub the tops with a stick of butter and cover them with a dish towel to cool.
- Let the loaves cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting down the middle and topping with your favorite sandwich fixings.
Notes
- Rubbing the loaves with butter and covering them with a towel to cool are part of what keeps them very soft, so be sure not to miss those steps
- If you don’t have a stand mixer, just mix the flour in a bit at a time, kneading very well after it’s all incorporated.
- Add seasonings to the dough to change it up, like garlic powder or Italian seasonings.
- Instead of shaping the dough into loaves for Hoagie-style bread, make it into whatever shapes of sandwich rolls your family likes. Note that smaller shapes may need a shorter baking time.
I just got a kitchen aid mixer and it says that it doesn’t need as much time to knead it as other mixers, should I do the 8minutes as 4 minutes? It says half the time. I am new to a stand mixer of any kind.
I’d stick with the 8, the recipe was developed using a stand mixer so it’ll still be the same!
The instructions from the mixer says not to knead more than 2 minutes since it’s equivalent to kneading using hand for 10-12 minutes. I have the Kitchen aid classic. Should. still do a continuous 8 minutes?
It’s up to you, I have good luck kneading it much longer.
I made these tonight and they were delicious! My house smelled like subway and my hubby was really impressed with the buns. He is really picky about homemade bread and was looking for that soft fluffy texture and this recipe nailed it! I did mix the water, yeast and sugar and let it get foamy before adding the oil and salt. That’s just what I was taught.
I mixed all the ingredients and my yeast didn’t foam. So I threw it out and then mixed water sugar and yeast . Came out perfect
I have used only wheat flour with your recipe.. what changes do I need to make or will it become same like yours ?
You won’t need as much flour probably, I’d mix it really really well too to develop the gluten!
For those saying the dough didnt rise, I would recommend proofing the yeast first. Mix the yeast with the warm water and add the sugar. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes. It should be foamy. If not, your yeast didnt work. Once foamy add the other ingredients and continue with the recipe. I do this for ALL yeast regardless of what type of yeast it is because too many times when I’ve just added the yeast to the recipe, my dough doesnt rise.
The recipe is great and tastes very similar to the subway bread! Thanks.
Great idea, thank you.
Very excited to make these today. Question: can you form them into shorter rolls to make more of them, and if so, what would you adjust the baking time to?
Yes, I’ll often make them smaller, just bake for a few minutes less, but it won’t be a big different in time actually.
Thanks Melissa! They are cooling now. They didn’t rise when baking the way I’d hoped; I’m wondering if I overworked the dough when forming the rolls or should have let them rise longer :(. I made them in trade for the BBQ pork my neighbor is smoking, so I won’t even get to taste them 🙁 ill have to rely on their opinion but I’m going to try again for us!
Omg. Great recipe just tried it and will be a regular from now on, note for others, my usual yeast failed me recently (think it was dead) I bought new instant yeast and it rose perfectly,
Haven’t tasted yet but my kitchen smells great! I made sure to cover it after baking and it is super soft and I can’t wait to turn it into a philly cheese steak sub later! I brushed lightly with olive oil and Italian seasoning for that herb bread flavour.
YAY!! And I LOVE the pictures, thank you for taking the time to add them, it’s SO much fun to see!
Thank you for the recipe, they were delicious and dare I say could give subway a run for their money lol. I’m making them again today!
I followed the recipe to the letter and my dough has not risen yet and it’s been 2 hours.
How do I fix
Was your yeast fresh?
About a week old
I think if it’s that new something else happened. Any chance you killed it with water that was too hot? It should have risen.
I did too Jeff and it didn’t rise very well.
I use a thermometer to make sure that the water for the yeast is the right temperature. Estimating the temperature is iffy at best. Also, I have a KitchenAid Thermometer to make sure that the bread is the correct temp inside. I live at 4300ft above sea level, so I’ve had to adjust recipes to reflect that.
I love to bake but sadly, my husband prefers store-bought bread for the most part. But he actually asks me to make these for him!
Also, yay for banana peppers.
I totally agree about the banana peppers!
At this time it is very hard to find all purpose flour. I do have bread flour. Can I use that for this recipe?
It should work great!
Thanks I’m going to try this for the first time.
what speed should the mixer be on
I set mine on, low or 2
Well I followed everything to the tea and they did not rise as good as yours did.
For the bread machine recipe, do I need to
change the type of yeast. Thanks for your response.
I don’t think so, it should work great.