Thursday, June 13, 2013

White Sandwhich Bread

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Nothing beats coming home to the smell of homemade bread! A good tasting bread recipe is easy to come by...one that is not dense, yet light and fluffy is another story. Just like you, I've scoured the internet and tried countless recipes, searching for a light and airy sandwich bread, yet none prevailed. Over the years, I've read what seems like hundreds of forums, and researched many sites, and this year I think I finally came up with a recipe that I hope will do homemade bread some justice. :)

Baking bread is definitely an art form in itself because a lot of things factor into how your bread will turn out, like humidity. If you've ever come across a recipe that says "about" 5-6 cups or so, it's because flour reacts differently in their ability to absorb moisture. That's why I like to use the food processor(although I'm sure some professional bakers would disagree) because it allows my recipe to stay pretty consistent. When kneading by hand or with a stand mixer, I always feel the need to add more flour because of the "tackiness" of the dough but in my years of bread making, slightly tacky and wetter dough will result in a softer/lighter loaf of bread.

Why don't I use bread flour? Although bread flour is awesome to use because of it's high protein content(which results in a beautiful rise) it will also yield a more chewier loaf so that's why I use all purpose flour. It's very important to add the vital wheat gluten which gives the overall loaf great structure and helps it stay risen.

Oh, and fyi if you were trying to find a homemade bread recipe that stays soft for days, well let me tell you, that YOU AREN'T GOING TO FIND IT! That's the beauty of making it yourself--you know EXACTLY what's going in it! Grocery store bread and such use additives and enzymes to their dough to increase shelf life. I use diastatic malt powder only to add softness to the overall texture of the loaf.

Ingredients:
1 cup of warm water(95-110 degrees F)
2 tsp of active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
1 T of potato flour(NOT POTATO STARCH OR POTATO STARCH FLOUR)
*3 T of baker's special dry milk powder
1 T of vital wheat gluten
*1 tsp of diastatic malt powder or dough enhancer
1 and 1/4 tsp of salt
2 T of sugar
2 T of softened unsalted butter
* For the dry milk powder, I recommend that you purchase it from King Arthur's website! It's called Baker's Special Dry Milk Powder and it's nothing like the ones sold at your local grocery store. For starters, it's a lot smoother and finer in texture and not gritty. I don't know what's in that stuff but it makes the bread waaay softer and lighter!

* I also purchased the Diastatic Malt Powder and Potato Flour from the King Arthur website. Both of these items are crucial in this recipe because they make the bread lighter/fluffier and not dense like most recipes! Try not to leave these things out! I will post a link below that will take you directly to their website!


Start off by sprinkling your yeast into your warm water. Make sure it isn't too hot-you don't want to kill your yeast. Give it a little stir and then add in your sugar and stir one more time. Allow to sit until mixture becomes creamy or when you can see the yeast kind of "sprouting" on the top of the surface(at least 5 min or so). Now, you know that your yeast is "alive".

While you're waiting for your yeast to wake up, add your all purpose flour, diastatic malt powder, potato flour, and vital wheat gluten into a large mixing bowl. Mix to combine.

When your dough is activated, give it a quick stir to loosen up the sugar that has fallen to the bottom of the bowl, and pour it into your dry mixture. Using a wooden spoon, mix until well combined. Add in your salt last(yeast doesn't like salt but adds flavor)give it a another quick mix, and then add your dough into the food processor.

Pulse for 1 minute. Turn off food processor and slightly flatten out the dough and then slather on your softened butter. Take your hand or butter knife and bring some dough over the butter. Pulse for 30 more seconds. It's easy to over knead dough in the food processor so stay close.

Place dough onto a clean work surface and working with very fast hands, form it into a nice smooth ball. Don't overdo it. I recommend NOT adding any additional flour to your work surface unless you absolutely HAVE TO! When you begin to work with the dough, you will notice that the stickiness of the dough will start to smooth itself out.

Place dough into a bowl and add a small amount of vegetable oil. Place your dough in the bowl and toss to coat. This will prevent a crust from forming at the top of the dough. Cover with saran wrap and allow to double in size. This can take anywhere from 45 minutes to over an hr depending on your weather conditions. A warm and draft free place is recommended.

Once doubled in size, take two fingers, lightly press them into some flour, and then poke the top of the dough--if your indentations stay, then your dough if ready to be rolled out.

Take dough and place on clean work surface and punch it down the middle. Sometimes I give it a few small punches to release some of the large air pockets that have formed within the dough. Using a rolling pin, gently roll it out and then shape it into a log(if you notice your dough sticking, lightly flour your rolling pin to get the flow going). Pinch the seam together and roll it over itself with the seam side down. Pinch and seal the two ends as well.

Take some vegetable oil and lightly coat your bread pan but don't overdo it. Get in there with your hands and make sure that the sides are well coated as well. Take a piece of saran wrap sprayed w/ some baking spray and cover your dough. Allow to rise one more time until it has risen to at least half an inch to an inch high above the sides of the pan. There is such thing as letting it rise too long. If you over did it, the dough will collapse and you will end up with a brick!

Place a cast iron skillet on the bottom of your oven. Turn your oven to 350 degrees. Once done preheating, remove saran wrap from loaf and gently slide it into the oven. Take about 5 ice cubes and add those into the cast iron skillet and close the oven door. Don't slam it, you don't want to disturb your dough. That steam from the ice cubes will give your bread a nice rounded "dome" like shape and a beautiful brown crust. After about 15 minutes, remove your cast iron skillet cause it won't do any good in there at that point.

Bake for 25-30 minutes(tap the bottom of the pan-if it sounds hollow it's done). If the tops get too brown for your liking, you may tent it with some foil for the last 10 minutes. I like it when the crust is really brown so I never tent it. Remove from oven and immediately place onto wire racks to cool completely. Brush the tops with melted butter and allow to cool for one hour before slicing. If you slice into them too soon the texture of the bread will be sort of "gummy" in texture.

Slice and enjoy!! If you're starting to bake more often I would highly recommend purchasing a electrical knife for nice and even slicing. I have one by Black and Decker that I am in love with! No more sloppy pieces of uneven bread! Also the bread will stay soft for up to two days on the counter. One loaf for my house lasts only for a day so it works out perfectly in my favor. Keep it stored in a tight paper bag and away from sunlight and only cut what you need.

51 comments:

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  6. I try to look for your recipe of cream puff , but i could not find it in your blog

    Thank you

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  7. Hi Angel. You won't find that recipe on my new blog. I'm currently in the process of redesigning, so that recipe can be found at my old blog:http://eatnowcrylater.blogspot.com/2011/07/creme-puffs.html. :)

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  8. Your blog is very informative. Thank you so very much!!

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  9. quick tip! if you turn the louf of bread upside down its easier to cut and you wont mess up the nice rounded shape at the top! thanks for the video and can you please tell me what is vital wheat gluten and where I can get it thanks!!!!

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  10. Vital wheat gluten is all gluten with very little starch. It gives the dough more elasticity and helps with the overall structure of the dough. You can purchase it in most grocery chains. Bobs Red Mill or King Arthur Flour sells some good ones!

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  11. Hello! I have a few questions- is the vital wheat gluten necessary? What if I just knead it for longer?
    And can I sub the potato flour with potato flakes (in equal weight)?
    And last of all.... Can I sub some of the flour for bread flour or does it have to be 100% all purpose flour? Will it make a difference in the softness?

    Haha sorry for all these questions. But thanks for sharing this recipe- I've been looking all over for the perfect one for me and here it is :)

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  12. Oh I forgot to add one more question- what kind of flour do you use?

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  13. I think the vital wheat gluten is very important in this recipe. It gives the dough an overall great structure and elasticity, but I see what you mean about kneading it for longer. That may work also, so if you have the arm muscles, then go for it. :) You can definitely use some bread flour, but when I was experimenting with this recipe, using all purpose gives you a much softer crumb as opposed to bread flour. Using bread flour will make it chewier. I think you can sub for potato flakes. I would use less though, maybe 1/2 a Tablespoon instead of 1 Tablespoon. My preferred brand of choice for flours is King Arthur.

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  14. Sorry! I'm spamming your page. My apologies :P

    So, I've heard that AP King Arthur flour has a higher protein level (11.7%) and that is the usual protein level of bread flour here. So do you think it will work? What if I mix half AP half bread flour as my bread flour is 12% but my AP is about 8% only. BTW, my bread flour is high gluten. Do you think that will help with my missing out the vital wheat gluten?

    Thanks for the reply! I appreciate this :)

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  15. I think half and half sounds good. It sounds like it should work out if your bread flour is high in gluten. Give it a go and let me know how it goes!

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  16. Hi...I have a question about the preheated thing, so put the loaf in the cold oven and the cast iron and start preheating, once it reach 350 throw some ice cube and close the door and leave the steaming for 15 min and take it out and bake for another 25 min? From start preheating to reach 350 how long it takes? Cause my oven doesn't have the digital number thing. Thank you.

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  17. Hi Linda. All ovens are different. Therefore, I cannot tell you how long it takes for your oven to reach 350 degrees F. For mine, I'm guessing it would take about 7 minutes? That's just a guess because my oven beeps when it's done preheating. Lol.

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  18. Thanks for the reply...I'll try to bake some bread and let you know how it turns out :)

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  19. Hello,
    Great looking bread. I wanna make it for my family to get away from eating store bought bread that is drenched in chemicals. The only concern i have with this bread is that it has the powdered milk and malt in it. My husband is lactose intolerant, so is there a milk-free alternative you would use?

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  20. You can try omitting the powdered milk and use all water. I don't like the texture of the bread when using liquid milk or else I would recommend using some lactose free milk. You can also leave the malt powder out. Although, doing all of these will compromise the overall texture of the bread but it doesn't hurt to try!

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  21. I think ur bread recipe sound like what I am looking for but I have a few questions.
    The second rise when in the pan for how long?
    When ur preheating the oven is that where the bread is doing the second rise before it gets to 350?
    These are the only questions that I have and I can't wait to try the bread. Thanx for the recipe.

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  22. Sorry, another question
    Is the door to the oven open while it's preheating to get the bread to rise like that?

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  23. Hi Sav, what kind (brand) of yeast do you use? Whats the best way to store it?

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  24. The second rise varies for everyone and will depend on the temperature of your house or the weather that day. It's about ready, when the dough is about 1/2 an inch to 1 inch above the sides of the loaf pan. When your dough is ready, you then preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

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  25. I just use the Red Star brand ( I believe) and I store it in my fridge. It's guaranteed to work for up to 6 months and any longer than that, I actually toss in the garbage and then purchase a new jar. Yeast is very finicky and can get stale/old and I don't risk it when making bread.

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  26. OMGGGGGG!!!! this bread is off the hook. I made it 3 times already. It's the softest bread EVER!!!!!! Each time I make it, it never lasted more than 3 days (and there are only 3 of us in the house). LOL I have dry milk powder in my pantry but took your advice and ordered it from KA's website ... all the extras (like the Vital wheat gluten, diastatic malt powder, potato flour, KA dry milk powder) really make this bread soft and pillowy. The bread also has great oven spring. LOVE IT. Will never buy bread from the store or make any other white bread recipe except this one. My search is over! ;o)))))))

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  27. Hi...Do these measurements yield one loaf?

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  28. YES!! I'm so happy that you love it as much as I do! I know how much of a pain buying all of the extra stuff can be...but you get what you pay for! The finest ingredients will give you fine results! :)

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  29. hi I am Angela and live in England where can I get your ingredients from.

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  30. Hi Angela. I'm so sorry to say this, but you'll have to purchase most of the ingredients online at kingarthurflour.com. I've attached the links in the actual recipe, you just have to click over the words in the ingredient list. Best of luck!

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  31. i made this bread today but my loaf deflated any idea why? i used the same Ingredients you used, i used enriched flour instead of unbleached flour and instant yeast or quick rise yeast.

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  32. Hi Fozia. Sounds like you over proofed your dough or let it rise for too long and so it ended up deflating. If you used a quick rise yeast or rapid rise, you actually can skip the first rise and go straight to shaping your loaf. Active dry yeast and rapid rise yeast are used differently and are not the same.

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  33. totally agreed with Sav. Can't overproof the dough. i used to think it's okay for me to leave and go shopping, mow the lawn, chat with neighbors, walk the dog, etc. when the dough go thru the 2nd proofing .... NOT! When you overproof your dough, there's too much air in it and your bread structure will collapse in the oven. I must say ,,, this is by far my go to recipe. I think I have made this bread a gazillion times. And because of her, I now put vital wheat gluten in all the bread I make.

    Oh ,,, as a tip, try to use King Arthur unbleached flour. Yea, it's a bit more expensive, but it's sooooo worth it (and still cheaper and more nutritious than buying a store bought loaf). It makes a world of difference. I used to buy a 25 lb bag of "enriched" flour from costco. It's just not the same. BJ sells KA flour. Happy Baking!

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  34. Hi Ada. I think we've all been there--thinking that we have time to do a million things while waiting for the bread to proof. Lol. And yes, I agree with the KA flour. Most of the products that I use for baking, are actually from KA! :)

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  35. thanks for the tip :) one more question. my dough wasn't as sticky as your dough on the video. should i add a bit more water or leave out some flour ?

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  36. I just wanna know what T ref to in the ingredients when u said 1T of potato flour

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  37. It doesn't need to be as sticky as mine. Just make sure that it isn't too dry and you're not adding in more flour than the recipe called for. If you'd like, you can most definitely decrease the amount of flour.

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  38. Which grocery store can I buy the vital wheat gluten?

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  39. You can buy vital wheat gluten in most grocery stores. It's found in the specialty food aisle. I use the brand by Bob's Red Mill.

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  40. Thank you for your reply!

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  41. Hi Sav,

    I really want to try this recipe, and I ordered those three ingredients from King Arthur as you suggested. I have all the other ingredients except potato flour. I have tried so many different grocery stories. Any suggestion?

    Thanks!

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  42. You can try omitting the potato flour altogether. Just make sure to not leave out the vital wheat gluten and the baker's special dry milk powder.

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  43. I actually bought my potato flour from KA's website

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  44. […] Link to the recipe: http://eatnowcrylater.com/white-sandwich-bread/ […]

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  45. For what it s worth, I bought the vital wheat gluten at Kroger in Indianapolis, IN.

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  46. Oh this looks so good. I am a newbie at baking period. And a brand new bread maker. I have purchased all the required ingredients and have the food processor at hand and ready to go. However, I do not have a cast iron pan and really cannot afford one. Would a pizza stone do with a small regular bread baking pan do? The pizza stone should hold the heat and the pan would hold the water, but honestly, I don't know. Any advice for this novice would be most gratefully appreciated. Thank so much! I love your site!!

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  47. Is there a substitute for wheat gluten? That is the only thing I don't have.

    Thanks
    Kathy

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  48. Sorry Kathy there is no sub for wheat gluten. :(

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