Homemade Bread - Perfect White Sandwich Bread

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Homemade Bread - Perfect White Sandwich Bread recipe.

As long as you have this homemade bread recipe you will never go hungry. This homemade bread recipe makes a perfect loaf of white sandwich bread that slices easy.

One of my most favorite things to bake is homemade bread. I love the smell of a loaf of fresh bread baking in the oven.

It just gives the house such a homey feeling. And then slicing into a still-warm loaf, smothering it with butter and waiting for the butter to melt before I take my first bite. Yum!

I know the rules of bread baking and the number one rule is to wait until the loaf is completely cool before cutting into it. 
But I can never wait that long. 

 I’m bad …….but hey some rules are just meant to be broken!

I’ve been collecting bread recipes for years and I have a collection of my favorites.

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Sandwich Bread Recipes

A soft and airy loaf of bread tastes great but you really can’t slice into it easily and eat a sandwich with it. It just never slices right.

When I started adjusting this bread recipe I had a goal in mind. 

I wanted a loaf of homemade bread that would slice into thin sandwich bread slices without tearing or collapsing from the pressure of slicing through it with a knife. 

I got this bread recipe spot on because I could slice perfect thin sandwich slices of bread after it cooled.

Fresh Baked Sandwich Bread Recipe

How to make homemade bread

There are many ways to make homemade bread. This No-Knead Bread recipe is delicious if you want to bake a loaf of bread in a dutch oven.

You can make homemade bread without yeast if you make it with a sourdough starter.

You can make flatbread or breadsticks with my sourdough Focaccia recipe.

Or you can make homemade Sourdough Biscuits.

Homemade bread Ingredients

Bread Making Substitutions

This homemade bread recipe requires milk. You can still make this homemade bread recipe without milk. You can use another dairy product or even water if you need to.

I used half and half to make this homemade bread recipe because I am out of milk. Here are other milk substitutions you can use below if you don't have any milk on hand.

Milk substitutions for making homemade bread

• buttermilk
• unflavored non-dairy creamer
• reconstituted powdered milk
• goats milk
• almond milk
• rice milk
• oat milk

Proofing Yeast

Homemade bread recipes will have you proof the dry active yeast before you begin making the bread. To proof the yeast you will mix the yeast with part of the liquid that has been warmed. When the yeast has activated it will foam up and rise to the top of the warm liquid.

What should you do if your yeast isn't foaming?

If your yeast isn't foaming check the expiration date on the package of yeast. If the yeast hasn't expired you can try rewarming the liquid to at least 105 F. degrees. Yeast needs a warm liquid to proof properly.

If after 5 minutes the yeast hasn't foamed up, unfortunately, the yeast is dead and will need to be discarded. Start with a fresh yeast or try your hand at making a sourdough starter with flour and water to use to bake your bread.

How To Knead Bread Dough

If you have never made homemade bread before there is a small learning curve when it comes to kneading bread dough.

Instead of trying to explain how to properly knead homemade bread dough please head over to the Sourdough Focaccia Bread recipe where you will find a 5-minute long video demonstrating how homemade bread dough should look when it is kneaded correctly.

Ingredients

• 2 cups warm milk or milk substitution
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons dry active yeast
• 2 tablespoons softened butter
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 ½ to 5 ½ cups of unbleached all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Measure one cup of the milk into a small bowl and warm it in the microwave. You want the milk to be slightly warmer than body temperature. You should be able to stick your finger in it and it feels warm, not hot. If it is too hot it will kill the yeast and your bread will not rise properly.
2. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Add the yeast and stir well. Set aside until the yeast is very foamy- about 5 minutes.
3. While you’re waiting for your yeast to foam up add the remaining milk and softened butter to a large bowl. Warm in the microwave until the butter is melted. Let cool slightly so that it is about room temperature. You should be able to wrap your hands around the sides of the bowl and it feels warm, not hot.
4. Once your yeast is foamy pour it into the large bowl and stir it a bit so everything is combined.
5. Add 3-4 cups of flour, one cup at a time and mix in with a wooden spoon until it is too thick to stir anymore. If your dough is too sticky to handle after adding 4 cups of flour and mixing add another ½ cup of flour in and mix again.
6. Keep adding the flour to the bowl until the dough is firm enough to handle. You want to be able to handle it and not have most of the dough sticking to your hands.
7. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead, adding flour as needed until the dough is smooth and no longer sticks to your hands, about 10 minutes. If you have a stand mixer you can use it with the dough hook.
8. The amount of flour you will need while kneading will vary depending on the moisture in the air. I used about 5 cups of flour for this recipe. Other times I have made this recipe and only needed to use 4 ½ cups of flour. Don’t worry even if you need to use more than the 5 ½ cups that I used. The amount of flour need will change each time you make bread.
9. Once your dough is nice and smooth butter the inside of a large bowl and turn the dough around in it so all sides of the dough are covered with butter. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled, about an hour.
10. After the dough has doubled punch down the dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough in half and form into two loaves. Place the loaves of dough into two buttered bread pans.
11. Cover with a towel and allow to rise until the dough is puffed up over the edges of the bread pans. Again this may take up to an hour.
12. Preheat your oven to 350 F. degrees. Before you put bake the bread gently brush some melted butter over the top.
13. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until cooked through and golden.
14. Remove from the oven and brush more melted butter over the tops.
15. Cool for ten minutes and turn out of pans and cool on a cooling rack.
16. Cool completely before cutting.
17. Makes 2 loaves. If you cut very thin pieces you can get close to 20-25 slices of bread out of one loaf.

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