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This Subway Bread Recipe is easy to make and tastes even better than the popular restaurant! Soft and chewy, it’s the perfect start to your favorite sandwich.
Featured with this recipe
A perfect sandwich begins and ends with the bread! This Subway Bread recipe uses real, actual, bread-making ingredients and tastes even better than what you can get at the restaurant. It’s soft, slightly chewy, with fresh, homemade flavor. You’re probably thinking, why go through all the trouble of making Subway’s sandwich bread at home when you can’t beat a $5 foot long or a cheap 6-inch sandwich? I’m with you there! But hear me out. This recipe is so fun to make at home. It’s ideal for parties, baby showers, picnics, whenever you want to serve delicious homemade sandwiches and wow your guests. My kids love to help shape the dough, watch it bake, then play “Subway” as they assemble all the sandwiches. Try this recipe and see how much fun it can be to create your favorite sub in your own kitchen!
Ingredients in Subway Bread
Making homemade bread isn’t as daunting as it may seem. Just a few pantry staples and you’re well on your way to delicious, fresh bread from your own kitchen. Here’s what you need for this recipe:
- Yeast – use active dry yeast, NOT quick rising yeast.
- Warm water – warm to the touch but not too hot. You don’t want to kill your yeast with hot water.
- Sugar – a couple tablespoons of white sugar helps to activate and “feed” the yeast, making light bread. You don’t need too much sugar – just enough to get that yeast nice and fluffy.
- Flour – regular all purpose flour for white bread.
- Vital Wheat Gluten – you can find this in a “Bob’s Red Mill” brand package at most grocery stores. See notes below for more on this “secret” ingredient.
- Cold butter
- Salt
Secret Ingredient for Subway Bread
What kind of food blogger would I be if I wasn’t honest with my readers. So here it goes: it took a few tries (four to be exact) until I got this Subway Bread just right. There is a little secret ingredient you need for it to be just right and that is Vital Wheat Gluten. I know that sounds intimidating, but it isn’t. It’s what you need to make the bread chewy and soft like real Subway bread and you can find it at your regular grocery store! I got mine at Winco in their bulk bins for about two dollars a pound. If you don’t have a Winco nearby, you can get it in a “Bob’s Red Mill” brand package at most grocery stores but it is a bit pricey. But this is the ticket to soft and chewy Subway bread.
Substitutions and Additions
- Use whole wheat flour to create whole wheat bread
- Add sesame seeds and a drizzle of olive oil to the top of your bread before baking
- For Italian bread or Italian herb bread, sprinkle Italian seasoning or some oregano to the top of your loaf.
- Make cheese bread by sprinkling shredded parmesan cheese to the top of the loaves before baking.
Frequently Asked Questions about Subway Bread
If you REALLY want to make it like Subway, you can use special “sub” bread mold pans. They will help the bread rise in the right direction and you will get that nice “Subway-ish” shape. If you don’t have special pans, you can just shape them as best you can with your hands. The more cylinder-shaped you can get them, the better.
The bread made at the restaurant has a high sugar content and artificial flavors that aren’t too healthy, so making it at home with wholesome ingredients is definitely a healthier option.
If you can’t find the Vital Wheat Gluten locally, you can get it on Amazon, here.
More Bread Recipes
As long as you have a few bread recipes in your back pocket, you will always have something nourishing and comforting to feed your family. Try a few of our favorites:
How to Make Subway Bread at Home
How to Make Subway Bread at Home
Video
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
- 1 ½ cup warm water, divided
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 3 ½ cups flour
- 2 tablespoons Bob's Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten see above notes
- 3 tablespoons butter, cold, plus a little more for topping cold
- ½ tablespoon salt
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine yeast, ½ cup of warm water, and sugar. Stir until well combined. Let stand for about 10 minutes or until nice and foamy.
- In a separate mixing bowl, combine flour and vital wheat gluten. Set Aside. Add the remaining 1 cup warm water to the yeast mixture. Add the flour mixture.
- Mix until combined, about 4 minutes.
- Add a little flour if necessary; You want it a little sticky, but not so much that it sticks to the sides of the bowl.
- Cut up cold butter into little cubes and add to the mixing bowl. Add salt. Mix an additional 5-6 minutes, until butter is mixed in. Pull the bread off the hook if needed throughout the mixing process. Again, you want the dough to be slightly sticky and stretchy.
- Grease a large bowl. Place dough inside and roll around a little to get it greased all around Cover and allow to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour.
- Punch the dough down and divide into 3 equal pieces. (Flour your hands if the dough is too sticky, for easier handling.) Roll out each piece into a 12-inch-long loaf. The dough should be the same thickness all the way across. Place on a nonstick baking sheet, a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat, or a French bread baking pan. Cover and allow to rise for 40-60 minutes, until dough doubles in size.
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 15-25 minutes (check at 15 minutes), until bread is golden brown. Remove from oven and lightly run a little cold butter over the top.
- Allow loaves to cool completely, then serve with all your favorite sub sandwich toppings!
Notes
- You can make variations of this bread easily. To make whole wheat bread, use whole wheat flour. You can also add sesame seeds and a drizzle of olive oil to the top of your bread before baking. For Italian bread or Italian herb bread, sprinkle Italian seasoning or some oregano on the top of your loaf before baking. You can make cheese bread by sprinkling shredded Parmesan cheese on the top of the loaves before baking.
- If you use a bread mold, you’ll get the perfect shape each time.
Is it just me… Why would there be 2tbsp of yeast? 2tsp would be more than enough for this amount of dough…
You are welcome to try it with 2 tsp– let us know how it turns out!
I’ll try, just though somebody could explain what kind of difference it makes 🙂
What if you don’t have a stand mixer? I only have a standard type mixer. Will this still work?
I mean a standard type mixer
It is possible, but when it gets too thick to keep mixing you will have to knead it by hand (which might make it not quite as soft and fluffy) :/
What if you don’t have a stand mixer? I only have a stand mixer. Will this still work?
I adore their Italian herb and cheese bread … is it the same recipe with oregano and Romano or pares an on top?
I’m really looking forward to trying this. My family and I love subway. Would you happen to have the recipe for Subway Sourdough?? That’s my favorite and I can’t find it here in Ohio. My husband loves the Italian Herb and Cheese.
Keep watching, we may be adding some more versions down the road. 🙂
I don’t see how much flour to use? Would love to try this as I enjoy baking bread.
It is 3 c. (it is in the ingredients, just kind of hiding there 😉 )
Hi – When I worked at the bank, one of my commercial customers was the owner of a Subway store. She said the “secret” to Subway is the bread, so that’s why I am so excited to have found this! Thanks!
This was super yummy! I really want some of those bread pans now!
I only like the Subway flatbread. Any idea how to recreate that at home?
I haven’t tried the flatbread before– I will have to give it a try and see if I can re-create it!
Do you happen to have to recipe for the herb and cheese?! I would love to try that.
We don’t yet, I will do some research and update the post when I figure out how to do it!
I would also like the recipe for the herbs and cheese bread. I’m guessing it starts out the same and herbs (?) and cheese are added on top before baking or during baking. Also, do you think you could get the recipe for Jersey Mike’s bread? That always seems so fresh!
Thank you!
You can lightly press the prpofed bread on an asiago cheddar blend with herbs right before baking. Thats how the bagel place i managed did it
All it is: parmesan cheese, Italian herbs, and Monterey cheddar cheese. Before bread is proofed and in the homemade forms or whatever using spray the bread with water roll the bread in the parmesan and Italian mix proof to where needed. Before baking evenly top the cheddar cheese not over doing it it can cause the bread to sink. Because the cheese is more heavier then the bread once proofed.
Thank you for posting this! Thanks Virginia!
Oh nice! Thanks for that! 🙂 I love that bread at Subway..so gonna try Erica’s original recipe here and then add the herbs/cheese. 🙂
What do you cover the dough with before baking. Foil?
You can cover it with a clean, lightly damp kitchen towel, or plastic wrap that is lightly sprayed with oil (so it doesn’t stick if it rises and touches it)
How would this be made in a bread machine if a person doesn’t have a stand mixer with a dough hook?
You would just have to knead it by hand… or if your bread machine does kneading, you can just use your bread machine 🙂 does that make sense?
I’m going to try it.
Thank you so much. Look forward to trying. Your 4 year old sounds like my 3 year old. He is obsessed with Subway and no matter how much I try to recreate it at home it gets shot down. Funny how he will finish a whole kids sub but sandwiches I make only eats a bit. Hope this is my saving grace 🙂
haha arrrrggh kids!!! They are so picky (mine, I swear, being the pickiest)! lol Hopefully this recipe will be the trick for him too! Good luck!
You could make a free form ‘pan’ to shape and bake the bread in by using foil or parchment paper.
I am soo glad you posted this! I have wanted to make this bread for years!!! Ps will you make the honey whole wheat kind too? My kids love that one too!
I’m so glad you liked the recipe! I would like to get the honey whole wheat recipe up on our site too….stay tuned!
I also would like the Whole Wheat recipe
There really is nothing like homemade bread!!
Agreed!
If i dont have the vital wheat gluten.
You don’t say what type of flour. Is it AP, bread flour, or Self raising?
It is all purpose. You can use bread flour, and if you do you won’t need to add any vital wheat gluten
Sounds great. Can’t wait to make this.
I was wondering if the flour was bread flour or all purpose.
The flour is all purpose… If you use bread flour you won’t need to add any vital wheat gluten
You can actually still add about 1 1/2 tsp of gluten to the 3 cups of bread flour and it’ll make your bread nice and chewy like their bread rolls. 🙂
I have been making bread for over 20 years and when I make my own rolls that is about the ratio I use to add gluten to my bread flour for that extra chewy texture.
I don’t know how to make my own comment, so sorry for replying to yours. Anyway – I made this and…WINNER! THANK YOU SO MUCH!
So glad you liked it! Thank you for the nice review!
What is that vital wheat gluten.
It’s the natural protein that is found in wheat. It give the bread a better texture and more elasticity. You can buy it online or in most stores. Bob’s Red Mill has a Vital Wheat Gluten that works great. Hope this helps!
Do you know how to do the flatbread too? That is the one I usually get bc it’s less ‘bread’, but I can’t find any to buy in the store that do the same thing. They are all round and fluffy and stuff.
Thanks!
I haven’t actually tried their flatbread before. I will have to try it!
I have been making bread for years and I have to say this is the worst recipe I’ve ever used.It needed a lot more flour than three cups.Kneeding also was longer.Very stickie! Does it really call for 1and 3/4 cups of water?And after adding the butter it needed more Flour
However this bread was terrific .
First you hate it then you love it? About the “stickiness:” I read that unless the dough is more batter-like than what you’re used to, it’s likely to bake up to be very dense and hard to chew.
No. It calls for 1 and 1/4 cups water. The first thing I’d always suspect is not following the recipe correctly.
The ingredients actually do call for 1 3/4 c water. The instructions only say 1 1/2 c water. Water is listed twice in the ingredients and also twice in the directions. Either way it is too much water for the amount of flour.
I found it as well that it was too much liquid for the amount of flour. I added probably another 3/4 cup of flour when usually I have to add water because I lived in an arid environment. Bread is now in the rising stage but I’m very worried about it. Water is listed twice. I’m hoping it will turn out all right.