Baking has been with me for more than a decade now and I feel like I still have so much to discover.
In this post is a really simple and straight-forward sandwich loaf recipe for those of you who cannot get enough of baking your own bread at home. This recipe is so easy to make that you will have a fresh loaf of bread out from the oven in no time for brunch! The whole process from start to finish with this recipe took me around 3 hours. I had time to do some last minute weekend cleaning whilst my loaves are cooling down before I turn them into my delightful ham and cheese sandwich (I probably will share the sandwich recipe some time in the future). ^_^
This bread rolls are on the soft side and stays so for over 5 days if you wrap them well after they have cooled down! Boy do I love soft bread! I hope you enjoy making this easy and delicious sandwich loaf. Nothing beats homemade. :)
RECIPE
Makes 2 x mini loaf (18cm x 10cm x 7cm Depth) or one large loaf
Baker's Flour 300 g
Plain Flour 180 g
Water (24°C) 250 g
Full Cream Milk (24°C) 90 g
Castor sugar 35 g
Softened Butter 40 g
Salt 6 g
Instant Yeast 6 g
Egg Wash
Egg 1 egg
Milk 50 ml
Whisk to combine
Simple Syrup
Boiling water 50 ml
Castor sugar 50 g
Mix until sugar have dissolved
Method
1. Whisk the water, milk, yeast and castor sugar together in to a stand mixer bowl and attach the mixer with a dough hook attachment.
2. Then place the flours on top, together with the salt (ensuring the salt is not in contact with the yeast) and the softened butter.
3. Start mixing on low speed (I use kitchenaid) for 3 minutes until the ingredients have come together to form into a dough. Turn to medium speed and keep mixing for another 6 minutes or until you are able to stretch the dough in to a thin film (window test)
4. Lightly dust the work bench with flour then transfer the dough on to the bench. Lightly dust the dough if needed but do not add too much flour or the dough can get too dry).
Tighten the dough and roll it in to a ball and transfer into a bowl lightly dusted with flour. (Ensure the bowl is big enough for the dough to double in size. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave to bulk proof or double in size. This process takes approximately 45 minutes to an hour depending on the ambient of your kitchen.
5. Once the dough have doubled in size, transfer onto a lightly floured bench top and divide in to 2 x 450 g and pre-shape each dough in to a ball. Cover with the tea towel and let the dough relax for 5 to 10 minutes. The short resting time allows the gluten in the dough to relax for easy shaping later on.
6. When ready, shape each of the dough in to a log ( do not press too tight) and place each log in to a lightly greased loaf tins (seam side down). I use a 18cm x 10cm x 7cm Depth tins. Place the tea towel to cover and let the loaf to final proof or until they rise to roughly around 80% of its original height. This process takes roughly around 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 180°C. Brush the top of the loaves with egg wash and bake for 20 minutes or when the top starts to turn golden brown in colour, remove the loaves from the oven and very quickly but gently tilt the loaf out on to the baking tray, removing the tins, then return to the oven to bake for a further 10 minutes until all the sides starts to turn golden brown as well, or when the internal temperature reaches 95°C or above.
7. Remove the loaves from the oven, glaze with simple syrup (optional) and leave to cool before serving! ENJOY!
Note: To keep the bread loaves nice and soft for longer, once the loaves have cooled, wrap them well in cling wrap and store at room temperature. Do not store in fridge.
How to shape dough in to a log
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