Description
This simple honey white sandwich bread is one recipe that I make over and over again for my family. It is made with a few staple pantry ingredients, making it easy to whip up with little preparation. Soft and fluffy with just a hint of sweetness thanks to the honey, this foolproof recipe is a definite winner!
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 1/4 tsp or 1 packet of dry active yeast
- 1/2 cup milk (warmed to 110 degrees)
- 1/2 cup water (warmed to 110 degrees)
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 420 grams bread flour ((about 3 cups))
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tablespoons of very soft butter + 1 tablespoon melted to brush on the top
Instructions
- Activate the yeast: In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, add the warm water, warm milk, yeast, and honey. Whisk together and let it sit for 5 minutes or until the yeast gets foamy (if using instant yeast, skip this step and go ahead and begin adding all the ingredients to the bowl).
- Once the yeast has activated, begin adding in the rest of the ingredients.
- With the mixer on low speed, add in 2 tbsp softened butter followed by the dry ingredients, starting with salt and 1 cup of flour. Gradually add in the remaining flour until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball. The dough should still be slightly sticky to the touch. Add in up to an extra 1/4 cup of flour to the dough if needed. Be careful adding too much flour, you don't want your dough to be dry! Knead mixture on medium speed for 5-7 minutes.
- Knead the dough for 6-8 minutes. You can either do this by hand or using the dough hook attachment of your stand mixer.
- After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise!
- Lightly grease a small bowl with oil (I use avocado oil) and add your dough, rolling it around in the oil so that it is coated. Let sit to rise for 1-2 hours. I usually cover mine with a tea towel and leave it sitting out on the counter to rise.
- After the first rise, punch down the dough to release any air. Then shape into a loaf and place in a greased loaf pan. Cover shaped loaf with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Allow it to rise until it's about 1 inch above the pan, around one hour.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake bread for 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown. If you notice the top is getting too brown too quickly, you can loosely tent the pan with aluminum foil until the bread is done baking.
- Remove from oven and brush the top with the remaining one tablespoon of melted butter. Allow to cool a few minutes before removing from the pan and slicing. Enjoy!
Notes
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- I highly recommend using a food scale to measure out the flour. Inexpensive and worthwhile! The precise measurement it provides makes a huge difference in obtaining the right texture for bread.
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- Ingredient Temperature: I use a food thermometer to measure the temperature of the liquids. Ideally, you want the temperature around 110 degrees. This means the liquid is warm enough to activate the yeast, but not so hot that it will kill it. If the liquid is too hot, let it sit on the counter for a couple minutes to cool down before measuring again.
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- Rise Time: The rise time of your bread can vary depend on the temperature of your kitchen.
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- Baking: Lower the oven rack to a lower position when baking the bread. This will prevent the top from browning too quickly while baking.
- Storage: Cover the bread tightly with plastic wrap and store in a Ziploc bag at room temperature for up to 5 days. Bread will keep longer when stored in the fridge- up to 10 days.
- Freezing Instructions: Allow the bread to cool completely. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and then store in a freezer safe zip topped bag. It will store well in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the fridge or on the counter and then reheat as desired.
- Prep Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Bread Recipes
