American Sandwich Bread
By America's Test KitchenPublished on February 14, 2020
Time
1½ hours, plus 2½ hours rising and 3¼ hours cooling
Yield
Makes 1 loaf
Ingredients
2 ½ cups (13¾ ounces/390 grams) bread flour 2 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast 1 ½ teaspoons table salt ¾ cup (6 ounces) whole milk, room temperature⅓ cup (2⅔ ounces/75 grams) water, room temperature, plus extra for misting2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted2 tablespoons honey
Instructions
- Whisk flour, yeast, and salt together in bowl of stand mixer. Whisk milk, room-temperature water, melted butter, and honey in 4-cup liquid measuring cup until honey is dissolved.
- Fit mixer with dough hook. Slowly add milk mixture to flour mixture on low speed until cohesive dough starts to form and no dry flour remains, about 2 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed. Increase speed to medium-low and knead until dough is smooth and elastic and clears sides of bowl, about 8 minutes.
- Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and knead to form smooth, round ball, about 30 seconds. Place dough seam side down in lightly greased large bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in size, 1½ to 2 hours.
- Grease 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pan. Press down on dough to deflate. Turn out dough onto lightly floured counter (side of dough that was against bowl should now be facing up). Press and stretch dough into 8 by 6-inch rectangle, with long side parallel to counter edge.
- Roll dough away from you into firm cylinder, keeping roll taut by tucking it under itself as you go. Pinch seam closed and place loaf seam side down in prepared pan, pressing dough gently into corners.
- Cover loosely with greased plastic and let rise until loaf reaches 1 inch above lip of pan and dough springs back minimally when poked gently with your knuckle, 1 to 1½ hours.
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Mist loaf with water and bake until loaf is deep golden brown and registers 205 to 210 degrees, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
- Let loaf cool in pan for 15 minutes. Remove loaf from pan and let cool completely on wire rack, about 3 hours, before slicing and serving.
Time
1½ hours, plus 2½ hours rising and 3¼ hours coolingYield
Makes 1 loafIngredients
2 ½ cups (13¾ ounces/390 grams) bread flour
2 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 ½ teaspoons table salt
¾ cup (6 ounces) whole milk, room temperature
⅓ cup (2⅔ ounces/75 grams) water, room temperature, plus extra for misting
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons honey
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
2 ½ cups (13¾ ounces/390 grams) bread flour
2 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 ½ teaspoons table salt
¾ cup (6 ounces) whole milk, room temperature
⅓ cup (2⅔ ounces/75 grams) water, room temperature, plus extra for misting
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons honey
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
2 ½ cups (13¾ ounces/390 grams) bread flour
2 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 ½ teaspoons table salt
¾ cup (6 ounces) whole milk, room temperature
⅓ cup (2⅔ ounces/75 grams) water, room temperature, plus extra for misting
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons honey
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
We wanted a light, tender, sliceable white sandwich bread that would work in every application, from BLTs and PB&Js to our morning toast. To get there, we started with bread flour, which has a higher protein content and is particularly good at forming gluten, giving our bread structure and chew. The stand mixer made easy work of kneading the bread dough; a full 8 minutes of kneading gave our bread enough gluten for a soft, stretchy texture. A bit of butter added richness and tenderness while 2 tablespoons of honey gave the crust superior browning and a touch of sweetness. Finally, after shaping our loaf and letting it rise twice, we gave it a light spritz of water to help achieve a slightly firm crust during baking. Cooling our loaf for a full 3 hours ensured perfect, even slices.
Instructions
- Whisk flour, yeast, and salt together in bowl of stand mixer. Whisk milk, room-temperature water, melted butter, and honey in 4-cup liquid measuring cup until honey is dissolved.
- Fit mixer with dough hook. Slowly add milk mixture to flour mixture on low speed until cohesive dough starts to form and no dry flour remains, about 2 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed. Increase speed to medium-low and knead until dough is smooth and elastic and clears sides of bowl, about 8 minutes.
- Transfer dough to lightly floured counter and knead to form smooth, round ball, about 30 seconds. Place dough seam side down in lightly greased large bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in size, 1½ to 2 hours.
- Grease 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pan. Press down on dough to deflate. Turn out dough onto lightly floured counter (side of dough that was against bowl should now be facing up). Press and stretch dough into 8 by 6-inch rectangle, with long side parallel to counter edge.
- Roll dough away from you into firm cylinder, keeping roll taut by tucking it under itself as you go. Pinch seam closed and place loaf seam side down in prepared pan, pressing dough gently into corners.
- Cover loosely with greased plastic and let rise until loaf reaches 1 inch above lip of pan and dough springs back minimally when poked gently with your knuckle, 1 to 1½ hours.
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Mist loaf with water and bake until loaf is deep golden brown and registers 205 to 210 degrees, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
- Let loaf cool in pan for 15 minutes. Remove loaf from pan and let cool completely on wire rack, about 3 hours, before slicing and serving.
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