Recipe: Simple Sandwich Bread

Almost 2 years ago, Scott & I started making our own bread instead of buying loaves at the grocery store. Since then, I can count on one hand the loaves of bread we've bought at the store. It creeped me out that supposedly "fresh" bread can sit on the grocer's shelves for weeks without showing signs of mold or staleness. Most of the breads you find in stores contain preservatives, artificial colors, bleaching agents, and nutrient destroying additives.

The sandwich bread recipe we use is an egg-enriched, white bread recipe. I know, whole wheat is much healthier! We have tried dozens of recipes with varying amounts of whole wheat flour, but this white bread recipe is just so far superior! The egg makes it a really rich, chewy bread and it holds up really well to butter without crumbling or tearing. If you have a great wheat bread recipe, please share, but for now we'll stick with this :)

We love love love our breadmaker. We use it at least twice a week to make bread, pizza dough, rolls, or buns. If you don't have one, I absolutely recommend getting one! I see them at Goodwill and Salvation Army all the time for just a few dollars. Keep your eye out and you might be able to pick one up for a great deal.

The smell of fresh baked bread is wonderfully infectious and welcoming! Homemade bread is a great way to impress your holiday guests without a lot of time or effort. We got this recipe from our Bread Machine Cook Book by Jennie Shapter. Here's what you'll need for this simple sandwich bread:

Ingredients

Yeild: 1 Medium Loaf

1 egg + 1 yolk
Water (see method)
4 1/2 C unbleached white flour
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon rapid-rise active dry yeast

Method

Put the eggs in a measuring cup and add water to make 1 1/3 cups. Lightly mix the eggs and water, and pour into the bread machine. Next, sprinkle the flour over the wet ingredients to cover evenly. Measure the sugar out into one corner of the bread maker, and the salt into the other. Cut the butter into cubes and add to the machine. Last, make a small well in the flour and add the yeast.

You can bake the bread in the bread maker by selecting the White Bread setting, but we like to bake ours in the oven in regular loaf pans. This seems like a silly distinction, but baking in loaf pans makes for a better shaped loaf for sandwiches or toast. The bread maker makes a taller, almost cube shaped loaf which doesn't work as well. If you want to bake in the oven like we do, select the dough setting. Close the lid, and walk away! Our dough setting takes 90 minutes.

When the dough is complete, remove from the bread maker immediately. Shape into a loaf on a floured surface, and lay into a greased bread pan. Cover the pan with a wet cloth and leave in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size. We usually set ours on the stove (while the oven preheats), or in the microwave.

Once the loaf is risen, make a slit about 1/2 inch deep across the top of the bread. Bake in a 350* oven for 25 minutes or until dark golden brown. Remove to a cooling rack to cool.

We just love this bread recipe! The smell is intoxicating and it makes really yummy toast and sandwiches. The inside is fluffy and moist, with a crunchy outer crust. It should be noted that homemade bread should be stored in a sealed, dry container ideally in the fridge. The lack of preservatives make it prone to mold if left out for too long, so be careful! We almost never have issues because, well, we eat this up so fast! 

I challenge you not to have a hot slice of this bread fresh from the oven... it is almost impossible! I hope your family enjoys this yummy bread. Merry Christmas, and thanks for checking in! 

xo Allison