Fresh Milled Flour Sandwich Bread (Healthy & Easy Homemade Recipe)
Learn how to make soft, healthy sandwich bread using fresh milled flour and wheat berries. Includes beginner tips, grain mill guidance, and simple steps for perfect homemade bread every time.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Nothing, in my opinion, beats the smell of fresh baked bread in the kitchen. The aroma captivates our memories. It can bring back cherished childhood moments and invokes a cozy loving home. Plus who doesn’t love butter on a hot slice?
This recipe is fully adapted from my Soft Sandwich Bread recipe. Check it out if you don’t have a mill yet.
Pin For Later
The Tools That Make This Bread Foolproof
If you’re new to baking with fresh milled flour, the biggest difference you’ll notice isn’t just the taste—it’s the texture and how the dough behaves. Having the right tools truly makes this process simple and consistent.
When I first started, I tried to keep things as minimal as possible, but over time I’ve found a few tools that make this bread turn out beautifully every single time:
- A reliable grain mill for fresh flour – Do not get the kitchen aid attachment, it is slow and will burn out your motor.
- High-quality wheat berries (Hard Red is my favorite for sandwich loaves)
If you’re just getting started, don’t feel like you need everything at once—but these are the pieces that made the biggest difference in my kitchen.
What is the secret to soft sandwich bread?
Soft sandwich loaves are the goal of all bakers. Bread recipes that yield a soft loaf typically use an enriched dough.
WHAT IS AN ENRICHED DOUGH?
An enriched dough is a dough that calls for more than just flour, water, salt and yeast. Recipes that have eggs, milk, butter or oil create a softer slightly sweeter loaf. By adding fat to the dough you create a tender crumb (holes in the loaf) that is soft and fluffy. Too much fat though can make your gluten strands lose all structure and you’re left with a flat dense loaf. This is not to be confused with enriched flour!
DON’T OVER-BAKE YOUR BREAD!. I know, seems obvious but you would be surprised by how long some recipes bake their loaves. If its in the oven for more than 45 minutes, its probably over-done and crunchy…I find 35 minutes lends to a soft loaf with a perfectly browned crust.
Is Homemade bread healthier?
The short answer? YES!
Commercially made bread has a whole host of ingredients. Most are fillers, added for shelf life preservation or to create universally consistent loaves of bread. Real bread should have 4-10 ingredients. The starters of all loaves are flour, salt, water and yeast and then you can add dough enrichers such as eggs, butter, oil, sugar or milk and sometimes herbs for flavor. See how everything there can be easily pronounced?
Bread is life (and Jesus is the bread of life) and is the core staple for almost every culture in the world. The rise and fall of governments have happened due to the cost of flour. Only in our modern western world have we concluded that bread is the evil villain of our time. But bread free of pesticides, made at home, especially if you are milling the flour fresh for each loaf may be the most nutritious thing you can serve your family. Commercially available white flour has most of the bio-available nutrients removed for shelf stability. Freshly milled whole grains contain 40 of the 44 essential nutrients our bodies require daily and provide our bodies with nutrition devoid in our every day western diet.
If you’re interested in learning more about whole grains and their dietary impact, check out Bread Beckers. They are an excellent resource.
KNOW THIS! If you don’t have a mill. If you aren’t able to buy the “best” flour and you are making bread at home with basic all-purpose, you are still creating a healthier bread for your family.
Is Fresh Milled Flour Worth It?
This is one of the most common questions I get, and the honest answer is: yes—but not just for the reason most people think.
Nutritionally freshly milled flour is far superior to conventional all purpose flour.
Fresh milled flour isn’t just about making bread from scratch. It’s about:
- Keeping all the natural nutrients intact
- Avoiding the shelf-stable processing of store-bought flour
- Creating a more filling, nourishing loaf
From a cost perspective, buying wheat berries in bulk is often comparable (or even cheaper) than buying high-quality organic flour—especially if you bake regularly.
But where it really shines is in how it makes you feel. This bread is hearty, satisfying, and keeps our family full much longer than anything store-bought.
Anecdotal Evidence: Within my own family we have seen one of my children’s constant constipation fully go away, my cycles have greatly benefited and my anxiety. All of us have more energy and are happier people. I love the biblical references to bread, especially as I make bread closer to God’s design.
How to make Freshly Milled Sandwich Bread
Equipment you will need:
- Large Mixing Bowl
- 2 Loaf Pans – These glass pans are made in the USA and are easy to line with parchment.
- Parchment paper – This one is my favorite, I’m able to bake with each piece multiple times.
- Mill – I personally have the Nutrimill, but I hear the Wondermill is great as well.
- Wheat Berries – I source my wheat from Azure Standard – Hard Red & Hard White
Step 1
Mill 1000g of Hard Red or Hard White wheat berries.
(Approximately 6 cups)
Step 2
Heat milk in a small saucepan over low to medium heat.
Step 3
To a large mixing bowl place warm milk (around 100ºF) sugar and yeast. Allow yeast to bloom for 10 minutes.
Step 4
Add oil, eggs and salt to the bowl, combine. Mix in freshly milled flour to your wet ingredients until rough dough forms.
I keep a cup of flour to the side in case the dough is still sticky and needs any additional flour.
Step 5
Knead dough by hand for several minutes until dough is smooth. (You can use a mixer for this, I find it is unnecessary.) Shape dough into a round and allow to rise in mixing bowl for 30-40 minutes or until dough has doubled. Once doubled, remove dough from bowl and cut in half. Shape each half of dough into a loaf and place in parchment lined bread pans. This will prevent your loaves from adhering to the pans and easy to remove. Allow dough to rise in loaf pans until they begin to mound – 20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 350ºF while loaves are finishing their second rise.
Bake loaves for 35 minutes until crust is browning. Remove and let cool fully before slicing.
Between this and my sourdough boule recipe our bread cravings are fully satisfied!
Bread is life and Jesus is the bread of life.
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
John 6:35
Hot Tip For ReHeating
Also, my husband created the best tip I have for you! We all love warm slices of fresh baked bread and he found a way to recreate it….the broil function in the oven.
Cut a slice of bread and place it either onto a cookie sheet or straight onto the baking rack and broil on low for 3 minutes per side. You’ll end up with a soft warm slice of bread, reminiscent of fresh baked. Slather on some butter and enjoy!
More From the Kitchen
If you’re building a from-scratch kitchen, you might also enjoy:
- Homemade pantry staples like this Simple Healthy Granola
- Simple sourdough recipes like my Lazy Girl Artisan Sourdough Boule
- Easy baked goods using fresh milled flour like these Basic Soft Wheat Muffins
These are the kinds of recipes that help create a rhythm in the kitchen and make homemade feel sustainable long-term.
Have a prayer request? Drop it in the comments below – I read each and every one!
Simple Fresh Milled Sandwich Bread
Equipment
- 1 Grain Mill
Ingredients
- 2.5 Cups Warm Milk 100º
- 1/3 Cup Sugar
- 1.5 Tablespoons Yeast
- 1/3 Cup Olive Oil
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Tablespoon Salt
- 1000 Grams Freshly Milled Hard Wheat Flour
Instructions
- Mill 1000g of hard red or white wheat flour.
- Warm milk over low-medium heat on stovetop.
- Place warm milk, sugar and yeast in a large mixing bowl.
- Let yeast bloom for 10 minutes.
- Add oil and salt and eggs to mixing bowl and combine.
- Add 1000g of freshly milled hard wheat flour and mix well until all ingredients are well incorporated and rough dough forms. Add additional flour if dough is still sticky.
- Knead dough for several minutes until dough is smooth.
- Shape dough into a round and allow to rise in mixing bowl for 30-40 minutes or until dough has doubled.
- Once doubled, remove dough from bowl and cut in half.
- Shape each half of dough into a loaf and place in parchment lined bread pans.
- Allow dough to rise in loaf pans until they begin to mound – 20 minutes
- Preheat oven to 350ºF
- Bake loaves for 35 minutes until crust is browning. Remove and let cool fully before slicing.
Do you not use a mixer to knead the dough?
No, I do everything by hand. You could use a mixer if you prefer that method, I would not know how long you would be kneading the dough however.
Hello! Thank you for sharing your recipe. How much yeast do I use?
Hi DeAnn the yeast measurement is listed in the ingredients. Hope you enjoyed making this loaf!
I used this recipe for my first ever fresh milled flour attempt. It came out so much better than I expected. Excited to try the sourdough conversion. Thank you for the recipe, my whole family loved it!
Shelly I am so thrilled it worked wonderfully for you and that everyone enjoyed the loaf! Congratulations on trying fresh milled flour, keep it up!
This! I’ve been wanting to get a mill. I might just have to get one now. I love the idea of making fresh made bread at home too! Thank you for sharing your way.
This reminds me of a bread recipe my grandpa used to make. Miss him so much! Thank you for sharing!
What size loaf pans do you use?
A standard 5×9 or 1.5 qt.