White Flour Sandwich Bread
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups hot (120 -130 degrees) water
½ cup whole milk (you can use 2% if you like but don't use skim!)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 packages (4 ½ teaspoons) yeast
6 cups bread or all purpose flour (bread flour will get you a firmer loaf but AP flour works well if that is all you have on hand)
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2 eggs, at room temperature
Baking Pans - This recipe is kind of big for 8" x 4" pans, but you can use them if that is all you have. I prefer 9" x 5" for this recipe.
Method:
In your large mixing bowl or the work bowl of your stand mixer, combine the water, milk, sugar, salt and yeast.
Measure in 3 cups of the flour and mix for two minutes with either the flat paddle attachment or a wooden spoon.
Add the rest of the flour ½ cup at a time, mixing it in completely before adding the next ½ cup. This will give you a shaggy dough that can be lifted from the bowl to be kneaded.
If you are kneading this dough by hand, turn it out onto a well floured work surface. Knead with a firm push-turn-fold motion. If moisture breaks through (meaning that the dough is sticking to you and everything else in sight) add a liberal sprinkle of flour. Knead for 8 minutes.
If you are kneading this dough with your stand mixer, switch to the dough hook and knead at low speed for 8 minutes. If the dough is sticking to the sides of the bowl, add a liberal sprinkle of flour to it.
When the dough is kneaded it will be soft and elastic. Place it in a large greased bowl (a shot of cooking spray will do the trick) and cover with plastic wrap. Allow it to rise, at room temperature, until it has doubled in volume, about 45 minutes.
One of the tricks to making a good sandwich bread is to have it rise three times like the best French breads do. So after the first rising, punch down the dough. Reform it into a ball and place it back in the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise until it has almost doubled again, about 30 minutes.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead it for 1 minute to press out any large air bubbles. Divide the dough into two roughly equal portions and form into balls.
Cover the dough balls with a clean tea towel and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
To form the loaves, take one of the dough balls and flatten it under your palms to an oval a little longer than your baking pan. Fold it over the middle and then tightly pinch the seams together. Tuck the ends under and set the dough in the pan, seam side down. Gently press it down so it fills into the corners of your pan. Repeat with the other dough ball.
Cover the pans with a clean tea towel and allow the dough to rise to about 1 inch above the edges of the pans, this will take about 45 minutes.
20 minutes before baking set a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat it to 400 degrees. When the dough is risen and the oven is hot, slip the pans into the oven and bake for 35 minutes.
When the bread is done the curst will be a golden brown. Remove one of the loaves from the pan and give it a thump with your forefinger. If you get a nice hard, hollow sound the bread is done. If not then put it back in for another 5 minutes (you will almost never need to do this with this bread, but you should always check anyway).
Remove the bread from the oven and turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
Once the bread is cool, it is time to slice into it and enjoy!
If you want to freeze one of these loaves, just double wrap it in plastic wrap and chuck it in the freezer. It will stay good for up to 6 months. To revive it, remove it from the freezer and allow it to thaw for 24 hours in the plastic.
Then place it in a 325 degree oven for 10 minutes. Then, presto! You have fresh bread again!
The flour is yours. |
