3. Perfect Sandwich Bread

Megan Olmsted
Megan Olmsted Video Assistant • Mother Earth News

Bake up the perfect sandwich bread with this simple but versatile recipe built from years of baking experience. Learn how to customize this recipe to your needs, whether you need a rich loaf, a fluffy loaf, or even dinner rolls!

Perfect Sandwich Bread Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1-1/2 cup Bread flour, plus additional flour for workable dough
  • 1/8 cup sugar
  • 2-1/2 tsp instant yeast (1 packet)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 3 Tbsp butter
  • 1 Tbsp honey
  • 1 egg

Directions

  1. Add dry ingredients, starting with 1-1/2 cup bread flour, sugar, yeast, and salt to a bowl and whisk to combine
  2. Combine water and milk, then microwave until it reaches 130°.
  3. Add butter and honey to the wet ingredients and stir until the butter and honey melt in. The butter and honey cool the milk mixture down.
  4. Add the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and stir to combine. It’s okay if there are lumps at this point.
  5. Stir in the egg. Add the entire egg for a richer, yolkier bread. For a less rich bread, add egg white only. For fluffier bread, add 2 egg whites.
  6. Continue to add bread flour until the mixture is no longer sticky and can be handled, but not too much to where it’s hard to knead.
  7. Knead until the dough forms a clean ball and place in oiled bowl and cover. Place in a warm area to rise for 1 hour. While the dough rises, prepare a greased bread pan lined with parchment paper.
  8. The dough should have doubled in size — Punch down the dough and either separate into 2 pieces for 2 smaller loaves or leave whole for a larger loaf.
  9. Place dough on a well-floured surface and roll into a rectangle with a depth of the length of the loaf pan. The width should be about 12-16 inches, or roll until the dough is 1/2 inch thick.
  10. Roll into a loaf, starting with the shorter side, so that the depth of the loaf matches the length of the bread pan. Pinch the ends together with the seam on the bottom of the loaf. Pinch the seam on the bottom together as well. Place the loaf into the bread pan, seam side down, and let rise (covered) for 1 hour or until the loaf has doubled in size.
  11. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes depending on oven and size of pan. Top should be golden.

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