Sandwich Bread, Perfected!

I finally did it! My girlfriend gave me a wonderful recipe for whole wheat sandwich bread and my family loved it enough that they said I could stop buying store-bought bread. For now, I'm using King Arthur's Whole Wheat flour for half of the flour and will gradually increase the whole wheat until it's 100%. This loaf comes out light, soft and with a wonderful flavor.

Michelle’s Sandwich Loaf

¼ c milk                                      2 T honey

2 T. butter                                   3+c flour (I used hard red winter wheat)

2 T. oil                                        1 ½ t. lecithin

¾ c water                                    ¾ t. salt

1 ½ t. yeast    

1. Microwave first four ingredients 30 seconds. Pour into mixing bowl, add yeast and honey. Add lecithin and half of flour and mix with beater attachment 5 minutes, cleaning the sides of the bowl as needed, followed by a 5 minute rest period.

2. Add remaining flour and salt and knead with dough hook 5 minutes, adding more flour as needed, until dough is shiny and cleans the bowl.

3. Allow to rise 1 hour until double. Preheat oven to 400˚. Punch dough down, pat into a rectangle and shape into a loaf, turning edges under. Allow to rise in greased pan 20 minutes.

4. Transfer pan to oven, turn down to 360˚, and spritz with water every 3 minutes for first 10 minutes. Check internal temperature after 20 minutes. It should read 185˚-190˚. Allow to cool completely before slicing. *Mine took about 25-30 minutes.