Ready-by-Lunch Sandwich Bread

Ask Adam how many loaves bricks of bread he has sampled over the last 15ish years that I've tried making. It's been....a lot haha!

MamaRie always made bread making look so easy! She had at least one sourdough starter in the kitchen at all times and was making bread for every get together (or just because) and experimenting with different recipes. Cheese bread, Rosemary bread, and Pepperoni bread were pretty popular with me and my sisters.

I have some sourdough starter trying to grow on my counter....but I have to say MamaRie was a lot better at it than me haha! I haven't given up on it, but it's not  my go-to for sandwich bread right now.

Once I had two kids, Grandma gave me her bread machine because she said I was quickly going to run out of time to do all the kneading and rising necessary to keep bread cooked for two growing boys. I used that machine until it finally gave out on me! (Then I got a new one for my birthday from Bruce & Linda!)

I think anyone that loves some homemade bread should get a bread machine. It really does make it very simple. Add the ingredients into the pan. Push start, and a couple hours later you have bread. (I have a Pioneer Woman machine that's made by Hamilton Beach, but looks discontinued. This one looks like the newer version of that machine if you're looking to get one).

With 6 of us in the house (plus friends and family stopping by), we go through a lot of bread though and really I need to make a loaf or two every few days. So when I need to make more bread than what the bread machine makes, I make this recipe! It's a variation of what I found on another blog (jennycancook.com).

Some notes about ingredients and tools that I use:

• Today, I used 3 cups unbleached all purpose flour and 1.5 cups whole wheat flour, and it was good! Usually though, I just use 4.5 cups all purpose.
• For yeast, I have bought SAF Instant Yeast (in the red bag) several times, but I think I currently have Fleischmann's Instant Dry right now. I always transfer yeast to a glass jar and store it in the fridge.
• I don't cover my dough with plastic wrap to let it rise because I rarely have plastic wrap at the house. Instead, I use a lid to one of my storage bowls to cover the bowl loosely. A lid that's too big for the bowl I'm mixing in is perfect!
• When it comes to the pan...I change it up every time.
• I have long loaf pans for standard sized sandwiches that I got for Christmas and I line those with parchment paper. I will let the bread do it's last rise in one pan in parchment paper then transfer the parchment paper and bread to the second pan to bake.
• I also like cooking bread in an enamel cast iron Dutch oven. A loaf this size will fit in a 5 or 6 quart Dutch oven well. If you bake it in a Dutch oven and want a crispy crust on the bread, start with the lid on when you bake, then remove the lid at the end and add another 10 minutes.

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4.5 cups flour

3 tsp yeast

1.5 tsp salt

2.25 cups hot water

Mix your dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir in water until the dough looks shaggy.

Cover and let stand at room temp 1 hour.

After an hour, place the pan you're going to use into the cold oven, the preheat to 450 degrees. (If you're using a pan with the lid, make sure you preheat the lid as well).

Sprinkle some flour on top of the dough, and use a plastic or wooden spoon to pull the dough away from the edge of the bowl and fold everything together, "kneading" with the spoon 10 times.

Shape the dough, place in a bowl or similar sized pan lined with parchment paper, cut a few lines in top with a sharp knife, cover, and let it rise 15 minutes.

Once oven is preheated and bread has had time to rise, transfer the bread and parchment paper to the preheated pan. Bake for 30 minutes. If the pan you're using has a lid, keep the lid on. After 30 minutes, you can remove the lid and bake an extra 10 if you like for a crispier crust.

After 30 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and transfer the bread to a cooling rack and try really hard not to cut the bread until it has cooled some!

Then go ahead and make yourself a grilled cheese or a grilled peanut butter jelly sandwich.