How to Make a Steel of Bread Soft Again
There are few things in life that are more rewarding than slicing into a loaf of bread that you made at home. A loaf from the store just can't replicate the smell, texture, and heavenly gustation of homemade breadstuff—and feeling a skilful dose of pride because of your cute creation doesn't injure either.
Making your own sandwich breadstuff is an easy, beginner-friendly entry point into working with yeast and making breads. Being able to make your own breadstuff is a wonderful tool to put in your self-reliance toolkit—if the stores are out of breadstuff or you can't get to the store, no problem! You tin whip upward your ain loaf in just a few hours. Below, you'll discover a complete visual step-by-step tutorial to walk you through the process, so let's get blistering!
What ingredients do I demand to make my own sandwich bread?
This recipe is incredibly flexible and elementary—no fussing with thermometers, no fancy flours. Here's what you'll need:
- Hot h2o.
- Cold milk. A lot of bread recipes call for warm h2o to activate the yeast, simply we mix hot water with cold milk to get the temperature but right. That way, we can be certain nosotros don't accidentally kill the yeast!
- Beloved or sugar. This is food for the yeast, and volition assistance it get all bubbly, which makes for a lighter, fluffier loaf of bread!
- Active dry out yeast. I prefer to work with dry active yeast, but this recipe is so flexible, y'all tin likewise apply rapid rise/instant yeast or bread motorcar yeast if that's what you tin get your hands on.
- Butter or vegetable oil. I recommend using unsalted butter, so that you can have full control over the final season.
- Common salt.
- Flour. You take tons of options here! Employ bread flour or "regular" all-purpose flour. Utilize only all-purpose flour for white sandwich bread, 100% whole wheat flour for whole wheat bread, or a mix of flours to go something in betwixt a whole wheat and white bread!
How exercise you make sandwich breadstuff at abode?
Making yeast bread is 1 of those things that intimidates a lot of domicile cooks (it did me for a while), but it's actually incredibly elementary. Allow'due south walk you through the basic steps to making this sandwich breadstuff:
Step one: Proof the yeast
In the basin of a stand mixer, or a big mixing basin if mixing by hand, combine hot tap water, cold milk, honey or sugar, and dry out active yeast. Yeast likes warm, simply not too hot, water to activate information technology, so we observe that combining hot tap water and cold milk makes a temperature that yeast is very happy with! Ready this mixture bated to activate (or "proof") the yeast. Later on nigh 5 minutes, the mixture should look squeamish and foamy—like the head of a beer. This is how yous know your yeast is live and ready to go!
If your yeast doesn't foam up subsequently v minutes, it might only be that information technology needs a few more minutes to do its thing. If you still don't see whatsoever action after 10 minutes, your yeast might be onetime or dead, and information technology'due south time to invest in fresh yeast.
Practice I have to proof the yeast?
Some bread recipes skip the pace of proofing the yeast, but I notice that I get better, quicker results by activating the yeast first—plus, it helps me know early if my yeast is sluggish. No wasting precious ingredients later on just to find out your yeast isn't active!
Step 2: Mix up the dough
At present that your yeast is raring to go, information technology's time to make the dough past stirring in the remaining ingredients: melted butter or oil, salt, and flour.
You can then stir by hand or in a stand up mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix until it comes together to class a viscous, loose dough.
Step iii: Knead the dough
Kneading dough is how y'all activate the gluten in the flour to make the dough smooth and elastic. To knead dough, you lot push, stretch, and pull the dough until it turns smooth and like shooting fish in a barrel to piece of work with. You lot tin either knead the dough past hand on a lightly floured surface, or y'all tin can do it in a stand mixer fitted with a dough claw on medium-depression. Either fashion, y'all'll need to knead for virtually seven-ten minutes to go the desired smoothness. When information technology's gear up, the dough volition be a smoothen ball and lose almost all of its stickiness.
Step 4: First ascension
The next step is to practice the first of two rising periods—this is where y'all permit the dough sit in a warm area (room temp or slightly in a higher place) to let the yeast activate and multiply. This gives the bread its yeasty flavor, but besides helps give the staff of life its fluffy, soft texture.
Grab a clean, medium-size bowl, and add about a tablespoon of vegetable oil (olive oil and avocado oil both piece of work), identify the dough in the oil, and then rotate the dough effectually so it's all covered in oil.
Cover the dough to keep in moisture—you can use plastic wrap, a damp kitchen towel, bowl covers, or fifty-fifty plastic shower caps! Place it in a warm place to rise.
The get-go rise is finished when your dough ball has roughly doubled in size. The time on this will vary wildly based on the activity of your yeast and the warmth of your kitchen—so we tin't give you an exact time frame. But when the dough looks roughly double the size, you're ready to motion on to the next step. If yous are having a hard time estimating what "double the size" looks similar, they sell bulk fermentation containers that are clear and have lines on the outside so you can easily tell when y'all've reached the double marking.
Stride 5: Class into a loaf
Once your dough has doubled in size, lightly flour a work surface, and dump the whole bowl of fluffy dough out. When you pour it out, the mixture should look fluffy, stringy, rubberband, and exist full of tiny bubbles/holes. Yay! You've successfully completed your first ascension. In that location is no need to "punch" down the dough as yous come across on TV a lot—the process of shaping the loaf volition deflate it enough, and punching it downwardly might remove too much air and make for a denser loaf.
Using floured easily, quickly course the dough into a loaf shape. Y'all actually don't have to worry about information technology being as well perfect or fancy considering we're going to do a 2nd ascension that'll smooth out nigh of the bumps and imperfections. Transfer the loaf into a greased loaf pan (a demote scraper makes moving the soft dough into the loaf pan easier, but it definitely isn't necessary).
Step half-dozen: 2d ascension
Once the loaf is shaped and in the pan, it'southward time to let it rise again. You'll want to embrace the loaf pan once more to prevent drying out, but this time, I recommend using something that can give the dough some space to ascent. I like using either oiled plastic wrap (information technology'll rise with the dough and be easy to remove later), or a plastic storage bin turned upside-downwardly over elevation of the dough. This 2d ascent time will go quite apace, so it's not absolutely necessary to cover the dough at this phase, but doing so will keep your crust softer.
How to tell the bread has risen enough: the poke test
For this rise, you're looking for ii landmarks to tell you your dough is ready to bake. First up, y'all want information technology to pass the poke test. Using the knuckle of your pointer finger, press into the dough most ane/2″.
You lot can tell how well risen your bread is past how the indentation behaves:
- Bounces back immediately or near immediately: the staff of life is under-risen (AKA: under-proofed), and could use some more rise time. Try again in 10-15 minutes.
- Bread or indentation collapses (like popping a bubble): the staff of life is over-risen (AKA: over-proofed) and needs to be dumped out, reformed into a new loaf, and re-proofed.
- Indentation bounces back slowly—over a minute or more: your bread is gear up to bake!
A second indicator is that the bread rises about 1″ over the side of the loaf pan at the crest of the breadstuff. This isn't every bit accurate as the poke exam because loaf pans vary in size (more on that down below), but it's a skilful backup indicator if yous're looking for more confirmation about the second ascension.
Step 7: Broil that sandwich bread!
During the last few minutes of your 2nd rise, preheat the oven to 425°F. When the bread passes the poke test, pop information technology in the oven, and immediately reduce the temperature to 375°F. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the summit is aureate brown and the bread sounds hollow when yous rap on it with your knuckles. Do your very best not to open the oven door to cheque on the bread while it bakes—specially in the kickoff x-15 minutes. The loftier oven temperature volition assistance give the bread "oven spring," which is the rapid rising that happens when cold (or colder) dough hits a hot oven—opening the door reduces the oven temperature dramatically, and that reduces the oven jump.
When the bread is ready, pull it out and set it out to cool for at least 15 minutes in the loaf pan earlier removing.
After yous get the loaf out of the pan, let it cool completely on a wire rack. Bootleg sandwich staff of life slices much better when completely cooled, but it'due south and then hard to wait that long!
Step 8 (optional): Soften the crust
Homemade sandwich bread tends to take a crispier chaff than store-bought sandwich bread, which is bang-up for serving aslope soup, simply less nifty when y'all desire a PB&J. There are two ways you can soften your sandwich bread crust, and both work as well!
Soften the crust using butter
I learned this trick from my friend Melissa at Bless This Mess (who got it from her mom)—immediately after the bread comes out of the oven, brush or slather butter on the hot crust. The butter will absorb into the breadstuff and create a soft (and buttery) crust!
Soften the crust using a damp tea towel
I've used this trick for years to soften bootleg bread—if you're curt on butter, you tin also soften the chaff past lightly (lightly!) dampening a tea towel, and then wrapping the entire warm loaf of bread in the tea towel as before long as information technology comes out of the pan. Let the wrapped loaf cool completely on a wire rack before unwrapping. The breadstuff might feel slightly soggy immediately subsequently unwrapping, merely afterwards a few minutes of air exposure, you'll have a soft bread fix for your favorite sandwiches.
This sounds bang-up, just I'k scared to work with yeast!
Once you get the hang of baking with yeast, y'all'll wonder why you were always afraid. There are a lot of hardcore bakers out there that volition requite you lot very specific rules and requirements about working with yeast—information technology can definitely be a science—but I honestly don't think it has to exist that complicated. Hither are my two chief suggestions:
- Keep your yeast fresh—I similar to shop mine in a closed canning jar in the fridge or freezer. If you lot keep it in the freezer, it'll last pretty much indefinitely.
- Don't kill your yeast with hot water—Very hot temperatures will impale yeast. In this recipe, we combine cold milk and hot water to lower the temperature of the liquid to make information technology yeast-friendly.
What kind of yeast should I buy?
You lot're looking for dry agile yeast for this recipe—but rapid ascent/instant and breadstuff machine yeast will also piece of work in this recipe. At that place are slight differences betwixt them all, only in this recipe, y'all tin utilise them interchangeably.
Y'all can purchase yeast in either small, single use packages or in larger glass containers. I highly recommend springing for the glass containers—once you catch the bootleg bread bug, you'll wish you had more yeast!
Brewer's yeast and nutritional yeast will non piece of work in this recipe—they are not the same matter as active baking yeast.
Do I need a special bread flour, or can I use apparently flour instead of breadstuff flour?
Breadstuff flour is but flour that has a higher protein content than "regular" flour. That extra protein can help make breads rise better and have fluffier, more than tender cease results, but it is absolutely not a necessity. While the quality of your flour tin can touch your last results—my favorite flour for this sandwich bread recipe is Rex Arthur'south Organic Bread Flour—you're still going to have excellent results using run-of-the-mill all-purpose or whole wheat flour. We've tested this recipe using both loftier-cease organic breadstuff flour and store-make all-purpose flour, and while the difference is noticeable, it'south not enough for the states to recommend one over the other.
Can I make this sandwich bread whole wheat?
Certain can! We've tested this recipe using 100% all-purpose (white) flour, 100% whole wheat flour, and a mix of half and half—all with excellent results. The 100% whole wheat version is slightly denser and it required a longer rise time in our kitchen, but it was a wonderful, nutty whole grain bread!
Should I use a scale to counterbalance ingredients or measure them by volume using measuring cups?
We highly recommend using a kitchen calibration to measure all ingredients for bread making, only especially the flour. A kitchen calibration is the most accurate way to ensure the same results every fourth dimension you lot bake. We've tested this recipe multiple times using volume measures (cups) and weight measurements (grams), and when using weight measurements, the results were exactly the same each time. When using book measurements, there were slight variations in the texture and behavior of the dough, which could exist really frustrating for a first-time baker.
If you must apply book measurements for measuring the flour, be sure to use the scoop and sweep method for measuring the flour. If you just scoop the flour out of the container, you'll end up with a very dry dough/bread.
What does the table salt exercise in this staff of life recipe?
Saltless bread is flavorless and pretty darn sad! The salt in this recipe adds a lot of flavor. Just make certain to add it in in the order we suggest—common salt can impale yeast if you lot aren't careful.
Can I make this bread gluten-free?
Nosotros've never tested this recipe using gluten-free flours, and wouldn't recommend information technology—this staff of life is specifically formulated to be used with wheat flour. We practice have a wonderful Cashew Grain-Gratis Sandwich Bread recipe that is non only gluten-free, but also free from all grains.
What size loaf pan should I apply?
Our favorite size loaf pan for this recipe is a 10″10 iv 1/ii″ loaf pan because it results in wonderful alpine slices, merely a regular sized nine″ x 5″ loaf pan works besides—it'll simply give you more broad, pan-way slices.
Can I make this recipe in a bread machine?
We've developed this recipe to be fabricated without a staff of life machine, only in that location is no reason information technology shouldn't work in one. We haven't tried information technology out, so if you exercise, let us know in the comments!
Help! My kitchen is cool and I don't have a warm spot to rise my dough.
It may be that room temperature isn't quite warm enough to get your dough to ascension. But no worries, you can easily industry a warm spot for your dough to rise. Here are a few options:
- Apply the oven. Many modern ovens take a "proof" setting. Plough that on and place your covered dough in there to rise. If y'all don't take that setting, an oven light oftentimes pumps out enough heat too. Or, just turn your oven to a low temp (200°F or below) for a few minutes, so plow it off, and put the dough in the warm (but off!) oven.
- Employ the fire/woods stove/furnace. Our fireplace hearth is an excellent identify to let dough ascent. Woods stoves, radiators, and other warm (but not too hot) sources of radiant oestrus are a adept option, too. But make sure to rotate the dough if the heat source is one-directional (similar from a fireplace).
- Try the top of the fridge. The tiptop of our refrigerator is dainty and toasty! Yours might exist, too. Endeavour information technology.
- On top of a basin of boiling water. This is my favorite tip, and 1 that consistently works for me. Boil water in a kettle. Pour into a large mixing bowl. Rest the covered pan/basin of dough on elevation of the basin of water. The heat from the steam does wonders to become dough to pop up fast!
- On top of a heating pad. This is a great trick! Pull out a heating pad, set it to medium, and place your pan on pinnacle of the heating pad.
- Try outside. This isn't applicable in November in Indiana, simply in Baronial? Yous improve believe I'm putting my dough out in the 90-degree sun on the back deck to rising.
Why do y'all start off the breadstuff at such a high oven temperature?
In this recipe, we recommend preheating the oven to 425°F and and so immediately backing information technology downward to 375°F one time the bread is in the oven. Why? Well, it all comes downwardly to something called "oven spring." Oven jump is the rapid rising that happens when cool breadstuff dough hits a hot oven during the first few minutes of baking. The higher temperature gets united states a nice oven spring (which makes for soft, fluffy, risen breadstuff), simply if we baked at that temperature the whole time, the crust would exist burnt before the inside was baked, so we back it down.
Why is my homemade staff of life so dense?
If your loaf comes out dense, you lot may have overworked the dough. The more yous manipulate the dough after the first rise, the more air bubbles get forced out, which can pb to a dumbo bread. Side by side time, don't spend also much time shaping your loaf (and retrieve, no need to "punch" downward the dough!).
Continue in heed that the flour you lot use can affect the final fluffiness of your bread, as well! A loaf made with whole wheat flour will be denser than one made with all-purpose flour, which will be slightly denser than one made with breadstuff flour. Merely we promise, they will notwithstanding all be delicious!
How many slices can I get out of this loaf of sandwich bread?
If yous're looking to maximize your slices, it's important to allow the sandwich bread cool completely (even chill slightly in the fridge) to be able to get thinner slices. You can hands get 18 thin slices out of this staff of life, and 12 thick-cut, perfect-for-French-toast slices.
What's the all-time way to shop homemade sandwich bread?
We store our homemade bread in an airtight container on the counter (nosotros use these steel locking containers for our bread). Considering we are a small family, we normally cut the loaf in one-half, and keep half in an airtight container in the freezer—when nosotros've finished the one-half loaf on the counter, we bring out the frozen one. On the counter, the bread will final 4-five days. In the freezer, it'll last six months or even longer.
The greatest thing about staff of life-making is that you get to swallow your mistakes! Fifty-fifty sandwich bread that doesn't turn out perfectly is commonly all the same quite delicious—and fifty-fifty if it isn't, imperfect bread makes great croutons, breadcrumbs, or breakfast bakes. Making your own breadstuff is a risk-free endeavor! So strap on the frock, go out the flour, and first breadstuff baking. Enjoy!
Bootleg Sandwich Staff of life Recipe
Yield: 18 slices
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: xxx minutes
Boosted Time: 3 hours
Full Time: 3 hours 50 minutes
This beginner-friendly sandwich breadstuff recipe is so piece of cake, anyone can do information technology! Make soft, fluffy slices of bread that are perfect for Lead&Js or toasting up.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (225g) hot water (hot from tap, not humid)
- 1/four cup (90g) milk, common cold from the fridge
- ii tablespoons honey (40g) or carbohydrate (20g)
- 2 1/iv teaspoons (9g) agile dry yeast
- 1/4 cup (55g) melted butter or vegetable oil
- 1 1/ii teaspoon (10g) salt
- four cups (500g) all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, or a combination of both, come across notes
- Additional oil and flour, for rise and forming the dough
- Butter, for softening crust, optional, encounter notes
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, or in a large mixing bowl if making by hand, combine the hot h2o, common cold milk, and dear or sugar, and whisk until combined. Add in the yeast and whisk until combined. Let sit for 5 minutes to prove. The mixture is gear up when it'due south foamy.
- Add in the butter or vegetable oil, table salt, and flour. Mix using the lowest setting on the mixer, or past manus, until it forms a soft and sticky dough, about 3 minutes
- Knead by hand on a floured work surface, or by turning upward the mixer to medium-low for 5-seven minutes, or until the dough is smooth and rubberband. It will still be slightly glutinous.
- Oil the inside of a clean medium-sized mixing bowl. Place the dough ball in the oiled bowl, rotating to coat in the oil. Cover with plastic wrap, a bowl encompass, or a damp tea towel, and prepare in a warm place to rising until doubled.
- Oil the inside of a loaf pan. I adopt a 10" x 4 1/two" loaf pan to become very high loaves, but yous can also apply a standard loaf pan. Ready bated.
- When the dough has finished its offset rise, lightly flour a work surface and dump the dough onto it. The dough should appear lite, stringy, elastic, and full of air bubbling/holes.
- Form into a loaf shape and place in the prepared loaf pan. Cover with oiled plastic wrap, a bowl cover, or a damp tea towel, and set to rise in a warm place until it passes the breadstuff proofing poke test—poke in the bread with a knuckle or finger. If the indentation immediately bounces back, the bread needs to rise longer. If the bread collapses, the loaf is over-proofed, and if the indentation slowly fills in, it's fix to bake! The rise of the bread should also exist approximately 1" higher up the loaf pan.
- In the last few minutes of the final proof, preheat the oven to 425°F. When proofing is finished, remove the embrace, and place the loaf in the oven. Close the door, and immediately reduce the oven temperature to 375°F.
- Broil with the oven door closed for 25-thirty minutes, or until the chaff is gilt chocolate-brown and the bread sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from the oven and cool for fifteen minutes before removing from the loaf pan, and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- We didn't include ascension times here, because information technology varies widely based on the force of your yeast, temperature of your home, and a million other factors. What takes three hours to rising in ane home might take 30 minutes in some other—yous're better off post-obit our landmarks for when the dough is ready.
- If you choose to measure using the volume measurements, make sure yous utilise the scoop and sweep method for measuring the flour. If y'all just scoop the flour out of the container, you'll end upwardly with a very dry dough/staff of life.
- The loftier initial temperature is to help requite the bread an "oven spring," where the instant reaction of hitting the oestrus causes the mixture to aggrandize apace, making for a tall loaf.
- Out of milk? No problems, just sub in cold h2o instead.
- We usually make this bread with avocado oil, considering we ever have information technology in the house. Melted butter is wonderful, too!
- We've tested this with all whole wheat flour, all all-purpose flour, and a mix of half and half—they are all wonderful! The 100% whole wheat version is a bit denser, only however delicious. The half and half version is the favorite in our house.
- For a soft crust: brush butter over the crust immediately subsequently it comes out of the oven, or wrap the unabridged warm loaf in a slightly damp tea towel while it cools. Homemade bread tends to accept a squeamish, crispy crust, which is groovy for serving alongside soup, but less keen when y'all're going to brand a PB&J.
- Nosotros've never tried this recipe in a staff of life machine, but there is no reason why it wouldn't work. Allow us know if you try information technology out!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 18 Serving Size: ane slice
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 233 Total Fat: 6g Saturated Fatty: 2g Trans Fatty: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 4g Cholesterol: 2mg Sodium: 60mg Carbohydrates: 39g Fiber: 2g Sugar: 2g Protein: 5g
At Wholefully, nosotros believe that skillful diet is almost much more than than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Delight use the above information as but a minor office of what helps you determine what foods are nourishing for you.
Source: https://wholefully.com/easy-sandwich-bread-recipe/
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