Monday, January 27, 2025

Buttery Sandwich Bread

 Making bread has become a regular thing for me.  And not just the same kind of bread.  I'm having fun exploring new recipes.  Maybe I'm enjoying it because it has been so cold this winter.  

Kneading and baking and then posting the recipes keeps me busy and warm when I can't really do anything outside.

Buttery Sandwich Bread

1/2 cup warm water

2 cups warm milk

2 packages yeast

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) room temperature butter, cut in pieces

1 Tablespoon salt

6 cups bread flour

Because it is cold, I warm the bowl of the mixer.  I fill it with hot tap water and sit it aside.  

After I get out the bread ingredients, I dump out the water and put in 1/2 cup warm water, sugar and yeast. 

This activates the yeast and it will bloom to show that it is still alive.

Heat the milk until warm.  I tested it on my wrist like I would for a baby bottle. If it's too hot it will kill the yeast.

Add the warm milk, 2 cups flour, cut up butter and salt.  Mix slowly with the dough hook.  If you don't have a Kitchen Aid mixer this can be done by hand, but it will get harder to mix as you add more flour.

Add about 1 cup at a time and mix slowly with the dough hook.  The dough came together after I had about 5 1/2 cups in the mix.  It pulled away from the sides of the bowl. I mixed for about 4 or 5 minutes, then I scraped out the dough onto a floured surface.

The dough was still sticky so I sprinkled some of the additional 1/2 cup of flour on top and began kneading.  Even though I have a dough hook, I like the process of kneading and I can tell when it has absorbed all the flour it needs and it is smooth and not sticky.

Put a Tablespoon or so of vegetable oil in a large bowl.  Spread it ip the sides and place the dough ball in the bowl.  Turn it around until the dough has oil on the surface. 

Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot for about 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.

Spray two bread pans with Pam.  Punch down the dough and cut it in half.  

Roll each piece out into a rectangle about 8 X 12 with a rolling pin.  

Roll it up tightly from the short side.  

Pinch the edges closed and fold the ends over.  Pinch those creases, too.

Place each dough "log" in a bread pan with the seam side down and cover it with the saved plastic wrap. 

Let it rise for about an hour or until it rises above the edge of the pan. 

Preheat the oven to 350°. Remove the plastic wrap and place the pans in the middle of the oven for 30-35 minutes.  The bread should be a golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.

Brush melted butter over the top.  

Let cool a few minutes and then turn them onto a cooling rack.

Cool the bread about 20 minutes.  When just warm, cut a slice and try it.  I like my fresh bread plain and also with a bit of butter

We can't eat two whole loaves before they will go bad.  I freeze one loaf.  This time I took the suggestion I saw on a blog and wrapped some of the pieces I was going to freeze. 

I cut the loaf in 18 slices, then wrapped each 6 pieces in plastic wrap.  I put the wrapped bread in freezer bags and froze them. This way I can take out a few pieces at a time and it will be fresher longer.

This bread turned out great.  It is buttery even without butter.  And with butter it is delightful.

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