Breads

Hawaiian Bread Soft Sandwich Style

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This Sandwich Style Hawaiian bread is soft, fluffy, slices like a dream, and makes excellent sandwich bread or dinner bread, as is or toasted.

Jump to Recipe

In this post I have lots of tips and tricks for turning out this perfect sandwich bread. If you’d like skip the tips, the printable recipe card is further down the page. Keep scrolling or click on the “Jump to Recipe” button at the top.

How to Make Soft Hawaiian Bread In Bread Machine For Sandwiches

Over the holidays, I bought myself a bread machine. I had one years ago, a little cheapie model, and enjoyed using it. As technology has changed so much on these wonderful little appliances I was able to get a drastically better model, with a convection oven feature, for the same price I paid for my cheapie one all those years ago (around $100).

My hope was that this would not end up being one of those appliances that I used a few times and then set aside as a high tech dust collector and I gotta tell ya, this thing has impressed all of us. It now ranks up there in terms of use with my Electric Kettle, 6 quart Slow Cooker, and Bunn Coffee Maker. The model I chose was the Cuisinart CBK-200 2 LB Convection Bread Maker. If this isn’t available currently you will see similar models recommended.

Lightbulb Moment: Soft loaf Hawaiian Bread Was Born

I immediately tried a classic bread recipe and it was wonderful, but it wasn’t the soft loaf bread we so often think of when we want to make sandwiches. I happened to have a package of Hawaiian rolls on the table and thought to myself “I wonder if it is possible to make a bread like that in a bread machine?“. Thus began my quest!

I came across a recipe online and used it as my starting point, but altered some of the ingredients and measurements in order to yield better results..

Ever since developing this recipe, my family has gone through a loaf a day of this bread. And we’re going on a month now!

This Hawaiian bread is soft, fluffy, slices like a dream

It makes excellent bread for your favorite sandwich or dinner bread. This soft Hawaiian Bread also is fabulous toasted with melted butter. YUM!

To make this Hawaiian Bread recipe, you’ll need:

Pineapple juice
Olive Oil
Bread Flour
Milk
Egg
Quick Rise Yeast
Salt
Sugar.

Important tips and information to note about this recipe:

This makes a 2 pound loaf. Make sure you don’t add any extra yeast, measure it on the light side if anything, or it will rise too much.
I use the light crust setting on my machine and tell the machine it is making a 1 pound loaf to prevent over browning. This is something specific to my machine.
Your ingredients are best if they are room temp, rather than cold. I store my pineapple juice in the fridge so make up for this by measuring it out, microwaving it for thirty seconds (just to take the chill off) and then testing the temp to make sure it is just warm and not hot.
I can’t speak to warming ingredients without offering a little warning: you don’t ever want anything to be too hot when adding it to yeast as it will kill the yeast. So heating my pineapple juice is truly just enough to take the chill off. I do use an egg straight from the fridge. You could easily skip heating the pineapple juice if you like, it’s just something that I do.
Yeast is important. I have a personal preference just through experience. I have had a 50/50 success rate with Fleischmann’s (the yellow packet) but I have yet, in all of my years of baking, to have any problem whatsoever with Red Star. So that is the brand I go for and I use the Red Star Quick Rise yeast in this recipe – and suggest you do the same in order to have the same results. I prefer the jar rather than the packets because it is easier to measure out and store in my fridge. Plus, when you use as much as I do it just makes more sense and is more cost effective. Having said that, there are all sorts of variables that can affect yeast and it may be that Fleischmann’s is the be all end all at your house and works like a charm every time – if so go for it. Get what is familiar to you and whatever you have the most confidence in. For me, that is Red Star.

When you have a bread machine, making this bread is simply a matter of measuring the ingredients.

How to Make Hawaiian Bread Soft Sandwich Style

Scroll for Step By Step Instructions:

All you do is measure out your ingredients and place them in the bread pan in the order that they are listed in the recipe.

Then, let the machine do it’s stuff. On my machine, for this two pound loaf of bread, I select light crust and one pound loaf because that lessens the cooking time and gives me the color I want on my crust. On your bread machine, you will likely choose light crust and two pound loaf. I’ve just learned how to make this puppy accommodate me by manipulating it a little bit. 🙂

The machine mixes everything up until it forms a dough ball, like this.

Now that dough ball is going to rise, then your machine will knead it again and let it rise again. After the last kneading, my machine beeps to let me know that I can remove the stirring paddle inside if I would like and then it rises a final time and bakes, beeping when there is a loaf of bread ready for me.

After the bread is finished, I immediately remove the bread from the pan and allow it to cool completely on my countertop.

How to Make Perfect Slices of Bread

Once your bread is done there are a few tips to having pretty slices like you see pictured here.

Don’t cut the bread while it is warm. This is easier said than done. I will happily confess that there have been more than a few suppers where my kids just tore into the loaf. It was delicious. BUT, if you want this for a sandwich bread or to have nice, pretty slices, you have to let it cool at least two hours before cutting.

I prefer to let my bread cool and then put it in a bread bag or container to cut the following day. I tend to have one loaf that is cut and one that is going to be cut the following day most of the time.

What knife do I use to create the perfect slices?

I tried a few bread knives, even ordered some special just for this, but I have found that if I want perfectly uniform, straight, beautiful slices like the ones pictured, the only way to get those is by using an electric knife. I spent about $20 on one years and years ago and it’s just brilliant. The blades are dishwasher safe but I usually just give it a quick wipe down each day and then wash them fully once a week or so as long as I’m only cutting bread.

So at last, for me, an easy and soft homemade bread perfectly suited for sandwiches, dinner bread, or anything else I can come up with is now just a matter of measuring out the ingredients. If you have a bread machine, I hope you’ll try this one soon. If you have been thinking about getting a bread machine, maybe this will push you over the edge. Click here to look at the one I have on Amazon.

If you don’t have a bread machine and decide to adapt this recipe please report back and let us know what you did and how it worked out. I am only offering the instructions on how to make it in a bread machine because I have never made this recipe any other way. If you would like to try your hand at homemade yeast bread without a bread machine, check out my Jordan Rolls recipe by clicking here.

Printable recipe below!

Soft, Sandwich Style Hawaiian Bread

This Sandwich Style Hawaiian bread is soft, fluffy, slices like a dream, and makes excellent sandwich bread or dinner bread, as is or toasted.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 40

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bread

Servings:

Calories: 251kcal

Author: Christy Jordan

Ingredients

3/4 cup pineapple juice
1 egg
2.5 tablespoons olive oil
4 level tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt I use Kosher
3 level cups bread flour I use Pilsbury Bread Flour
1/2 cup milk
2 level teaspoons quick rise yeast

Instructions

Place ingredients in bread pan in order listed.
Insert bread pan into bread machine and set to light crust, two pound loaf.*
Check after a minute or two and see if dough looks too dry. If so, add another tablespoon of milk. If dough looks too wet, add a tablespoon or two of flour.
Allow bread machine to work. As soon as bread is done remove and allow to cool completely before cutting. Store in airtight container or bag. See post for helpful tips on baking and cutting bread.

Notes

Please note: I am sharing this recipe with you exactly as I make it. If you would like to experiment with substitutions you are absolutely welcome to, but I cannot speak from personal experience making it any way other than the recipe I am sharing with you today.

Nutrition