White Sandwich Bread

     I've officially explored another area of bread! I've made bread like Honey Challah before, and other "bready" things, but never a loaf  of bread like I'd buy at the grocery store. It's so exciting, and really not all that hard, just time consuming. I think in all this takes about 3 hours from start to finish, but it's well worth it. I found the recipe at The Curvy Carrot (probably while Pinteresting but I don't quite remember) and  from the look of her pictures I knew I had to try it out. I'm so glad I did and you knead to too! Hehe, I'm so funny. But seriously, the bread is soft, great for sandwiches, toasts wonderfully, and is absolutely worth making again and again. The recipe as written provides two large loaves and both are definitely needed--one of mine was gone overnight. My mom had a couple warm pieces, my boyfriend had a 3-inch thick chunk (or more) and my brother made himself a grilled cheese sandwich for supper, something I will be doing soon as well. Even if you don't think you'll go through two loaves that quickly, you should freeze the second one for later! Without a doubt, this is a recipe I'm actually writing down on a recipe card and sticking in my recipe book.




White Sandwich Bread
Recipe from The Curvy Carrot


Ingredients

• 2 (1/4 ounce) packets active dry yeast 
• 3/4 cup warm water (110-115 degrees)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature  
• 2 and 2/3 cup additional warm water
• 9-10 cups all-purpose flour 
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (for brushing the tops of the loaves)

Instructions
--In a large bowl (you'll be stirring the dough in it) pour in the 3/4 cup warm water and sprinkle the yeast over the top. Let the yeast activate for a while until it gets frothy.

--After about 5 minutes, add the sugar, salt, butter, and the rest of the warm water. Mix until all combined. (The warm water should melt the room-temp butter for the most part. You can help the butter along by smashing it against the side of the bowl with your spoon. It's okay if there's some small chunks still floating around.)

--Gradually stir in the flour. Don't add it in all at once--you may not need it all. I stopped at 8 cups.

--Once you can't stir anymore, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in more flour if your dough is still super sticky--you want it tacky but not sticking to your fingers. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, around 10 minutes.

--Clean the bowl that you used for stirring, then spray it with cooking spray. Plop your kneaded dough in the greased bowl and then flip it over so the (new) top is greased and won't dry out while rising. Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place until doubled, about and hour.

--Punch down the dough and separate it into parts. Take your rolling pin and roll out two rectangles, having the "shorter" side being an inch or two longer than your loaf pan. I used 9" pans.

--Take the "longer" side of each rectangle and roll it up tightly, like you would a sleeping bag. Seal the edges and tuck the ends under so their seams are on the bottom of the roll and so that the roll will fit nicely in your loaf pan.

--Place the dough into greased loaf pans, cover them with a towel, and set them in a warm place to rise for another hour.

--Place your oven racks on the lowest positions and preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

--Bake the loaves for 30 minutes, placing a "tent" of tinfoil over each loaf halfway through baking so the tops don't burn.

--After removing the bread from the oven, brush the tops with the melted butter.

--Let cool for a couple minutes before flipping the loaves out of their pans.

--Slice with a sharp knife and enjoy!



Happy Baking!
--H