Soft White Sandwich Bread

Man cannot live on bread alone, but it sure makes sandwiches easier to hold! This was one of the very first salt free recipes I created. As suggested by the title, this bread makes great sandwiches, but is also a terrific all around white bread – and my father’s favorite. I think it’s heavenly toasted for breakfast, slathered with unsalted butter and honey. But it’s equally good with homemade preserves, marmalade, and anything else you can imagine!

Recipe yields 2 regular or 1 king size loaf.

SODIUM CONTENT: 153 mg per recipe

INGREDIENTS

4 1/2 t. (2 pkgs) dry active yeast
1 c. warm milk
1 c. warm water
1/2 c. honey
1/4 c. vegetable oil
5-6 c. all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS

Measure yeast into a large mixing bowl. Pour in milk and water and stir gently. Let rest a minute or two, then add remaining ingredients. Stir until dough begins to form, then turn bowl out onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Knead dough by hand until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Butter a clean mixing bowl and place dough inside. Cover bowl – I use clear plastic wrap with a rubber band around the rim to keep it in place – plastic hotel shower caps also work remarkably well for this purpose (so make sure you don’t leave em next time you travel!) Set bowl in a warm place and allow dough to rise until doubled in size, about 2-3 hours. Note: If your house is cool, you can always turn the oven on to 250 degrees and set the bowl on top.

Once dough has doubled in size, gently turn bowl out onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Knead dough 8 minutes. Form dough into a loaf shape and place into a well-buttered loaf pan. (If two loaves are desired, cut into two even pieces and repeat procedure with 2 pans.) Cover pan loosely with plastic wrap or a dish cloth, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1-2 hours.

Once dough has risen, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place pan or pans on middle rack in oven and bake until bread is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Remove pan(s) from oven and cool 5 minutes before removing bread from pan and placing on wire rack to cool. Cool fully before slicing.