Easy Sandwich Bread
One of the simple pleasures in life is spreading butter on a warm slice of homemade sandwich bread fresh from the oven. Can you smell and taste it now? Yum! Bread from the store just simply does not compare to the freshness of homemade bread. And the good news is you’ll save money every time you bake your own bread instead of paying grocery store prices. Bonus: It’ll be healthier, too!
Equipment
- stand mixer with dough hook attachment (optional but saves time)
- measuring cups and spoons
- wire whisk or fork
- hot liquid thermometer (optional but handy)
- cutting board (optional but handy)
- bowl and bench scraper (optional but handy)
Ingredients
- 7 cups flour
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 4 tbsp instant dry yeast
- 1 tsp fine salt
- 2 cups warm water (about 120°F)
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Add water, yeast, sugar, and salt to your mixing bowl. Mix it well and let it sit for about a minute.
- Add the olive oil and mix it in. Then add the flour one cup at a time until the dough starts to pull away from the bowl as it mixes.
- Once you've added all your flour and your dough pulls together, set your mixer to medium speed and let it knead for 5 minutes. The dough should be soft and stretchy.
- Check that your dough passes the "windowpane" test by stretching a small ball of dough in your hands and seeing if light passes through. If it doesn't stretch, keep kneading.
- After your dough passes the windowpane test, dump your dough onto your cutting board and cut it in half the best you can.
- Grease your two loaf pans well with lard, tallow, butter, or oil.
- Shape your two loaves and place them in your greased loaf pans. Set in a warm place to rise for 40 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and bake your two loaves for 45 minutes until they are a nice golden brown.
- Cool your finished loaves on a cooling rack.
- Optional: Smear butter on the top of your cooked loaves when they come out of the oven for a glossy, softer crust.