Brendas Best White Bread Recipes

BRENDA'S BEST WHITE BREAD

Steps:

• Fit stand mixer with dough hook.
• Pour warm water into the bowl of your stand mixer.
• Sprinkle yeast and sugar over warm water.
• Let sit 5-10 until mixture foams.
• Add canola oil, 4 cups of flour (reserve 1/4 cup of flour to use if needed), diastatic malt powder, powdered milk, and salt.
• Mix on low to thoroughly blend all ingredients. After flour is mostly incorporated, bring speed up to a low-med (2 on a KA P600, or 4 on a KA Artisan).
• I like a little stickier dough, so often the 4 cups of bread flour is enough for me. If you need to add more flour, add the remaining 1/4 cup a tbsp at a time.
• Knead with the dough hook on low-med (2 on a KA P600, or 4 on a KA Artisan) for 8 minutes.
• Remove dough to a large bowl that has been oiled to prevent sticking. Flip over to oil other side as well.
• Cover with plastic wrap and set in your oven with only the pilot light or oven light bulb on for a draft free rising with a little warmth.
• Let rise for 1-1 1/2 hours. Dough should double or a little more.
• I also place my empty bread pan in the oven during rising to warm a bit.
• Remove dough from the bowl and pat gently into a narrow rectangle on a clean countertop. You want the width to be about the same as the length of your bread pan.
• Starting at one of the short ends, roll the dough into a log. Tuck under the ends, and place into a lightly greased bread pan (I use a spritz of cooking spray).
• Spray or lightly oil a piece of plastic wrap and drape loosely over loaf.
• Place back in oven to rise another 20-30 minutes.
• Remove pan from oven and set aside in a draft free place while you preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
• Carefully remove plastic wrap and bake loaf for 25-30 minutes until a light golden brown.
• Set pan on a cooling rack for about 2 minutes and then take the chilled butter and gently glide it all over the top of the loaf. You may not use the whole chip of butter. Just use enough to lightly coat the top and sides that rose above the pan.
• Let cool in pan about another 3-5 minutes and then gently tip the loaf out onto the cooling rack to finish cooling. Cool at least 45 minutes before cutting for best results.

WHITE SANDWICH BREAD

Steps:

• Combine the yeast and 2 cups warm water in a mixing bowl and stir to dissolve. Add the butter, sugar and salt. Use a wooden spoon to stir in one-third of the flour until smooth. Add another third of the flour and stir, then turn it out onto a floured board to knead. Knead it over 15 minutes, adding the rest of the flour as you knead. Don't let it get dry too fast; it should stay sticky. Put the dough in a buttered bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise for 1 hour.
• Knead the dough another 5 minutes, place it back in the bowl and let it rise another hour.
• Butter 2 loaf pans. Shape the dough into 2 loaves and transfer them to the prepared pans. Cover and let rise for 45 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Bake the loaves until golden brown on top and cooked through, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool.

EXCELLENT WHITE BREAD

Steps:

• In a large electric mixer bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup warm milk. Add the remaining warm milk, the sugar, the salt, the butter and the eggs. Add 5 cups flour and mix with paddle attachment until smooth, about 2 minutes. Switch to hook attachment and knead on low speed, adding more flour if necessary until dough is stiff and slightly tacky, about 10 minutes.
• Grease a large bowl with butter and turn dough out into the bowl. Flip over dough so greased side is up, cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and set in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Generously butter two 9-x-5 loaf pans.
• When dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto floured surface and knead for 3 minutes. Return to greased bowl, cover and let rise again for 30 minutes.
• Press down dough with your hand to expel the air. Divide dough in half and place each half into a loaf pan. Brush tops of loaves with remaining melted butter.
• Cover and let rise until dough is just above the tops of pans, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake bread for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 20 to 30 minutes, or until loaves sound hollow when tapped, the tops are brown and the internal temperatures are 200 degrees. Remove loaves from pans and let cool on wire racks.