Description

This recipe for white sandwich bread makes two loaves of soft and delicious bread. Use it for your favorite sandwiches or toast.

Ingredients

Units Scale

2 cups water
1 cup milk
4 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast (2 packets)
3 tablespoons sugar
6–7 cups bread flour, divided
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, softened
Butter for greasing bread pans and brushing on bread loaves

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Instructions

Warm the milk and water together over low heat in a saucepan on the stove, or in 30-second increments in the microwave. You want the mixture to be just warm, not hot. If the liquid is too hot, it will kill the yeast. Around 100-110 degrees Fahrenheit is perfect.
Stir the yeast and sugar into the warm water and milk mixture. Set aside for a few minutes until it is foamy and fragrant. If it doesn’t foam within 10 minutes or so, the yeast is not viable and you will need to start again with fresh yeast.
To a large mixing bowl, add 3 cups of flour and the salt. Whisk to combine. (If you are using a stand mixer, add the ingredients to the bowl of the stand mixer. If you are making the bread by hand, use any large mixing bowl.) Add the yeast mixture and the softened butter. Use the paddle attachment or a sturdy spoon to combine the ingredients.
Add the remaining flour gradually to the dough mixture. If you’re using a stand mixer, now is a good time to switch to the dough hook. If doing it by hand, continue to use your wooden spoon or switch to using your hands to mix.
You may not need the entire 7 cups of flour. Continue to add flour until the dough is slightly sticky, and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. If hand mixing, the dough should become easy to handle and come together into a rough ball. Do not make the dough too stiff or the bread will be dense.
After the dough comes together, knead it until it is smooth and springs back when poked with your finger. This will take about 8-10 minutes with the stand mixer, or up to 25 minutes if kneading by hand.
Place the kneaded dough into a bowl greased with butter. Cover with a clean tea towel or plastic wrap and put the bowl into a warm place. Allow the dough to rise for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size.
When the dough has doubled in size, gently punch it down to remove the air. Divide into two equal pieces and then shape to fit the pan. Place the shaped loaves into greased bread pans and set them in a warm place to rise again. *See notes below about shaping the dough.
When the dough has risen to almost double in size again, preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. When the oven comes to temperature, place the pans into the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes. The loaves are ready when they are golden brown and they sound hollow when tapped.
Remove the pans from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Immediately brush the tops of the bread with butter (about a tablespoon per loaf). When the bread has cooled enough to handle safely, remove the loaves from the pans and place them back on the wire rack to finish cooling completely.
When loaves are cool, you can slice them, or wrap them up for later. Store at room temperature or freeze for later.

Notes

When shaping the dough, you’ll want to create a surface tension or a taut “skin” on the surface of the dough. This helps the dough to retain its shape and create a nice interior texture as it rises and bakes. This can be done in multiple ways. One of the easiest is to roll out the dough into a rectangular shape and then roll it up into a loaf shape and place it seam-side down in the pan for its second rise. You can also take the piece of dough and turn it inside out a few times, and then roll it around on the countertop as you shape it into a loaf shape.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Rise Time: 2-4 hours
Cook Time: 25 minutes