Best White Sandwich Bread

I am all for whole wheat bread for everyday consumption but every once in awhile I just craved a slice of homemade freshly out of the oven white bread with butter on it. My Grandma was amazing at making bread and my mom makes really yummy buns as well, so for me fresh bread is essential in a home, the smell alone makes coming into the home just seem more honey. 

I found this recipe and thought I would give it a go and then was shocked at how amazing it turned out. Plus the bread was huge, the loaves were so big that the heels were these crazy shapes. It made for nice large slices of bread that were perfect for my husbands lunch. ​

The outside was not too crunchy and the center was a firm soft texture that was perfect to spread with all sorts of goodness. 

This recipe makes two large loaves and takes a total of 2 1/2 hours to make.

Ingredients:

4 1/2 teaspoons of instant dry yeast
3/4 cup plus 2 2/3 cups of warm water (divided)
1/4 cup of white sugar
1 tablespoon salt
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter (cubed at room temperature)
9 cups of all purpose flour
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter melted (for brushing)

Directions:

In a bowl of a mixer (I use my Kitchen Aid) add 3/4 cup warm water and yeast, stir till it is dissolved. Let sit for 5 minutes. Add the rest of water, sugar, salt, room temperature butter, and 5 cups of flour and stir till combined.

Using a dough hook start mixing on low speed and gradually add the rest of the flour until the dough is soft and tacky (not sticky). You might not need to use all the flour.

Knead the dough until a soft ball dough forms and it pulls away and is clear from the side of the bowl. This can sometimes take up to 10 minutes.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and make sure it is completely coated. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel and set aside in a draft free space. Check the bread after 45 minutes to see if it has doubled in size, depending on the temperature in the house it could take longer or shorter.

Turn the dough onto a clean and well floured surface. Gently press all the air pockets out, then divide the dough into two pieces.

Working with one piece at a time gently pat it into a 9 by 12 inch rectangle, then roll up the rectangle starting on the short end into a very tight cylinder.

​Pinch and seal the seams and ends then tuck the ends of the roll underneath. Place into a greased 9 inch loaf pan, cover with tea towels and place in a draft free spot till it doubles in size, so for another 30-45 minutes.

Position an oven rack to the lowest spot and then preheat the oven to 400F. Brush loaves lightly with some of the melted butter.

​Bake the loaves for 30 to 35 minutes, rotate the loaves at the 15 minute mark. When the loaves are golden brown and have an internal temperature of 195F then they are done.

Remove the loaves and brush with melted butter, allow to cool for 10 minutes and then remove them from the pans and and then let them completely cool before slicing. 
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Enjoy with some butter and honey or jam, or even as a sandwich. Be careful though it seems like this bread disappears quite fast there are hands grabbing for it before it even cools down!
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