American Sandwich Bread

Why this recipe works The quintessential American sandwich loaf—tall and domed, with a fine, snowy-white crumb and a light brown crust—is a supermarket staple. Since it’s eaten so often, we wanted to develop a recipe that wasn’t just better than bouncy plastic-wrapped bread, but the best—an impressive loaf that was a worthy base for sandwiches. For this bread’s soft crumb we needed to include a fair amount of fat; we used whole milk for a majority of the liquid and then enriched the dough further with 2 tablespoons of melted butter. These amounts were enough to tenderize the bread without making it too rich. A couple spoonfuls of honey gave the bread the faint sweetness we’d expect. But because our dough contained milk, butter, and honey, the crust was prone to browning before the inside was done. We tested oven temperatures of 350, 375, and 400 degrees and found that the lowest temperature gave us the soft crust we wanted and avoided a doughy interior. Still, we felt that our loaf was a bit dense. We experimented with letting the loaf proof longer, until it reached a full inch above the lip of the pan; the increased rise produced an airy crumb and a bigger loaf. This additional rise also meant we could eliminate slashing the loaf because it wouldn’t expand much more in the oven. Nixing the slashing gave our finished loaf the smooth top of supermarket bread. The test kitchen’s preferred loaf pan measures 8½ by 4½ inches; if you use a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan, increase the shaped rising time by 20 to 30 minutes and start checking for doneness 10 minutes earlier than advised in the recipe.

MAKES: 1 loaf

RISING TIME: 2½ to 3½ hours

BAKING TIME: 35 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 4 to 5 hours, plus 3 hours cooling time

KEY EQUIPMENT: 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pan, water-filled spray bottle, instant-read thermometer

INGREDIENTS:

• 2½ cups (13¾ ounces) bread flour
• 2 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
• 1½ teaspoons salt
• ¾ cup (6 ounces) whole milk, room temperature
• ⅓ cup (2⅔ ounces) water, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons honey

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together flour, yeast, and salt. In a 4-cup liquid measuring cup, whisk together milk, water, melted butter, and honey until the honey has dissolved.
2. Using the dough hook attachment on low speed, slowly add the milk mixture to the flour mixture. Mix until a cohesive dough starts to form and no dry flour remains, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Increase the speed to medium-low and knead the dough until it is smooth, elastic, and clears the sides of the bowl, which usually takes about 8 minutes.
3. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured counter and knead it by hand to form a smooth, round ball, about 30 seconds. Place the dough seam side down in a lightly greased large bowl or container. Cover it tightly with plastic wrap and let it rise until it doubles in size, typically for 1½ to 2 hours.
4. Grease an 8½ by 4½-inch loaf pan. Press down on the dough to deflate it. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter, with the side that was against the bowl now facing up. Press and stretch the dough into an 8 by 6-inch rectangle, with the long side parallel to the counter edge.
5. Roll the dough away from you into a firm cylinder, keeping the roll taut by tucking it under itself as you go. Pinch the seam closed and place the loaf in the prepared pan, seam side down, gently pressing the dough into the corners.
6. Cover the pan loosely with greased plastic wrap and let the loaf rise until it reaches 1 inch above the lip of the pan and the dough springs back minimally when gently poked with your knuckle, usually for 1 to 1½ hours.
7. Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Mist the loaf with water and bake it until it turns deep golden brown and the loaf registers 205 to 210 degrees Fahrenheit, which takes about 35 to 40 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through baking.
8. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Then, remove the loaf from the pan and let it cool completely on a wire rack for about 3 hours before serving.

VARIATION:

WHOLE-WHEAT AMERICAN SANDWICH BREAD 

• Reduce bread flour to 1½ cups (8¼ ounces) and add 1 cup (5½ ounces) whole-wheat flour and 3 tablespoons toasted wheat germ in step 1. Increase honey to 3 tablespoons.