Annie's Best Sandwich Bread

The first blog I ever started to read was Annie's eats.  Her delicious food blog got me into reading cooking blogs (which lead to other blogs, which lead to me writing my own blog).  I started following Annie's Eats about 4 years ago.  If you haven't checked out her site, you sure should.  She does a great job of mixing personal stories and delicious recipes.  

This recipe for her "Best" White bread caught my eye. It's no secret that my husband loves homemade bread (true story, I love it too).  He pretty much asks for bread of some type every night for dinner.  I love to make a nice bread that (if there are any leftovers) will also make a great sandwich bread to use for the next few days.  The texture of this bread sure fits the bill.  It is less crumbly than some other homemade breads and holds its shape well and works perfectly for sandwich breads.  My husband passes on his high recommendation :)

Annie's Best Sandwich Bread

Recipe adapted from Annie's Eats

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 teaspoon yeast
•  6 Tablespoons plus 1 1/3 cup Water
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter (melted) (optional)
• 4 1/2 to 5 cups flour

Directions:

To begin, dissolve the yeast in the 6 tablespoons of water (in the bowl of your stand mixer if you have one with a dough hook).  Add in the sugar, salt, and additional water, and butter.  Mix in 2 cups of flour on low speed until the dough begins to come together.  Slowly add in the remaining flour.  Continue to mix (and add flour as needed) until the dough is smooth and only slightly tacky (but not sticky).  Continue to mix with the dough hook for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl (turning once to coat), cover and let rise until double in bulk.  This should take 1 - 1 1/2 hours.

Punch down the dough and roll dough into a rectangle, and place in a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan.  Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled - 30 to 45 minutes.

Preheat over to 400 degrees.  Brush the top of the bread dough with half the butter if desired.  Bake for 30-33 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.  Bread should read 190 degrees on an instant read thermometer.  Tops should be golden brown.

Remove from oven .  Turn out to wire rack.  If desired, brush the top of the loaf with the remaining butter.  

Let cool before cutting. 

Enjoy with dinner, also makes a fantastic sandwich bread!

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Have a great week!  I'll be back tomorrow with more cards for #LetterMo again.  

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