White Sandwich Bread

Is it Autumn yet? Lately I have been craving food that makes me feel warm and cozy. Usually soups and homemade bread seems “too hot” for August, but lucky for me August in Omaha has yielded some wacky weather. This wacky weather has produced days that top out in the high 90s and other days that top out in the lower 70s. It is on these cooler days that I start yearning for Fall. I like living in the Midwest and enjoy the changing of the seasons. Soon we will say goodbye to Summer and hello to Fall. I love Fall. I love wearing flip-flops, jeans, and a hoodie. I love the first bowl of chili. I love turning off the A/C, opening the windows, and cranking on the oven without worrying about over heating my apartment (soon to be house!). I love homemade soup and fresh baked bread.

We have had some thunderstorms roll in the past couple days, and with the rain came cooler temperatures. I have baked six loaves of bread in the last week. I am done buying store bought bread. Before I completely skip the bakery aisle, I need to learn how to make hamburger/hot dog buns and bagels. Earlier this year I made English muffins, which were surprisingly easy. As soon as we get settled into a new house I want to get a sourdough starter going. I am going looking forward to sourdough bread bowls this winter.

Like I said earlier I have baked six loaves of bread in the last week. Three loafs were a dense and delicious white sandwich bread, the other three were a softer honey wheat/flax bread, delicious in its own right. I used both breads for my favorite summer sandwich -the BLT. The white bread recipe came from Susan from A Year in Bread.

EASY BASIC WHITE SANDWICH BREAD
Makes three loaves, about 1 1/2 pounds each

click on the recipe title to go to Susan’s recipe with her more technical directions

4 c AP flour
2 T dry active yeast
2 T white sugar
2 T canola oil
4 c warm milk
6 c bread flour
1 1/2 T salt

Mix together AP flour, yeast, and sugar in a large bowl with a wooden spoon. Make a small well in the middle and pour in oil and milk. Mix in 1 c of bread flour at a time, until about 5 c are added. Once the dough became tough to stir I dusted the counter with flour, and dumped the dough out. I began the process of kneading the rest of the flour into the dough for 6 or 7 minutes.

Place the dough back into the bowl to rise for 20 minutes. Turn the dough back onto the counter top, flatten, and knead in the salt for about 5 minutes or until completely combined.

Sprinkle the bowl with flour and place dough in the bowl. Dust dough with flour and cover with a damp tea towel. Let rise until doubled in size (about 1 hour or so). My favorite place to let dough rise is in the oven with the light on.

When the dough is ready to be divided and shaped, you should be able to stick your finger into the dough and leave an indention.

Turn the dough out onto your counter top once more. I dimpled the dough to get all the air bubbles out.

Divide dough into three equal pieces. Shape into loaves, place into greased bread pan (I used a 8 1/2 inchs x 4 1/2 inches like Susan recommended) and dust with flour.  Cover with damp tea towel and allow to rise for 45-60 minutes.

Bake for 35 minutes in a 375 degree F oven. You want your loaves to be a lovely golden brown. Turn out onto wire racks to cool –bread isn’t done baking once it is removed from the oven –so try to resist the temptation to slice into it immediately, wait until it has come to room temperature. This bread can be put into a freezer bags and frozen for later use. But honestly it is so good, I doubt your family will let any of it go to waste. We turned ours into delicious BLTs.

I like my BLT with a slice of Munster cheese. What a wonderful summer sandwich. Thanks for the great recipe Susan!