White Sandwich Bread
This golden-crusted, soft white bread is a versatile star. Enjoy it toasted (or made into French toast) in the morning; for sandwiches at lunchtime; and in the breadbasket, ready for buttering, at dinner.
Our guarantee: This tender, close-grained loaf rises to a lovely 4 1/2" dome, and bakes up golden brown.
- 1 packet "highly active" active dry yeast; or 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast; or 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 7/8 to 1 1/8 cups lukewarm water*
- 3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup Baker's Special Dry Milk or nonfat dry milk
- 1/2 cup instant mashed potato flakes
- *Use the lesser amount in summer (or in a humid environment), the greater amount in winter (or in a dry climate), and somewhere in between the rest of the year, or if your house is climate controlled.
Directions
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1) If you're using active dry yeast, dissolve it with a pinch of sugar in 2 tablespoons of the lukewarm water. Let the yeast and water sit at room temperature for 15 minutes, until the mixture has bubbled and expanded. If you're using instant yeast, you can skip this step. |
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3) Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise, at room temperature, for 1 to 2 hours, or until it's nearly doubled in bulk. Rising may take longer, especially if you've kneaded by hand. Give it enough time to become quite puffy. |
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4) Gently deflate the dough, and shape it into an 8" log. |
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7) Bake the bread for 15 minutes. Tent it lightly with aluminum foil, and bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes, till the crust is golden brown, and the interior temperature measures 190°F on an instant-read thermometer. |
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8) Remove the bread from the oven, and gently loosen the edges with a heatproof spatula or table knife. Turn it out of the pan, and brush the top surface with butter, if desired; this will give it a soft, satiny crust. Allow the bread to cool completely before slicing. As soon as it's completely cool, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap; or in a plastic bag, air pressed and fastened securely at the top. |
Recipe summary
- Hands-on time:
- 25 mins.
- Baking time:
- 35 mins. to 40 mins.
- Total time:
- 3 hrs 15 mins.
- Yield:
- 1 loaf, 16 servings
- Recipe comments (28) »
Tips from our bakers
- If you're kneading bread by hand, it's tempting to keep adding flour till the dough is no longer sticky. Resist the temptation! The more flour you add while you're kneading, the heavier and drier your final loaf will be.
- The amount of liquid you use to make the "perfect" dough will vary with the seasons. Flour is like a sponge; it absorbs water during the humid days of summer, and dries out during the winter. Your goal should be making the dough as it's described (e.g., soft, and smooth, but not sticky), rather than sticking religiously to the amount of liquid.
- When making yeast bread, let the dough rise to the point the recipe says it should, e.g., "Let the dough rise till it's doubled in bulk." Rising times are only a guide; there are so many variables in yeast baking (how you kneaded the dough; what kind of yeast you used) that it's impossible to say that bread dough will ALWAYS double in bulk in a specific amount of time.
| Nutrition Facts | |
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| Serving Size 1 slice (47g)
Servings Per Batch 16 |
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| Amount Per Serving | |
| Calories 140 | Calories from Fat 40 |
| Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat | 4.5g |
| Saturated Fat | 3g |
| Trans Fat | 0g |
| Cholesterol | 10mg |
| Sodium | 190mg |
| Total Carbohydrate | 21g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1g |
| Sugars | 3g |
| Protein | 3g |
| * The nutrition information provided for each recipe is determined by the ESHA Genesis R&D software program. Substituting any ingredients may change the posted nutrition information. | |
Reviews
11/17/2009
This recipe is the exact same one as for the Soft White Dinner Rolls - KA Guaranteed. I'm not sure why this isn't stated on either recipe, but at any rate that means you can make either a great loaf or a batch of soft dinner rolls from this recipe. I've tried a gazillion white sandwich loaf recipes, and this one might be the best of them all -- tender, flavorful and sliceable. It's also nicely moist (and keeps well) with help from the special baker's dry milk and the potato. As for the latter, I use potato flour and substitute it for the potatoes flakes equally by weight (1.5 ounces). I'm assuming that those who are subbing only half of the potato flour for the flakes are referring to volume measurement. By weight, it's a 1-to-1 ratio.
10/29/2009
My first try was very good, but had a few air holes and the crust was a little too dry. My solution: just before putting in the oven, I made three 1/2 inch slits on the top and then brushed the tops with egg/milk wash. Problems solved!
09/05/2009
This recipe is similar to White Bread 101 in the KAF Bakers Companion cookbook. It truly is easy and delicious. When my husband wants a big loaf, I increase the recipe by 50% and bake it in a pan 9.25" by 5.25."
09/04/2009
This turned out really great. I was short on time, so I put all of the ingredients into my bread machine and let it go. I made a couple substitutions - I did not have any dry milk (I just ordered some and it isn't here yet), so I used 1 cup of milk instead of the water and dry milk. I also added 2 tablespoons of poppy seeds with all of the ingredients. It turned out delicious. It was easy to slice and amazing toasted with butter. My husband couldn't stop raving about it!
08/14/2009
To someone who was asking about reducing the amount of butter: Try the recipe on the back of the Baker's Special Dry Milk (it's the milk powder mentioned in this recipe). That recipe is very close to this one, and only uses 2 tablespoons of butter with the addition of 1 egg. The other recipe calls for 1-1/2 tsp of salt, and does not mention potato flakes, but as someone else also mentioned, you can use potato flour but use half the amount, or even less. I use 3 T of the potato flour. I also reduce the yeast called for. Maybe I have a lot of yeast floating around in my kitchen, but I'll use only 1/2 tablespoon (1-1/2 teaspoons) of instant yeast, and usually within the hour, it's pretty puffy. The other recipe also states to mix the ingredients and then let it rest for 30 minutes before you knead your dough. This certainly is a helpful step. I used to knead by hand, but now I use my stand mixer, and it's so much quicker and easier. You just can't go wrong with this recipe; it slices beautifully. I'm like a previous reviewer: the combination of the Baker's special dry milk and the potato flour are a great addition to a bread recipe.
06/26/2009
I will certainly double this recipe next time. There is none left for tomorrow! Also, I am told that potato flour can be used instead for potatoe flake and one half the amount. I will do that next time too.
06/18/2009
I made this recipe in my old Welbilt bread machine - totally in the machine including baking it - and it turned out absolutely delicious. The crumb is very fine and you can slice it thin for sandwiches. I may try with 4 tbsp butter instead of 6, it does seem like a lot, but on the other hand why quarrel with perfection!
05/06/2009
Thus is a GREAT recipe. I have made it with great success as written. Last night I substituted the potato flakes for 3/4 c. of real mashed potatoes and cut back the butter to 4 tbls. I neglected to reduce the water, so had to add a bit more flour but still had a very moist dough. My second rise in the loaf pan was too gaseous (perhaps I should have let it rise longer the first time [1st was about 50 minutes but easily doubled in size]), so I 'punched' it down and let it rise again in the loaf pan. Baked as soon as it slightly cleared the pan edges. . Another perfect loaf with a nice crumb and fluffy soft and moist. . Note: Having made this a few times now both ways, I feel real mashed potato is better than potato flakes (haven't tried potato flour). It seems to yield a softer crumb with better flavor.
04/18/2009
This recipe is really, really good. I thought I didn't like white bread, but that's only because I've never had homemade white bread before, just the sponge-y, tasteless vacuums that are sold in grocery stores for $1. What's even better than the taste (ok, equal to the taste) is how easy this bread is to make, especially with my stand mixer: Dump, knead, rise, rise again, bake. Done! Delicious. I'll be making this a lot. My favorite way of eating it is just plain, all by itself! It doesn't need anything else (but it is great toasted with butter and cinnamon sugar).
Anjanette - Isn't home made bread the best? Nothing better. EFB @ KAF
04/09/2009
This recipe is perfect as it is, but in our house, it is easily adapted to be dairy-free for my milk-allergic kids by omitting the powdered milk and using oil or dairy-free margarine. I probably make this 3-4 times a month, and it's nearly impossible to mess up...believe me, I've tried!
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