Take In ~ The Food Diary: Soft Sandwich Bread

I have to tell you how easy and convenient it is to have homemade bread everyday. The technique for this bread is so easy that I am always giving out copies of the recipe. Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day is an amazing cookbook. The 5 minutes refers to the amount of work you have to put into it. That's it, just 5 minutes! I use my book several times a week. It has a bunch of different types of bread. The Soft American-Style White Bread (or as I call it, "Soft Sandwich Bread") being one of my favourites -- along with the Artisan Free-Form Loaf and Cinnamon Rolls made from Challah. I make the soft bread almost daily. It freezes perfectly, so we are never out of bread. I use this dough to make a regular loaf, and to make hamburger and hotdog buns. It's pretty versatile! I usually substitute some of the all-purpose flour for whole wheat, and because butter is expensive and I make this bread so often, I also substitute the butter for vegetable oil. I will include my changes in parentheses in the ingredient list. One other change I make is that I split the dough in 2 rather than 3 to make a perfect sized sandwich bread. I usually bake both loaves at once (no alterations to bake time is needed) and freeze one right away. If you freeze a loaf, just take it out and let it thaw before you cut it, and it will be just as fresh and soft as it was going into the freezer. You'll want to store this bread in a bag or sealed container to keep it soft. If you decide to make buns, start checking on them around the 25 minute mark.

White bread, hot out of the oven.

Slicing a whole wheat loaf.

Recipe and more pictures behind the jump!

Soft American-Style White Bread

Makes three 1½-pound loaves. The recipe is easily doubled or halved.

3 cups lukewarm water

1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast

1 1/2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted, plus additional for brushing the top

crust (I use slightly less than 1/2 cup of vegetable oil, and also spritz the top of the loaf with oil)

7 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I use 5 cups all-purpose and 2 cups whole wheat flour)

Neutral-tasting oil or softened butter for greasing baking pan (I use the same vegetable oil for this job too)

1. Mixing and storing the dough: Mix the yeast, salt, sugar, and melted butter with the water in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.

2. Mix in the flour without kneading, using a spoon, a 14-cup capacity food processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with dough hook). If you're not using a machine, you may need to use wet hands to incorporate the last bit of flour.

3. Cover (not airtight), and allow to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.

4. The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise with only a 40-minute rest in the pan, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate the remaining dough in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 7 days.

5. On baking day, lightly grease a 9 x 4 x 3-inch nonstick loaf pan. Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1 1/2 pound (cantaloupe-size) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go. Elongate the ball into an oval.

6. Drop the dough into the prepared pan. You want to fill the pan slightly more than half-full.

7. Allow the dough to rest for 1 hour and 40 minutes (or just 40 minutes if you're using fresh, unrefrigerated dough). Dust the loaf with flour and slash the top, using the tip of a sharp knife. Brush the top surface with melted butter.

8. Twenty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 350°F. If you're not using a stone in the oven, 5 minutes is adequate. A baking stone is not essential when using a loaf pan.

9. Bake the bread near the center of the oven for about 45 minutes, or until golden brown.

10. Allow to cool completely before slicing, or it will be nearly impossible to achieve reasonable sandwich slices.