Tuesday, February 1, 2011

The BEST Bread I Have Ever Eaten


This past Sunday, I had signed up to bring the bread for our church's sacrament meeting. But, instead of simply buying some from the store, I decided to bake my own instead. As for a recipe, I decided to go with one that I had seen on the site, At Home with Haley. It looked so good that I knew this was the one I wanted to try.

I did make a couple of changes to the recipe and used regular all-purpose flour and water instead of whole wheat flour and milk, simply because that's what I had on hand at the time. I also decided to form the dough into rolls and mini loaves using these cute ceramic bread pans I found at Michael's.


When the bread was finally baked, I could hardly wait to try a piece. The crust was a beautiful golden brown and had a fantastic crunch. The inside of the loaves were pillowy soft. And the taste, ohhhhhh the taste. I know you're thinking this is just plain white bread, but this is anything but plain. My eyes popped open in delight as I took my first bite and I just could not stop exclaiming about how delicious it was. After finishing my first slice, I went back for a second and would have gone back for a third and even a fourth if I had allowed myself the luxury. Seriously, it was THE best bread I have ever tasted, hands down, I kid you not. This will forever and ever be my go-to recipe for bread and rolls. Thank you Haley!!!


Sandwich Bread (adapted from At Home with Haley)

2 c. whole wheat flour (I used all-purpose flour)
2 c. bread flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. yeast
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted (if using salted butter, omit 1 tsp. salt)
1/4 c. honey
1 1/4 c. warm milk or water - 105F (I used all water)

Combine the water, melted butter, and honey in a bowl and heat until it reaches 105-110F. (I microwaved it to get it to reach that temperature) Add the yeast and let sit until mixture is foamy, about 5 min.

Mix the 2 cups of bread flour with the salt. Add to the yeast mixture. Stir in the all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl (I ended up adding about 1 1/2 cups). Knead mixture by hand on a floured surface for 5-10 minutes until dough is soft and pliable. If it is too sticky, add flour a tablespoon at a time. If it is too dry, add a teaspoon of milk or water at a time. The proportions may vary depending on your climate. (I ended up kneading in about 1/4 cup of flour in the process.)

Place the dough in a large, lightly oiled bowl, then flip the dough bottom side up to lightly coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a dish towel and allow the dough to rise in a warm place for about 30-60 min. or until doubled in size.

Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it in half. Roll each half into a rectangle about 10x14". Starting with the 10" side, roll the dough up, pinching together as you go to make a log. Pinch all seams together with moist fingers. Fold ends under and place dough seam side down in a well greased bread pan. Cover pans loosely with plastic wrap and a dish towel and let rise for another 30-60 min. or until doubled in size.

Bake in preheated 400F oven for about 25 min. (For my mini loaves and rolls, it took about 15 min.) Remove from pans and let cool on a cooling rack before slicing.

This recipe is linked to:
Decidedly Healthy or Horridly Decadent
Fat Camp Friday
Full Plate Thursday

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