For the recipe this week we will be making a standard loaf of white sandwich bread. In my opinion there are not many things better than a slice of freshly baked bread with a little butter or jam, especially since it’s been getting so cold out. When buying this type of bread from the grocery store it usually costs around two dollars. For this recipe I paid a little under ten dollars for all the ingredients and can make somewhere around ten to fifteen loaves of bread with them. So this recipe is not only cheaper alternative; it is healthier and of course way more delicious! A friendly heads up: this recipe is a pretty lengthy process and will take about four hours from beginning to end. That being said, a lot of that time is just letting the dough sit so don’t feel as if you need to block off your whole day to make a loaf of bread; it only requires about a half hour of your hands-on attention.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups of warm water
- 1 tbsp. dry active yeast
- 2 tbsp. softened butter
- 2 tbsp. sugar
- 2 tsp. salt
- 2 eggs
- 4-5 cups of flour
Steps
- Begin by combining the yeast and warm water, set aside. This is too proof the yeast, or in other words, to test the yeast to make sure it is active.
- Combine butter, sugar, salt, and eggs. Whip until a creamy and smooth
- Add the yeast and water mixture
- Add flour, one cup at a time (Note: the amount of flour used for this recipe varies depending on the consistency and texture of the dough. You want to keep adding flour until the dough is not sticky to the touch, this is usually somewhere between four to five cups. Start with four and if the dough feels sticky, keep adding flour with a couple tablespoons at a time until it is no longer sticky.)
- Transfer the mixture to a flat surface with flour dusted across it. Begin kneading the dough. This means pushing and folding the dough in on itself to evenly distribute the yeast throughout. This will take about five to ten minutes and good to test to when it is ready is to press your thumb into the dough; if it springs back it is ready.
- Place in greased bowl to let rise for roughly 2 hours, or until the dough has grown about twice in size.
- When the dough has risen to about twice its original size, remove it from the bowl and knead it again
- Preheat your oven to 375°
- While your oven is heating, fold dough into loaf shape making sure that all cracks are sealed and you have a smooth oval shaped loaf. Place into a greased bread pan and let rise again until the top is just above the edge of the pan. (This usually takes about the amount of time it takes to preheat the oven.)
- Cut a small slit across the top of the loaf. This is to prevent the bread from cracking during the baking process. It is not necessary, but I like to brush the top of the loaf with a small amount of melted butter to give more of a crunchy, golden crust.
- Bake for thirty-five to forty minutes, or until the top is a dark, golden brown.
- Remove from the pan and let cool before cutting and serving. (This is the hardest step for me; I have burnt my mouth more times than I would like to admit trying to eat scalding hot bread.)
So that's it! Give it a shot and let us know how you did. Feel free to contact the LakeVoice team with any and all comments, suggestions, and recipe ideas!