White Sandwich Bread Lab · Decision tree
Find your white sandwich bread
Three questions sort all 150 recipes into 8 groups. Each question is about one of the ingredients recipes disagree on most, and splits the recipes in front of it at their own median, so each answer keeps about half of them. Every group ends with its median recipe in grams and the real recipes nearest it.
The questions
Question 1
More sugar than most, or less?
Sugar or honey softens the crumb and browns the crust; a lean loaf uses none.
All 150 recipes: median 4.2% of the flour weight, 21 g per 500 g of flour; middle half 1.9% to 6.2%; 8% use none.
Question 2
More fat than most, or less?
Butter or oil keeps a sandwich loaf soft and slows staling; lean breads use none.
All 150 recipes: median 8% of the flour weight, 40 g per 500 g of flour; middle half 5% to 11%; 6% use none.
Asked within each answer to question 1, split at the median of the recipes that gave it.
Question 3
More yeast than most, or less?
Instant or active dry; more yeast rises faster, less gives more flavor.
All 150 recipes: median 1.3% of the flour weight, 7 g per 500 g of flour; middle half 1% to 1.7%; 0% use none.
Asked within each answer to question 2, split at the median of the recipes that gave it.
The key
Read left to right: pick an answer to question 1, then one of the answers beside it for question 2, and so on to a group. Each cell gives the answer, its bound in grams per 100 g of flour, and how many recipes give it.
| 1. Sugar | 2. Fat | 3. Yeast | Group |
|---|---|---|---|
| More4.2% or more76 | Moreover 7.9%38 | More1.6% or more20 | A20 |
| Lessunder 1.6%18 | B18 | ||
| Less7.9% or less38 | More1.3% or more19 | C19 | |
| Lessunder 1.3%19 | D19 | ||
| Lessunder 4.2%74 | Moreover 8.1%37 | More1.4% or more21 | E21 |
| Lessunder 1.4%16 | F16 | ||
| Less8.1% or less37 | Moreover 1.2%18 | G18 | |
| Less1.2% or less19 | H19 |
The 8 groups
Each median recipe is the median of every ingredient over the group's recipes, scaled to 500 g of flour, beside the typical loaf of all 150. Bold rows are the ingredients the questions asked about.
Group A · 20 recipes · 13% of all
More sugar, more fat and more yeast
Sugar 4.2% or more, fat over 7.9% and yeast 1.6% or more of the flour weight.
| At 500 g flour | Group A | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 500 g | 500 g |
| Liquid | 350 gabout 1 1/2 cups | 320 g |
| Fat | 65 gabout 1/4 cup | 40 g |
| Sugar | 31 gabout 2 1/2 tbsp | 21 g |
| Salt | 10 g | 10 g |
| Yeast | 9 g | 7 g |
Bake350°F (175°C) for about 33 minutes, the medians of the 19 recipes here that state a temperature and the 20 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group A
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Sandwich Bread · sallysbakingaddiction.comsugar 5.8% · fat 13% · yeast 1.6%
- Sandwich Bread · foodnetwork.comsugar 5.7% · fat 13% · yeast 1.6%
- Recette pain de mie suédois (Limpa Bröd) · mesinspirationsculinaires.comsugar 7% · fat 13% · yeast 1.7%
- Honey White Bread · foodnetwork.comsugar 5.2% · fat 12% · yeast 2%
- Sandwich breadrolls · ichkoche.atsugar 6.7% · fat 12% · yeast 1.9%
Group B · 18 recipes · 12% of all
More sugar, more fat and less yeast
Sugar 4.2% or more, fat over 7.9% and yeast under 1.6% of the flour weight. 1 of the 18 uses no yeast.
| At 500 g flour | Group B | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 500 g | 500 g |
| Liquid | 320 gabout 1 1/3 cups | 320 g |
| Fat | 50 gabout 1/4 cup | 40 g |
| Sugar | 32 gabout 2 1/2 tbsp | 21 g |
| Salt | 10 g | 10 g |
| Yeast | 5 g | 7 g |
Bake350°F (175°C) for about 40 minutes, the medians of the 14 recipes here that state a temperature and the 15 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group B
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Pain de mie (map) · ptitchef.comsugar 6.3% · fat 10% · yeast 1.1%
- Pain de mie comme chez le boulanger : la recette facile · cuisine.journaldesfemmes.frsugar 5% · fat 10% · yeast 0.7%
- Pan de molde con mermelada de higos y almendras · cocina-casera.comsugar 5.1% · fat 8% · yeast 1%
- Receta del pan de molde fácil en Ankarsrum · webosfritos.essugar 4.2% · fat 10% · yeast 1%
- White Bread Recipe · tasteandtellblog.comsugar 7.1% · fat 11% · yeast 1.2%
Group C · 19 recipes · 12% of all
More sugar, less fat and more yeast
Sugar 4.2% or more, fat 7.9% or less and yeast 1.3% or more of the flour weight. 1 of the 19 uses no fat.
| At 500 g flour | Group C | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 500 g | 500 g |
| Liquid | 320 gabout 1 1/3 cups | 320 g |
| Fat | 29 gabout 2 tbsp | 40 g |
| Sugar | 41 gabout 3 1/2 tbsp | 21 g |
| Salt | 8 g | 10 g |
| Yeast | 9 g | 7 g |
Bake350°F (175°C) for about 28 minutes, the medians of the 17 recipes here that state a temperature and the 18 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group C
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Homemade Bread (Homemade White Bread) · theflavorbender.comsugar 6% · fat 5.4% · yeast 1.3%
- Pain de mie au Thermomix · cuisineaz.comsugar 8.1% · fat 7% · yeast 1.6%
- Homemade White Bread Recipe · crazyforcrust.comsugar 5% · fat 3.8% · yeast 1.9%
- Pain de mie - Machine à pain : la meilleure recette · marmiton.orgsugar 8.3% · fat 5.6% · yeast 1.4%
- The Best White Sandwich Bread · melskitchencafe.comsugar 9.7% · fat 6.2% · yeast 1.6%
Group D · 19 recipes · 12% of all
More sugar, less fat and less yeast
Sugar 4.2% or more, fat 7.9% or less and yeast under 1.3% of the flour weight. 2 of the 19 use no fat.
| At 500 g flour | Group D | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 500 g | 500 g |
| Liquid | 325 gabout 1 1/3 cups | 320 g |
| Fat | 23 gabout 1 1/2 tbsp | 40 g |
| Sugar | 28 gabout 2 tbsp | 21 g |
| Salt | 11 g | 10 g |
| Yeast | 6 g | 7 g |
Bake350°F (175°C) for about 33 minutes, the medians of the 12 recipes here that state a temperature and the 18 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group D
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Homemade Bread · sugarspunrun.comsugar 5.1% · fat 5% · yeast 1.2%
- Homemade White Bread Recipe · shugarysweets.comsugar 6.1% · fat 3.3% · yeast 0.8%
- Pain de mie pour MAP : la meilleure recette · marmiton.orgsugar 4.8% · fat 3.8% · yeast 1.1%
- Homemade Bread Recipe · tasteofhome.comsugar 4.8% · fat 3.3% · yeast 0.8%
- Pain de mie tout simple : la recette facile · cuisine.journaldesfemmes.frsugar 4.2% · fat 4.5% · yeast 0.8%
Group E · 21 recipes · 14% of all
Less sugar, more fat and more yeast
Sugar under 4.2%, fat over 8.1% and yeast 1.4% or more of the flour weight. 1 of the 21 uses no sugar.
| At 500 g flour | Group E | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 500 g | 500 g |
| Liquid | 310 gabout 1 1/3 cups | 320 g |
| Fat | 55 gabout 1/4 cup | 40 g |
| Sugar | 13 gabout 1 tbsp | 21 g |
| Salt | 10 g | 10 g |
| Yeast | 9 g | 7 g |
Bake400°F (205°C) for about 30 minutes, the medians of the 18 recipes here that state a temperature and the 18 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group E
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Pão de Forma Caseiro Fácil · receitasdeminuto.comsugar 2.5% · fat 11% · yeast 1.4%
- Pain de mie blanc · bettybossi.chsugar 2.5% · fat 11% · yeast 1.4%
- Toastbrot hell · bettybossi.chsugar 2.5% · fat 11% · yeast 1.4%
- Homemade Bread · bakedbyanintrovert.comsugar 3.9% · fat 13% · yeast 2.2%
- Toastbrot · oetker.desugar 0.8% · fat 10% · yeast 1.4%
Group F · 16 recipes · 10% of all
Less sugar, more fat and less yeast
Sugar under 4.2%, fat over 8.1% and yeast under 1.4% of the flour weight. 2 of the 16 use no sugar.
| At 500 g flour | Group F | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 500 g | 500 g |
| Liquid | 300 gabout 1 1/4 cups | 320 g |
| Fat | 55 gabout 1/4 cup | 40 g |
| Sugar | 6 gabout 1 1/2 tsp | 21 g |
| Salt | 8 g | 10 g |
| Yeast | 4.5 g | 7 g |
Bake400°F (205°C) for about 36 minutes, the medians of the 15 recipes here that state a temperature and the 14 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group F
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- pain de mie maison · amourdecuisine.frsugar 2.5% · fat 10% · yeast 1.1%
- Kümmel - Toastbrot · gutekueche.atsugar 1% · fat 13% · yeast 0.4%
- Pain de mie extra moelleux : la recette facile · cuisine.journaldesfemmes.frsugar 3% · fat 10% · yeast 1.3%
- Pancarrè fatto in casa · ricettedellanonna.netsugar 1.1% · fat 9.2% · yeast 1%
- Buttertoast · ichkoche.atsugar 0.9% · fat 11% · yeast 1.3%
Group G · 18 recipes · 12% of all
Less sugar, less fat and more yeast
Sugar under 4.2%, fat 8.1% or less and yeast over 1.2% of the flour weight. 5 of the 18 use no sugar. 5 of the 18 use no fat.
| At 500 g flour | Group G | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 500 g | 500 g |
| Liquid | 325 gabout 1 1/3 cups | 320 g |
| Fat | 25 gabout 2 tbsp | 40 g |
| Sugar | 9 gabout 2 1/4 tsp | 21 g |
| Salt | 10 g | 10 g |
| Yeast | 9 g | 7 g |
Bake400°F (205°C) for about 33 minutes, the medians of the 14 recipes here that state a temperature and the 18 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group G
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Pão de forma simples · receiteria.com.brsugar 2% · fat 5% · yeast 1.5%
- Easy Homemade Bread · acouplecooks.comsugar 3.7% · fat 4.9% · yeast 2%
- White Bread Recipe · preppykitchen.comsugar 3.5% · fat 7.8% · yeast 1.9%
- Pan de molde de Francisco Tejero · webosfritos.essugar 4% · fat 8% · yeast 1.3%
- Improving The Basic White Bread By Using a Preferment - ChainBaker · chainbaker.comsugar 0% · fat 0% · yeast 2.1%
Group H · 19 recipes · 12% of all
Less sugar, less fat and less yeast
Sugar under 4.2%, fat 8.1% or less and yeast 1.2% or less of the flour weight. 5 of the 19 use no sugar. 2 of the 19 use no fat.
| At 500 g flour | Group H | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 500 g | 500 g |
| Liquid | 310 gabout 1 1/3 cups | 320 g |
| Fat | 25 gabout 2 tbsp | 40 g |
| Sugar | 9 gabout 2 1/4 tsp | 21 g |
| Salt | 9 g | 10 g |
| Yeast | 4 g | 7 g |
Bake400°F (205°C) for about 30 minutes, the medians of the 17 recipes here that state a temperature and the 17 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group H
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Soft White Bread Recipe - Batch Bread · busbysbakery.comsugar 0% · fat 4.5% · yeast 0.7%
- Pão de Forma Caseiro · receitasnestle.com.brsugar 1.3% · fat 4.5% · yeast 1%
- How to Make Pain de Mie Sandwich Bread Without Kneading - ChainBaker · chainbaker.comsugar 2% · fat 5% · yeast 0.5%
- Toastbrot · backenmitchristina.atsugar 2% · fat 7% · yeast 1%
- Wit brood · laurasbakery.nlsugar 0% · fat 5% · yeast 0.5%
How the questions are chosen
Each ingredient is ranked by how much recipes disagree on it: the width of the middle half of recipes (25th to 75th percentile) divided by the median, less 4% for each place it sits down this lab's list of ingredients, so the ones that define the dish win near ties. For white sandwich bread the order is sugar (1.04), fat (0.74), yeast (0.54) and liquid (0.19), and the first 3 are asked. Salt is never asked about: recipes differ on it mostly by brand and taste.
Every split is at the median of the recipes in front of it, rounded to the percentage shown. Recipes exactly at the median go to whichever side leaves the two halves more even. No answer may keep fewer than 5 recipes; a group that could not be split further says so.
The recipes listed under each group are the 5 nearest its median on every ingredient at once, each scaled by how much recipes vary on it. Every recipe page links to the original for the method.