Soft Wheat Sandwich Bread
This soft wheat sandwich bread is an elevated version of the American supermarket staple. The ingredients are basic, and the method for making a loaf is easy to follow. If you’re new to bread baking, this is a great beginner recipe.
Like many of you, my family has been isolated at home for several weeks now. The whole globe seems to have descended into chaos, and so many people have had their lives completely upended. Since we’re grocery shopping far less than usual, I’ll be using this space to share recipes highlighting pantry staples and ones that call for few ingredients. I hope you and yours are safe and well. I also hope the recipes I share here will be a useful resource for you during this uncertain time.
With so many people baking bread for the first time, I’ve had several requests from friends for bread recipes. I have three recipes for loaf breads that I adore (light wheat, whole wheat, and brioche), but they call for ingredients that may not be in abundance, like eggs, or that most people don’t keep in their pantry, like dry milk and wheat germ.
This soft wheat sandwich bread recipe uses the most basic ingredients – flour, yeast, salt, milk, butter and honey. America’s Test Kitchen calls this bread “the quintessential American sandwich loaf,” which is exactly what it is. It has a perfectly brown crust and a soft crumb. Since I’m nearly out of bread flour, I followed the variation, with a couple slight changes, to make it wheat bread. If you’re new to bread baking, this is a perfect beginner recipe. And if you’re looking for a great bread-baking book, I can’t say enough good things about Bread Illustrated. It’s organized so that each chapter increases in complexity, but all the recipes are highly approachable.
I find solace in the kitchen, and cooking and baking provide me a sense of normalcy when everything else feels like it’s falling apart. My hope is that we all find something comforting as we learn to cope with this new normal. Be gentle with yourselves and each other, friends.
- COOK TIME:
- YIELD: 1 loaf
1½ cups (8¼ ounces) bread flour
1 cup (5½ ounces) whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
1½ teaspoons salt
¾ cup (6 ounces) whole milk, at room temperature
⅓ cup (2⅔ ounces) water, at room temperature
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons honey
¼ cup rolled oats, optional
- 1
Whisk together flours, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. In a 2 cup or larger measuring cup, whisk milk, water, melted butter, and honey until the honey dissolves.
Using a dough hook on low speed, slowly add milk mixture to flour mixture and mix until a cohesive dough starts to form and no dry flour remains, about 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed. Increase the speed to medium-low and knead until dough is smooth and elastic and easily clears the sides of the bowl, about 8 minutes.
- 2
Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead by hand for about 30 seconds, forming a smooth, round ball. Place dough seam side down in a lightly greased large bowl or container. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, 1½-2 hours.
If it’s below 70 degrees in my house, I typically use the proof setting on my oven to make sure the dough rises in time.
- 3
Once the dough has doubled, grease an 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pan. Press down on dough to deflate. Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface. The side of dough that was against the bowl should now be facing up. Press and stretch the dough into an 8 by 6-inch rectangle, with long side parallel to the edge of your work surface.
Roll dough away from you into a firm cylinder, keeping roll taut by tucking it under itself as you go. Pinch seam closed. If using oats, spread them on a small baking sheet or clean work surface. Mist the top of the loaf with water and roll in oats, pressing gently to adhere. Place loaf seam side down in the prepared pan, pressing dough gently into the corners.
- 4
Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and let rise until the loaf reaches 1 inch above the lip of the pan and dough springs back minimally when gently poked with your knuckle, 1-1½ hours. (Mine rose a bit more than this while I waited on the oven to cool from making dinner, but it didn’t cause any issues.)
- 5
Place an oven rack in the lower-middle position and heat oven to 350ºF. Mist loaf with water and bake until deep golden brown and loaf registers 205-210ºF, 35-40 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
Let cool in pan for 15 minutes before turning out and cooling completely on a wire rack for about 3 hours.
Store at room temperature for up to three days. You can also slice and freeze, thawing individual slices as needed. The best way to thaw sandwich bread if you want soft slices is to microwave the individual slices for about 15 seconds.
Made this and it was delicious. I had to go out unexpectedly and put the dough in the refrigerator after the first rise. Took it out and let it get to room temperature and rolled it out shaped it and no problems with it. Everyone enjoyed it. So today I’m making a second loaf. Thanks for sharing.