While it is a “basic” sandwich bread, this makes a great bread for thick-cut toast with jam in the mornings, or try it open face with cream cheese and sliced cucumbers! Or, knead in some herbs for a delicious herbed or garlic bread – yum!
1 ½ cups warm water (around 105-115°F – NOT above 120°F!) [you can use ½ milk – see note]
1 3/4 Tbsp. yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
¼ cup honey (warmed for easy pouring)
2 Tbsp. ground flax seed (optional)
4 cups unbleached white flour*
½ Tbsp. gray salt
+/- ½ cup flour
1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
1-2 Tbsp soft butter – to butter the pan
In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water (or water/milk combo) and add the honey and flax seed. Let this sit for 5-10 minutes to activate the yeast. Make sure the water is not too hot, or it will kill the yeast.
While the yeast is activating, prepare your rising bucket or bowl by pouring some olive oil in it & spreading it around the sides & bottom.
When the yeast is beginning to get foamy, add the flour and salt. Stir to combine, and pour the dough out onto a lightly floured counter to knead. Knead until the flour on the counter is incorporated into the dough and the surface of the dough is slightly tacky. You may need to add more or less flour, depending on your humidity levels.
Place the dough in the oiled rising bucket and place in a warm, draft-free area. Let it rise around 1.5 – 2 hours or until double in size. Do not let it over rise.
Punch down the dough* & shape it into a loaf. Place it in a loaf pan that has been lightly buttered & slit the top a few times. Allow it to rise once again for 15-40 minutes – until double in size again. Preheat oven to 350°F degrees while the dough is rising.
Bake for 35-40 minutes. It should be browned & sound hollow when tapped on the bottom of the loaf. Cover it with a towel and let it rest on a cooling rack for at least an hour to finish baking internally.
*Use your preferred flour here. We have recently discovered Kamut flour, and have switched about 85% of all baking over to it. It is better for diabetics, and the flavor is delicious. You can also swap up to ½ cup of the flour for whole wheat, if you want a slightly more dense bread. This is not a whole wheat or multi grain bread recipe though – that’s in another post! The bread in the photos was 2 cups bread flour, 1 cup rough ground kamut, and 1 cup all-purpose flour, with sorgum flour used for kneading. It’s my current favorite blend.
**If you want an herbed bread, knead the extra ingredients in at this time. Some ideas are minced garlic, oregano, basil, savory, thyme, rosemary, etc. This is also a good time to add in some grains, if desired. Sunflower seeds, millet, amaranth, quinoa, and oats are all good add-in’s.
For a slightly enriched dough, you can swap some of the water for milk – I like to do 3/4 cup of each. It makes the final bread just a little softer.
For those watching their sugar spikes, I’ve heard that if you slice & freeze bread prior to toasting it, it reduces those. As I am the only bread eater in the house these days, I tend to slice up the whole loaf & freeze it pre-sliced so I can pop a few slices into the toaster for breakfast or a sandwich. It works beautifully! I do occasionally put wax or parchment paper between the slices to keep them from sticking together.
When the original recipe blog was hacked, this was one of the recipes that I thought was lost forever. I have been looking for a very basic “white sandwich bread” recipe like this one for over 15 years – and I found it last weekend. (thank you wayback machine!) I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am to have my original recipe back again!