Homemade Subway Bread Recipe
on Apr 18, 2022, Updated May 13, 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
Yeasted Breads
Brioche Bread
Yeasted Breads
Challah Bread
Yeasted Breads
Cinnamon Babka
Yeasted Breads
Chocolate Babka
Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ review and share it on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!
Homemade Subway Bread Recipe
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.
Seems this would be a good freeze recipe. I live alone, and could make up a batch, and freeze unbaked, and/or baked
Making this as I type. It is turning out great so far. On the last step of the baking.
Made some yummy bread the last two days. Too heavy for sub buns! I am going to try this one on Friday. First time ever making bread was Monday.
good luck and enjoy ! bake by weight if you can , instead of cups and spoonfuls ..One cup = 120 grams . this is very good recipe ..you can shape it different for hot dog and hamburger buns ..I have also made it into boules and made dinner rolls with it 🙂
I have tried this recipee twice. In the substance is not similar with SUbway.. Subway is hardly to break and soft.. is there any special YIS for yr recommendation or special floor I should use?
I made it and my flour was like pancake mix never got thick followed the recipe step by step and let it run for 8 min.. added the flour a 1/4 at a time.. nothing.. Im so disappointed I wanted to make some good subs… I guess I will have to buy them… I wish you would do a step by step instruction.. with pictures to show how each part looks til done…
You can add more flour until it’s workable… different flours absorb liquid differently so feel free to add a little more. I’ll try to get some step by step pictures done.
I did this tonight And WOW, it turned out great! Only one gripe… You should list the flower by weight. 120 grams to a cup. I found 440 grams worked with this. But yes, you hit the Subway bread on the head! Excellent!
how long are these good for after you make them? say, in one of those metal counter top bread containers?
I’d say a day or two. I live in the dessert though so I would keep them in an airtight container because everything dries out really quick…
Did you mean to put 1 1/2 TBSP yeast here? Seems like a lot. Did you mean 1 1/2 tsp?
Smells great, just took out of my oven right now. But I think I left them in too long 🙁 got distracted with my tiddler and didn’t hear my timer. Hope they still taste great!,
LOL we are so on the same page today. I burned THREE sheets of cookies, not my normal one. Boo! Hope it turned out great.
Thank You for sharing such a great recipe. Made this by hand start to finish as I don’t have a mixer with a dough hook attachment, came out wonderful. I am learning that yeast is not the enemy..LOL many failed attempts trying to make dinner rolls. Left it alone for years but this recipe has given me confidence that it can be done. I mean who doesn’t appreciate fresh, out of the oven..
Can’t wait to try this recipe. I ADORE Subway! Just a couple of things – if you sub milk for the water, your bread will be softer. Quick-rise yeast is different than regular yeast, so people having rising issues may want to check the type of yeast they’re using. It’s also best to “prove” the yeast before adding it to the rest of the ingredients. Just add the yeast to the warm milk/water with a teaspoon or so of the sugar and mix. Then let it sit for a few minutes to bubble up. If it doesn’t bubble up, the yeast has gone bad. Throw it out and start over with new yeast/milk/sugar. You can also add a crushed vitamin C tablet to the flour mix to help it rise more (I know, sounds weird, but it works!) Hope that helps!
Great thoughts! Thanks so much for the details 🙂