This Never-Fail Sandwich Bread should be in your regular baking rotation. Mix the no-knead dough by hand first thing in the morning. Enjoy hearty delicious homemade bread for lunch.
Who doesn’t love the aroma of freshly baked bread in their kitchen? It’s wonderful but that’s not the only benefit to making your own. You get to know exactly what ingredients are used. And you can choose the best ingredients.
Let’s talk about the ingredients.
- Unbleached bread flour – or unbleached all-purpose flour
- Instant yeast – check out the Recipe Notes if using regular active dry yeast.
- Granulated sugar
- Kosher salt
- Lukewarm water
- Room-temperature butter – salted or unsalted
- Olive oil
The list is a short one …with the star of the show being the flour.
For this recipe, bread flour will produce a loaf that is slightly heartier with a bit more chew. I always use flour that is organic, non-GMO and free of glyphosate. Always. Unfortunately, the readily available brands that you find in your local market simply don’t qualify.
For me, this commitment is a strong one for several reasons.
- Maintaining good health by removing as many toxins from my everyday diet as possible.
- Better yet… my gluten-intolerant loved ones are able to enjoy my homemade goodies with no unpleasant reactions.
- Turns out they are not able to tolerate the toxins found in most of our grains.
- The gluten may not be the culprit, after all.
Instead of going on about this, I’ll leave you with a few links to well-researched articles on this very thing.
- Glyphosate Facts Everyone Should Know
- The Real Reason Wheat is Toxic (it’s not the gluten)
- A Foodie’s Guide to Avoiding Glyphosate (And Other Bad Stuff) – Grain Overview
In the past, I’ve relied on “clean” flour imported from Europe. I still do for certain varieties. But now that I’ve discovered heritage grains, my personal favorite is produced here in the US. The Sunrise Flour Mill is located in Minnesota.
I haven’t seen it in any stores in my area, but you can easily order directly from them. Their ordering process is well designed and the shipments typically arrive within the week. They produce exclusively organic heritage grains and privately test their wheat for the presence of glyphosate.
So folks, the bottom line here is that when I make my own bread, I know exactly what I’m offering to my loved ones.
Let’s get started on our No-Fail Sandwich Bread…
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, sugar and salt.
- Add the lukewarm water.
- Use a spatula to combine so that all of the water is absorbed.
- You will end up with a sticky dough ball.
- Cover the bowl and place in a warm spot to rise until the dough doubles for about 2 hours.
- It may take a bit longer if your kitchen is on the cool side.
What is the difference between active dry yeast and instant yeast?
- Both can be used interchangeably with a slightly different process. More on that here.
- Active dry yeast needs to be dissolved in water to “proof” before using.
- Instant yeast can be whisked right into the dry ingredients without the need for blooming or proofing.
- If you have only active-dry yeast on hand, you’ll need to take an extra step which is explained in the Recipe Notes.
- Heat the oven to 375°F.
- Grease a standard size loaf pan (8.5-inch ×4.5-inch) with the softened butter.
- A 9-inch x 5-inch pan would also work here.
- Deflate the risen dough using two forks or a flexible dough scraper.
- Pour the olive oil over the dough and turn the dough ball to coat it in the oil.
- Transfer the dough to the prepared pan.
- Let rise, uncovered, until the dough crowns the rim of the pan, for about 45 minutes to an hour.
The dough will deflate a considerable amount as you transfer it to the pan. Don’t be concerned. That’s totally normal.
It will rise again significantly during the second rest.
- Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
- Turn the bread out onto a cooling rack.
- Let it cool for 30 minutes before slicing and enjoying.
Don’t know about you guys but I’ve always had an issue with slicing my homemade breads. I finally found the perfect bread-slicing knife and figured I was home free. But my slices were never quite even. Until now, that is.
This awesome bamboo bread slicer is pure genius. It’s easy to use, inexpensive and folds up for compact storage.
Every slice of my No-Fail Sandwich Bread is uniform, as thin or thick as needed.
never-fail sandwich bread
Based on a recipe by Alexandra Stafford of Alexandra Cooks
Ingredients
- 3 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour (384 grams)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast (6 grams)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar (6 grams)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt (7 grams)
- 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water (340 grams)
- softened butter, for greasing pan
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
-
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Add the lukewarm water and using a spatula, stir to combine so that all of the water is absorbed. You will end up with a sticky dough ball.
Cover the bowl and place in a warm spot to rise until the dough doubles, about 2 hours. It may take a bit longer if your kitchen is on the cool side.
-
Heat the oven to 375°F. Grease a standard size loaf pan (8.5-inch ×4.5-inch) with the softened butter. A 9-inch x 5-inch pan would also work here.
Deflate the risen dough using two forks or a flexible dough scraper. Pour the olive oil over the dough and turn the dough ball to coat it in the oil. Transfer the dough to the prepared pan. Let rise, uncovered, until the dough crowns the rim of the pan, for about 45 minutes to an hour.
-
Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Turn the bread out onto a cooling rack; let cool for 30 minutes before slicing and enjoying.
Recipe Notes
Dry-Active Yeast - If using active-dry yeast, sprinkle it over the lukewarm water and add the sugar. Let stand for 15-20 minutes or until the yeast gets foamy. Then combine the liquid with the flour and salt combination. Proceed with the recipe.
Adding Whole Wheat - You can substitute some whole wheat flour for the bread flour, if you wish. Ali recommends starting small: 1 cup (128 g) whole wheat flour and 2 cups (256 g) bread flour. Keep in mind the more whole wheat flour you add, the heavier/denser the bread will be.
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More homemade breads to try…
