Our Favorite Sandwich Bread
Before using for the first time, wash your new pan in hot, soapy water; rinse and dry. To clean after use, place the cooled pan in the dishwasher, or wash by hand using a non-abrasive pad and hot, soapy water. Rinse and dry completely. Scouring with metal pads, steel wool or abrasive cleaners will damage the pan’s surface. This pan will gradually darken with use over time. This is normal, and will enhance the quality of the products you bake in it.
Our Favorite Sandwich Bread
For sandwiches, toast, and French toast, you just can’t beat a classic American sandwich loaf, with its creamy-white interior, golden crust, and soft, easily sliceable texture.
3 cups (12 3/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour*
1 cup (8 ounces) milk
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick, 1 ounce) butter or margarine
2 tablespoons (7/8 ounce) sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons yeast
*For added whole-grain goodness, substitute great-tasting King Arthur whole wheat flour (traditional or white whole wheat) for up to half of the all-purpose flour in this recipe.
Mixing: In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir till the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased surface, oil your hands, and knead it for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it begins to become smooth and supple. (You may also knead this dough in an electric
mixer or food processor, or in a bread machine set to the dough or manual cycle). Add a bit of additional milk or flour if needed— the dough should be soft, but not sticky.
Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover, and allow it to rise till puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 1 hour, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.
Shaping: Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface, and shape it into an 8-inch log. Place the log in the lightly greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan, cover loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the bread to rise for about 60 minutes, until it’s domed about 1 inch above the edge of the pan. A finger pressed into the dough should leave a mark that rebounds slowly.
Baking: Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until it’s light golden brown.Test it for doneness by removing it from the pan and thumping it on the bottom (it should sound hollow), or by measuring its interior temperature with an instant-read thermometer (it should register 190°F at the center of the loaf). Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on rack before slicing. Store the bread in a plastic bag at room temperature.
Yield: 1 loaf.
Reviews
01/02/2009
I used 2 cups bread flour and 1 cup whole wheat, and put all the ingredients into a bread machine on an automatic dough cycle. Put the dough into a terracotta bread pan, allowed it to rise, and baked. The bread was very soft, simple great bread. Many thanks.
12/29/2008
If you simply 'mix all ingredients together in a bowl' as recommended you will get a solid mass which will not rise. I have baked 100's of loaves of bread over the years and this is the worst advice for making bread I have ever seen.
Thanks for sharing your views. Our posted recipes are tested and re-tested many times before we share them with our customers and we stand behind our products and recipes 100%. MJR @ KAF
02/09/2009
Do you recommend quick-rise yeast rather than active dry yeast (which I used?) I got virtually no rise on the first rise, and not a great rise on the 2nd. I thought this bread tasted good but it was too dense for my liking. I may be inclined to try again but by dissolving my yeast in my wet ingredients before mixing.
I'm sorry that you had difficulty with your yeast. We do not recommend using QuickRise/RapidRise yeast. If you are using active dry yeast, it must always be proofed before adding. Only instant yeast is added directly with dry ingredients. Please call us if you need assistance adapting this recipe to the yeast that you have on hand. Frank from KAF.
02/09/2009
Ah, so you are saying I should have proofed my yeast (as I would normally do)? Since the recipe said to add all ingredients to the bowl I deliberately did *not* proof my yeast, thinking that was what your recipe required.
If you need assitance with this recipe please call our hot line. Frank from KAF.
02/15/2009
This bread is not only easy to make but makes for the best grilled cheese sandwiches and buttered toast, topped with eggs over easy (Hey thats how I like them) you can imagine. This is how white bread was meant to be. I've found it better in my kitchen to let it rise in the bread pan for two hours before baking for a more fluffier loaf. I gave this 4 out of 5 stars only because nothing is perfect. Try this, improve it and share your experience. Peace
06/06/2009
This recipe makes a nice loaf of bread. The bottom line with the yeast (no matter what the recipe says) is: 1) active dry yeast must be proofed before mixing with the flour; 2) instant yeast can be put straight into the flour without proofing. If the recipe's instructions don't match the yeast type you have then you have to adapt the recipe to match the yeast type. This isn't hard; there are instructions elsewhere on this web site. That said, it would be nice if someone would take a minute to put the word "instant" in the recipe instructions.
Thanks for bringing that to our attention. Mary @ KAF
09/20/2009
I am trying this today. I wish that when a recipe calls for milk, you would specify cold (straight from fridge) or 110 degrees. I am going to warm it but am never sure what to do in this situation. Angie, Unless a recipe specifies a temeprature for ingredients, always assume them to be room temperature. Frank @ KAF.
10/12/2009
I'm with some of the previous posters (Susanna, Mary), it would be much more foolproof if the recipe simply indicated what kind of yeast, and what temperature the milk should be (who assumes that milk is room temperature?). Yet, even though I didn't proof the active dry yeast, and added the milk and the butter straight from the refrigerator, the bread still turned out great. I just let the first rise go for 90 minutes instead of 60. Second rise was perfect, and the bread is light and fluffy. Tastes good too!
10/29/2009
Very simple bread to bake, came out great. I used half unbleached all purpose and half white whole wheat, and even doubled it (we have four boys to feed!) and everyone loved it. Nice and easy sandwich loaf!
11/11/2009
I have made this several times now and it always rises and bakes very well. In addition to baking it in a loaf pan I also use it for rolls. The recipe makes 8 largish hamburger type buns, which will just fit on a half sheet pan. After the first try I did reduce the amount of sugar in half and it is better to my taste that way. I have also experimented with the amount of whole wheat flour and I prefer using 1/2 cup KA white whole wheat and 2 1/2 cups KA all purpose flour.
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