I think I have only made bread once before but I would like to call this one my very first, at least on my own. It all came down to a lack of sandwich bread and A. craving for a PB&J with out the PB, that is how he orders it all the time now!
A: Mom, can I have a PB&J with no peanut butter, only the jelly?
He is a silly one. So since I already had 3 packs of yeast in my pantry begging for me to use it, I caved in and made my own Homemade Sandwich Bread!
I still can’t believe why I have never given this a try. It was so easy, with some minor issues. Using a handheld mixer is a mess, I do not recommend it! Unless you don’t mind the flying pieces of bread dough. Or the possibility of almost cracking your finger in half thanks to said handheld mixer, yup, I almost lost a finger between those suckers…which thankfully stopped once my finger got stuck between the blades. My finger still hurts a bit :S
Doesn’t it look delicious!!
The recipe I tried is for white bread, and to be honest I am not that big a fan of white bread. I can’t stand the way it sticks to your mouth roof and teeth, yuck. But, the consistency of the bread I made is thicker, it is not so fluffy, but it still tastes like white bread, only better!
I did not take any photos of the prep time due to fights with my darn handheld mixer (which I love to pieces, don’t get me wrong; she’s my Canadian baby, OK?!).
Prepping is so easy. Just, before you start, make sure to have every single ingredient and baking tools out…it is a silly thing, but once a wise man told me to always be prepared.
You will need a large bowl where you will combine the yeast and 2 cups of your flour. On a separate bowl/saucepan, heat milk, sugar, butter, and salt. I used the stove top and had to let the wet ingredients cool down to 115-120 degrees. It took about 10 minutes to go from 140 to the desired temperature. Make sure to have the right amount of heat, if it is too hot you’ll kill the yeast, if it is too cool the yeast won’t work. Just remember that yeast is picky about its temperatures…
Combine your hot liquids with your flour and yeast mix and beat on low speed. This is where having a standing mixer comes in very handy, your fingers will appreciate it. After well combined, beat at high speed for 3 minutes.
After the 3 minutes, start adding enough flour to make a soft but kneadable dough. When ready, put dough onto a floured surface. And this is where the fun begins!! Time to use those muscles ladies! Knead for about 5-10 minutes or until smooth and elastic…or until you can’t keep kneading (I kneaded for about 8 minutes, this is my favorite part of baking!).
Return dough to mixing bowl and cover with a wet te towel. Let rise for 1 hour.
An hour later…
Punch dough down and divide into two pieces. Roll each piece into a rectangle. Starting from the short end, roll your dough and place into greased loaf pans. If you have two pans you will be able to bake the loafs together. If you are a lucky bird like me, your loafs of bread will have to take turns! So, I digress, as usual…once you put the dough in the pans cover with a wet towel once more and let the bread rise for about 30-40 minutes, or until doubled.
Bake in preheated 350 degrees oven for about 25-30 minutes, I baked them for 25 minutes. Once the’re done, turn out the loafs into a wire rack. Let them cool before slicing…and ENJOY!!
This recipe has been child approved! 
Silly man loves mommy’s bread and he even gave me a two thumbs up! These are rare at my house…usually my food is disgusting if you were to ask my 4 year old who only wants to eat PB&J’s with out the PB and chicken nuggets with ketchup (or more like ketchup with chicken nuggets if he were to get his way).
- 5-6 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 pkg, ¼ oz, active dry yeast
- 2¼ cups milk
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 teaspoons salt
- In a large bowl, combine 2½ cups of flour and the entire package of yeast.
- In a saucepan heat milk, sugar, butter, and salt to 115-120 degrees (you might have to let the mixture cool for a few minutes).
- Add hot liquids to the flour and yeast. Beat at low speed until combined, then beat at high speed for 3 minutes.
- Add enough additional flour to make a soft (I added 3 more cups), but kneadable dough. Turn out onto a floured surface. Knead for 5-10 minutes or until smooth and elastic.
- Put dough back into mixing bowl. Cover with wet tea towel and let rise for 1 hour.
- Punch dough down, divide into two pieces, and roll into a rectangle. Starting from the short end, roll up and place into two greased loaf pans. Cover with wet tea towel and let rise 30-40 minutes, or until doubled.
- Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool before slicing.
- ENJOY!
Do you have a recipe I should give a try?!
Do share! I love trying new things!
* I live in Bellingham, WA; 278 feet above sea level.
You take some of the best pictures I’ve seen. What a cute boy too. Bread recipe sounds wonderful.
Thanks for linking up to Friday Food Frenzy. this is amazing. I might give it a whirl, fresh bread what a treat
Amazing pictures!!! Great job!
We took out our bread maker last week and made a fresh loaf of bread. Nothing like fresh warm bread! Thanks for sharing this recipe and the great photos!
I always make my own bread but have never made any with milk…..I will definitely have to try this recipe.
ok, now I’m drooling. I love homemade bread! ti’s always best fresh.
Your bread turned out great! Those pictures are making me hungry
Nothing quite beats the taste of homemade bread, does it?
I’ve never made home made bread! I really want to try it when the weather gets cooler, thanks for the recipe!
Oh my! I LOVE bread and this looks fantastic!
That looks absolutely scrumptious…and gorgeous pics!
I haven’t made this kind of bread in ages! I used to make the No-Knead bread a couple of times a week–almost always had some dough waiting.
That does look delicious! You make it look so easy (despite the finger in the mixer incident!). The only trouble is that if I make my husband homemade bread…he may always expect me to make it for him as a treat!
Nothing is as good as fresh bread! I used to do this all the time when I lived in KY
That looks so good! Last year I went through trying to bake bread – but it always turned out too heavy my husband wouldnt eat it
I love this! I pinned.
You pics are fantastic, btw
Amazing photos of bread, recipe looks easy enough but alas…
Wow! This looks delicious!
Everyone says bread-making is so daunting, but I think the results are worth the effort! Nice post!
Just wanted to let you know that I tried this recipe and it was delicious!