Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Classic Sandwich Bread

I'm a big fan of creatively shaped and differently flavored breads...but sometimes all you need is a classic recipe for white bread:

The only excuse I needed to make such a simple bread was a craving for a good grilled cheese and tomato sandwich:


This bread starts out with flour, yeast, salt, sugar, milk, butter and water:

Once everything is incorporated into a ball...

You knead it about ten minutes, until smooth:

I used a bowl with measurements on the side for the initial rise to gauge how much volume my dough gained. When I left it to rise it was below the one quart mark:

Here is the dough rolled into a log and placed in my loaf pan. You can see the indentations of my fingers well because this dough is very soft:

Partway through the rise...

and after! 
At this point I had to run out for an errand so I used the trick of putting the dough into the fridge so it wouldn't rise too much. I then let it sit on the counter for about an hour to come to room temperature before baking.

Then, once the bread had baked and cooled, I enjoyed a sandwich of cold cuts, lettuce, tomato and homemade spicy guacamole:

2 comments:

  1. I just came across your blog earlier tonight (I had seen your links on Facebook but didn't know that it was your blog!) I love the idea, and even if I'm not really equiped to make bread right now, I'm adding your blog to my Google Reader with the hopes that it will one day inspire me!

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  2. Let me know if you're in NYC and interested in stopping by my kitchen - I promise it is easier than it looks!

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