Copycat Subway Italian Herb & Cheese Bread

Say goodbye to boring sandwich bread! This Copycat Subway Italian Herb & Cheese Bread is soft, tender and packed with flavor. Bake up some loaves today!

This post may contain paid links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

You know when you walk past a Cinnabon in an airport and you’re hit with an incredible craving for a cinnamon bun? The smell of freshly baked bread covered with butter and cinnamon lures you across the concourse like the Sirens of Greek mythology. (The Sirens would lure sailors in with their song, and the sailors would then crash on the rocky shore…not unlike me when I smash my face into the glass case at Cinnabon.)

Same goes for Subway. Our local Walmart has a Subway restaurant just inside the front door, and my stomach growls every time I walk by. The principle is the same as Cinnabon. Instead of cinnamon and butter, it’s herbs and cheese. It’s nearly impossible to resist the lure of freshly baked bread…especially when it’s covered with cheese!

The trick? I’m fairly certain the ovens from Cinnabon and Subway vent out directly into the airport concourse and the front entrance at Walmart. I suspect they’ve also timed their bakes to line up with the time when my plane lands. I’m certain of it.

Copycat Subway Italian Herb & Cheese Bread

It’s no secret that I love to bake bread. I find the process to be incredibly relaxing. You start with flour, water, yeast and salt…and a couple hours later, you’ve got a loaf of warm, freshly baked bread. After my last trip by a Subway restaurant, I decided to see if I could replicate that Subway bread here at home.

Short version: success!

Long version: This Copycat Subway Italian Herb & Cheese Bread was surprisingly easy to make. I spent several hours googling various bread baking sites as well as looking through the ingredient list for Subway’s bread. This bread came out exactly like Subway’s popular Italian Herb & Cheese Bread!

On a side note for any readers outside of the US, Subway is an American fast food restaurant that makes sub sandwiches and wraps.

My wife walked into the kitchen from work, and she commented, “It smells like Subway in here.” I just started snickering. “Oh. Let me guess. This is a copycat Subway bread recipe?” If you closed your eyes and took a bite (and a good whiff) of this bread, you’d swear you’re in a Subway restaurant. This bread tastes amazing!

This Copycat Subway Italian Herb & Cheese Bread is essentially a soft white sandwich bread topped with cheese and herbs. While it does make great sandwiches, I’m not gonna lie – I might’ve stood in the kitchen tearing pieces off a loaf and eating it by itself. It’s that good!

Ingredients in Subway Italian Herb & Cheese Bread

If you’ve baked bread before, the ingredients in this Copycat Subway Italian Herb & Cheese Bread will be pretty familiar.

• Basic Bread Ingredients: Water, yeast, salt and bread flour. This recipe calls for a lot of yeast – 2 tablespoons. That means it rises quickly. There is also a bit of sugar in there which helps wake the yeast up from their slumber.
• Egg and potato flakes. Both the egg as well as the dried potato flakes lead to a softer bread. Even though it uses bread flour, this bread is incredibly soft and pillowy.
• Toppings. This bread gets its flavor (and smell!) from a generous amount of garlic powder, oregano, parsley, Parmesan cheese, Monterey Jack cheese and sharp cheddar cheese.

On a side note, I recently discovered this silicone baking form on Amazon. It’s perfect for baking loaves of this Copycat Subway Italian Herb & Cheese Bread! Instead of an entire pan, this silicone mat is shaped to allow you to bake up to 5 baguettes at once. The mat sits on top of a cookie sheet while the bread bakes. Once the loaves have cooled, you just wash the mat and roll it back up. It doesn’t take much cabinet space, and it’s a super helpful tool for baking loaves of homemade bread!

Storing Leftover Bread

This recipe is scaled to make (4) 12″ loaves of bread. If you’re hosting a party, you could slice these into smaller handheld sandwiches. Store any leftover bread in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days.

This bread also freezes quite well! Once the loaves have completely cooled, wrap any loaves you aren’t going to eat right away in plastic wrap. Place those loaves in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 6 months. Let thaw at room temperature.

If you love baking homemade bread, then give this recipe a try. This bread was a huge hit here in our house, and I know we’ll be baking loaves regularly. Happy baking!

Did you bake this Copycat Subway Italian Herb & Cheese Bread recipe at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see your version!

Copycat Subway Italian Herb & Cheese Bread

Say goodbye to boring sandwich bread! This Copycat Subway Italian Herb & Cheese Bread is soft, tender and packed with flavor. Bake up some loaves today!

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Rising Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 55 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 403kcal

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

For the Bread

• 1½ cups warm water ~110°F
• 2 Tbsp instant dry yeast
• 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ Tbsp table salt
• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup dried potato flakes
• 3¾ cups bread flour
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese I used Cabot Monterey Jack cheese
• ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese I used Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar cheese

For the Toppings

• 1 Tbsp garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• ½ Tbsp dried oregano
• ½ Tbsp dried parsley
• ¼ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• ¼ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Instructions

For the Bread

• Using the bowl of a stand mixer, add water, yeast, sugar, oil, salt, egg and dried potato flakes; stir until well combined.
• Add flour and both cheeses. Using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed for 1-2 minutes, or until ingredients are well combined. Increase speed to medium and mix for 6-7 minutes. (Note: The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl. If it does not, keep adding more flour in 1-2 tablespoon additions until the dough pulls away from bowl.)
• Transfer dough into an oiled large mixing bowl. Cover and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Working with one piece of dough at a time, press dough into a ~6"x11" rectangle. Fold the dough lengthwise like you would fold a letter. Roll the dough a bit to create an 11-12” log. Place silicon sub roll mat on baking sheet and place dough into mat. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough. (Note: If you don’t have a sub roll mat, you can use foil to create a similar shape. Just make sure to spray the foil generously with nonstick baking spray.)

For the Toppings

• Using a small bowl, combine the garlic powder, Parmesan cheese, oregano and parsley. (Note: The Monterey Jack and cheddar will be used later.)
• Brush tops of dough lightly with water and then sprinkle the topping mixture evenly on top.
• Spray tops of dough with nonstick baking spray and cover lightly with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature for one hour or until doubled in size.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Using a sharp knife, cut 3 diagonal slices on top of each roll. The slices should be ~½” deep.
• Sprinkle the shredded Monterey Jack and cheddar cheeses evenly on top of rolls.
• Bake for 16-20 minutes, or until rolls are light golden brown.
• Transfer rolls to a wire rack and let cool completely before slicing.

Looking for more homemade bread recipes? Check out these other favorites, too: