Easy Recipe For Sandwich Bread (With Sugar-Free Option)
Baking bread doesn't have to take 2 days! Once you taste this homemade wheat bread that you can easily make at home with little effort, you will never want to buy bread at the store again.
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon (10 g) salt (we use fine sea or kosher salt)
- 5 teaspoon (20 g) sweetener (sugar OR a sugar-free sweetener like monk fruit sweetener when using instant yeast)
- 2 teaspoon (8 g) instant yeast (or active dry yeast)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6.6 cups (830 g) wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 17.5 fl oz (500 mL) water
Instructions
Making the dough:
- If using non-instant dry yeast: dissolve it in a bowl with warm water and set aside for 5-10 minutes. If the yeast is of high quality, it will "inflate" slightly and become bubbly during this time.If using instant yeast, this step can be skipped.
- Add salt, sweetener, and olive oil to the bowl of a stand mixer. With instant yeast, simply add yeast and warm water to the same bowl.
- Measure the required amount of flour and have a sieve at hand.
- If using non-instant yeast, add it to the mixing bowl now. Stir well using a spoon to combine all the ingredients.
- Sieve flour into the mixing bowl and install the dough hook attachment.
- Start mixing at a minimum speed for 5 minutes, then increase the speed by 1 step and mix for another 5 minutes. After the first 5 minutes, the dough should already be mixed well enough to jump off the sides of the bowl. If it sticks to the walls, add slightly more flour.
First Rise:
- Transfer the dough to a large greased bowl (alternatively, lift the dough ball, grease the bowl of your stand mixer, and return the dough to the same bowl); cover it with a lid or a towel. Transfer it to a slightly preheated oven or another warm place for the first rise. I usually preheat the oven to about 85°F (30°C). At this temperature, the dough takes about an hour to rise.
- When the dough has at least doubled in size, take it out of the bowl, onto a greased work surface (grease it lightly with some olive oil), and divide it into three equal parts using a dough cutter or a sharp knife. Round each piece into a ball by folding all sides down and connecting underneath (repeat several times to achieve a round ball). Cover them with a towel or plastic wrap, and leave for another 10 minutes.
Shaping the Bread:
- Take the first ball of dough and roll it into a flat, rather long rectangular. Turn it upside down and repeat the rolling process. If the dough has been proofed well, you'll see bubbles that need to be rolled out.
- Start shaping the bread. Start by rolling it from the bottom up. After rolling about 2-3 inches up, stop and press with your fingertips along the edge of the roll so that the roll sticks to the layer of dough underneath it. It will prevent air gaps from appearing during the baking process. Continue rolling up and repeating the pressing procedure once in a couple of inches. Once you reach the top edge of the dough sheet, close the edge and the sides of the roll by pinching with your fingertips. Repeat the process with the remaining two balls of dough.
Second Rise:
- Transfer each bread roll to a greased loaf pan, sprinkle some sesame seeds on top, and press lightly with your fingers. Cover the loaves with a towel, and leave for a second rise in a warm spot. It should take an hour or slightly longer. (Note: the rising time can increase to 2 hours when using honey-based dough.)
Baking:
- Once the time has passed and the loaves have risen, switch on the oven (don't remove the bread from the oven), set the temperature to 392°F (200°C), and bake the bread for about half an hour or until it's golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.
- Remove the bread from the oven and roll it onto a cooling rack (if the bread is well-done, it will fall out of the mold easily, and the bottom of the bread will be dry and crispy; it can even be light gold in color). Cover with a clean towel and let it cool down.
Video
Notes
- When making burgers, aim at around 70-80g of dough per mini bun and 400-450g per XL bun.
- You can partially replace regular wheat flour with whole-grain wheat flour or add a bit of another type of flour, like oat flour. Let your taste buds guide you!
- Pressing the dough with your fingertips when rolling bread is very important. If you skip this step, air bubbles can form inside the bread, and you will have gaps in the slices of bread.
- Don't skip the 10-min additional rising on the countertop either. It will help the wheat bread rise properly and maintain its shape.
