Homemade Classic White Sandwich Bread

I've been baking since before I met my husband ten years ago.  He eats gluten but appreciates my baking efforts and gives me feedback on texture compared to gluten products, which he consumes regularly on his lunch break at work in the form of sandwiches.  I'm a photographer too but he graces the wall of his office with blown-up cell phone shots of half-eaten sandwiches and burritos from his favorite shops.  He likes my baked goods, sure, but who can blame him for going for gluten? This last few weeks as I was testing this recipe, however, something shifted.  I finally heard these words: "you can make me this every weekend for the rest of my life."

 

I know my husband likes a bread I made when he immediately plans what sandwich to make from it.  Well, he's done that for every test loaf I've made for this bread.  A few days ago, in fact, he ate a breakfast sandwich with this bread, got catered burgers for lunch at work, then came home and requested a steak sandwich on the fresh loaf of bread I made. I mean, I knew he liked sandwiches, but now I have a sandwich bread he will consume multiple times daily.

I have not attempted a vegan version of this recipe yet, but I will work on it.  There is something about the pure protein of eggs that's difficult to replicate.  Also, I'm finding that the egg and the milk are a big part of what make this bread white.  So the vegan version might end up being a different recipe altogether, once I attempt it.

Classic White Sandwich Bread Recipe

Contains dairy and egg. Gum free, rice free, soy free.

Mix time: 10-20 minutes

Rest & Remix time: 30 minutes

Rise time: 45-90 minutes

Bake time: 60 minutes

Total time: 2 hours 45 minutes +

Mix in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer: 

450g Rustic White Bread Flour Blend:

    150g tapioca starch

    150g potato starch

    100g sorghum flour

    50g millet flour

25g roughly ground psyllium husk OR psyllium powder (I grind my own in a whirly blade coffee grinder) 

24g baking sugar (2Tbsp) (this is a fine granulated sugar - regular granulated is likely okay)

8.5g salt (1.5tsp)

3g active dry yeast (1 tsp)

When the dry ingredients are well blended, pour into the bowl:

100g egg whites (for me this is the whites of three eggs)

450g whole milk, warmed to 100°f/38°c

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until smooth by hand or with the paddle attachment of a stand mixer.  Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.

While waiting, prep a sandwich loaf pan by buttering it thoroughly.  I use a 4x4x9 inch pullman pan for this recipe to get a high rise.

Once rested, the batter will have stiffened into a dough.  Mix again with a stand mixer or mix by hand until it relaxes a bit.  Add:

12g unsalted butter (1 Tbsp), softened but not melted (optional)

12g apple cider vinegar (1 Tbsp) (optional, or sub lemon juice)

Mix until a shaggy, loose dough forms.  Turn out the dough into your greased pullman or loaf pan.  Smooth down the dough to flatten and distribute evenly to the edges.  Cover and let rise at room temperature (68-70°f/20-21°c).  Mark the side of the pan with some dough so you can see what a 50% rise (by dough volume) will look like.

Check the dough at 40 minutes.  It should be rising by now, and if so preheat the oven to 425°f/220°c.  Mine will usually be at about a 20-30% rise at this point.

Let rise about 50%, anywhere from 45minutes to an hour and a half.  

Brush over the top of the dough:

Melted butter (or an egg wash with one of the egg yolks whisked with a splash of milk)

Bake, covered, at 425°f/220°c for 15 minutes. (The best way to cover a loaf pan is by inverting another loaf pan on top of it.  But tin foil or a pan cover can work just as well.)

Take the cover off and turn down the heat to 375°f/190°c and bake anther 40 minutes, uncovered.

When the bread is baked and golden, carefully tip it out of the hot tin and bake another 5 minutes directly on the oven rack.  It's done if it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom and sides. (If not then bake another 5 minutes straight on the rack.) Place on a cooling rack and let cool completely before slicing.

Enjoy!