#185: A Good Sandwich Bread
An easy recipe for bread that I've been making for over fifty years.
My mom gave me my first copy of Joy of Cooking for my 19th birthday. It wasn’t the first cookbook that she gave me. That honor goes to the Betty Crocker’s Cookbook for Boys and Girls. The next was Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook that I bought with blue chip stamps that I wrote about earlier this year.
When I was first married in 1978 I added the The Fannie Farmer Cookbook.
I still have all of them, including Mom’s wartime edition of The Joy of Cooking, and count them as recipe books that have had a lasting impact on my cooking and baking life. I rarely can bring myself to get rid of a cookbook and, as I have collected many over the years, my bookshelves are packed.
School Bells Ring, Are You Listening?
The school year has begun in some places and right around the corner in others, so I thought I’d share this recipe for sandwich bread I’ve made for over fifty years. It’s from the edition of the Joy of Cooking that my mom gave to me on my 19th birthday. The headnotes in the cookbook say, “One of the best breads we know,” and I whole heartedly agree.
A few notes for you:
The original recipe is in Joy of Cooking, 1963 Edition-August 1971 printing, page 559. The version below is my adpation of it.
I used to double the recipe making six loaves by hand. Now, I make just three using a 5-quart Kitchenaid stand mixer and a dough hook and get great results.
8.5 x 4.5 loaf pans by USA Bakes
I’ve never made it in a Pullman pan.
The flours I used for the loaves in the picture are Cairnspring Mills’ Edison AP and Espresso Bread Flour.
I don’t make bread with WW Pastry Flour.
I experimented with avocado oil in this batch and it worked great.
I used Costco's Organic Granulated Sugar.
I used Red Star Active Dry Yeast. Make sure your yeast is fresh.
The egg was from one of my hens.
Freezes well.
Whole Grain Bread Plus (Kate’s Adaption)
Makes 3 Loaves
What You Need
1 Tablespoon yeast
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 cup warm water
1 egg, beaten
1⁄4 cup melted butter or oil (I've used sunflower, safflower, and recently avocado oil all with fine results)
1⁄4 cup sugar
1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
2 and 1/2 cups warm water
4 cups AP flour (10-11% protein)
4 cups WW flour (13-14% protein)
How to Do It
In the bowl of a 5-quart stand mixer, place 1 cup warm water. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar on top. Whisk around a bit to combine, then let set while the yeast blooms.
In another bowl, place 1 lightly beaten egg, 1/4 cup melted butter or oil, 2 1/2 cups warm water, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 cup sugar. Mix around a bit and then pour into the bowl of the stand mixer.
Add, or more accurately, dump in ALL 8 cups of flour, both AP and WW.
Attach the dough hook and mix on low for 10-12 minutes. You may have to turn up the mixer occasionally to get it to stop clumping around the dough hook.
Scrape the dough into a large oiled bowl and let raise in a warm place until doubled in size. (I use the proofing setting on my oven for 45-60 minutes.)
Remove from oven and punch down.
Weigh the dough and divide in three equal portions (more or less).
Knead each piece about 6-10 times. Form into loaves and place in oiled bread pans. Let raise until the dough has reached the top of the pan. (I put them back in the oven on proof.)
When ready to bake, place in a cold oven and turn the heat up to 425F/220C (If you are using the proof setting, just keep them in there and turn up to 425F/220C.) Bake for 15 minutes. Then turn the heat down to 375F/190C (even if the preheat hasn't gotten all the way to 425F/220C) and bake for another 25 minutes.
Remove from oven. Tip out of pans (which is really easy using USA Bakes pans and NO they are not paying me to say that!) and place on a cooling rack.
Drape a damp tea towel over the top of the bread while cooling to soften the crust.
That's it! Enjoy!
One Last Note
Once, when I was in a really bad mood and had nasty thoughts about someone, the bread didn’t raise. I’ll just leave that note for you to do with as you will. 😉
P.S. I’ve got news for you tomorrow!
My first experiments with making my own yeast bread was “Rich Egg Bread” from the 1973 Betty Crocker cookbook. Lately I’ve been making “White Sandwich Bread” from the 1997 edition of Joy of Cooking. I like it because it keeps well, which is great for me in my one person household. This version of the sandwich bread recipe makes two loaves, one of which I freeze. Thanks for your insights into your take on a classic recipe.
I loved hearing about the time-honored recipe. My late not-yet-then wife taught me to make bread about fifty years ago using the recipe from the original edition of the Tassajara Bread Book. I rarely make the full recipe anymore, but that recipe introduced me to starting with a sponge, which I still do almost always when I bake with yeast.
There’s an excellent YouTube channel called Tasting History with Max Miller. Last week he made a pineapple upside-down cake from the 1950 Betty Crocker Cookbook. His discussion of General Mills, “Betty Crocker,” and the book’s creative method for teaching baking was fascinating.