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-try these simple bread recipes: Homemade Italian Bread, Easy Bread Sticks Recipe and Mom’s 4 Loaf Wheat Bread Recipe.
Homemade Subway Bread
You guys, they turned out amazing! Really and truly. Plus, it wasn’t all that hard to do. Next time I’m going to double the recipe so that I have some leftovers and I’m going to try to freeze them. Lucky for me, I found a jar of pickled banana peppers in the pantry too. My sandwich was half banana peppers and half everything else because those are my favorite thing ever.
The homemade Subway bread was just perfect. It had a very soft crust (thanks to a little butter and letting them steam in a towel as they cooled) and a light middle, and it kind of smashed into nothing when you ate it. Just like the real thing. Sure, Subway is cheap, but it’s pretty fun to make them at home. Your family will be shocked and amazed at your mad skills and you’ll be able to put on as many banana peppers as your heart desires. Best deal ever!
Just top with your favorite sandwich toppings and a heavy hand of mayo and you’ll have yourself something ridiculously close to an authentic Subway sandwich made at home. Even if you aren’t craving Subway, this homemade Subway bread recipe is a great one to keep on hand for any future hoagie needs.
Tips and Tricks for making Homemade Subway 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.
- 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.
- Like pickled banana peppers as much as I do? Check out my recipe on how to make easy refrigerated pickled banana peppers (great use for extra garden or farmer’s market produce).
How do I know how much flour to add to bread dough?
If you haven’t ever made dough 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.
Can I still make homemade bread without a stand mixer?
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.
Can I incorporate whole wheat flour in this bread recipe?
This recipe works well with half whole wheat flour mixed with half all-purpose flour for whole wheat sub buns.
Homemade Subway Bread Recipe
- Prep Time: 1 hr 35 min
- Cook Time: 25 min
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: Makes 4 9-inch sub buns 1x
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Perfect homemade Subway bread recipe, just like the restaurant. This recipe makes a perfect copycat loaf of Subway bread for sandwiches at home.
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
- 1 tablespoon 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.
- Category: Bread
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: subway bread recipe, subway copycat recipe, easy hero bread recipe, best sandwich bread recipe, subway bread
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Tried and True Bread Recipes:
- Homemade Cornbread Muffins
- Grandma Lucy’s Famous Clover Rolls
- Jumbo Dinner Rolls
- Whole Wheat Spinach Bread
- Big Soft Pretzels
- Homemade Italian Bread
- Easy Bread Sticks Recipe
- Pineapple Zucchini Bread Recipe
- One Hour Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls
Recipe adapted from Copycat Recipe Guide.
This recipe was originally published in March 2013 and republished in July 2017 with new pictures, new text, and an updated based on retesting and reader feedback. Enjoy!
NOTE: One of the awesome Bless this Mess readers, Kim, had great success using her bread machine to make this recipe. Since so many have asked about that I thought I would share her notes. Kim said that 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. Here’s how Kim’s homemade sub bun turned out:
Thank you for sharing Kim! I hope that helps someone else out too.
Enjoy this perfect Homemade Subway Bread recipe, just like the restaurant. This recipes makes a perfect copycat loaf of Subway bread for sandwiches at home.
About Melissa
Melissa is dedicated to helping parents figure out the nightly questions, "What's for Dinner?!" with her no-fuss approach to cooking. Read more...
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my partner loves this recipe. I add in some herbs and garlic salt for more flavour, and most times only need about 2cups of flour 🙂
super easy ratios
★★★★★
I am using my bread maker to mix all my ingredients (I dumped all the flour at once). I am still going to mix for 8 minuites, but I’m not sure if it will turn out the same since this starts out slow.
I’ll let everyone know how it turns out
I used my bread maker and it worked great! I also sprinkled parmesan cheese on top for extra flavor!
Bread turns out nice, but I would cut the salt in half unless you want a pretzel.
★★★★
i have done this recipe several times with success… can you brush with melted butter instead of rubbing with a stick?
★★★★
Yes, that will work great!
How would you make the herb and cheese blend just Italian seasoning and cheese on the top before baking ?
★★★★★
What type of “Yeast” ?? your bread looks spot on to Subways
I use active dry yeast or instant yeast. Both work great.
Thank You
I used Fleishman’s that I ordered from Amazon. Bought a pound which comes in two packages. Gave one to my neighbor. It’ll last 6 months in the fridge if sealed in a plastic container. Good for homemade wine, too, which you can make using Welch’s grape juice.
I’m about to make mine. Just wondering if bread flour work with this recipe?
Yep, it’ll work great!
Seems like a pretty easy recipe to follow. Will try to make very soon because I am craving a sub with a homemade roll. Should I use instant or active dry yeast? Can I use extra virgin olive oil? Thanx for your response
Either yeast will work great and extra virgin olive oil with be great! Happy baking!
Thanx hun. I will post my results
Mine turned out a little flatter than a subway bun but they were soft and delicious!! I think I may just need a little more rise time before baking. Kitchen smelled just like subway when they are baking the buns.
★★★★★
Delicious! After baking, I cooled then froze each roll individually in aluminum foil. When ready to use, put roll wrapped in foil in 350 degree oven and baked for 25 minutes. When they came out, let them cool a bit before adding sandwich toppings (shredded lettuce, onion, tomatoes, provolone cheese, banana peppers, olives), squirted on some mayo and mustard, sliced into two pieces. UNBELIEVABLE!! Soft on inside and the outside has a beautiful delicate crunch caused by the steam from the frozen bread in the aluminum foil.
Absolutely fantastic! Can’t wait to try with a “veggie meatball” sub or eggplant parm. Thank you so much for sharing. So much better than any other sandwich sub bread I have tried.
P.S. I made in bread maker dough setting. Could not be easier! Thank you!
★★★★★
Such a great recipe! I’ve made it four times now. Three as sub buns and fourth as 6 round rolls for hamburgers. Plus I cheat and use my bread maker in which you want to use 2 3/4 cup flour. Hands down 5 stars and highly recommend this recipe! Thanks!
★★★★★
How can I store the baked breads?
After they are fully cooled you can store them in an air-tight container.