Bread recipe for sandwich bread

I know you want to start with the healthiest bread possible. 

If only you knew what they put in commercial whole wheat bread.
You would not mind the bit of white flour my recipe has to
make this good sandwich bread.

  Any wheat based product is becoming so expensive none of us can afford it.

 This is carried to the home made bread range.
You may find flour
to be as costly as buying bread.

All you can cut is the price of labor and transport, which you will do for yourself. 

Let me start you on a loaf that just tastes wonderful.
It was my go to loaf for toast

and sandwiches.
It has milk and butter, bran and honey in it.....
I know of bread recipes with none of that richness.
But try this once and convince yourself you can make good bread
before you start on the other recipes.

Honey-bran bread

from Better Than Store-Bought (1979)

1 1/2 Cups of milk (you must scald milk if using with yeast products)

1/2 Stick (4 tablespoons) butter (can be unsalted)

1/3 cup honey (honey draws moisture to bread keeping it fresh)

4 teas salt (we use so much less now)

1/2 cup warm (110 degree) water

2 teas sugar

2 tablespoon or 2 packages of dry yeast

(NOT instant yeast used in bread machines)

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup unprocessed coarse bran (not toasted)

4 to 4 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour as needed

2-3 tablespoons melter butter to brush on loaves 

(you can use oil or a cube of butter just rubbed over the hot bread,

keeps the crust from getting hard)

*************

1. In a saucepan, combine the milk and 1/2 stick butter, honey and salt.  

Stir until butter melts...Cool to 110 degrees.

2. Meanwhile in a large mixing bowl, combine the warm water with the sugar and yeast.

Let stand until very foamy...about 10 minutes.

3. Beat the cooled milk mixture with the yeast mixture,
then beat in the whole-wheat flour and bran until the mixture is
too stiff to stir by hand.

4. Sprinkle 1 to 1 1/2 cups of the remaining flour in a ring on a kneading surface.
Put the dough in the center and mix roughly with a dough scraper or pancake turner.  

Knead very thoroughly, adding more flour if needed to prevent stickiness.
This should be a medium-stiff dough.
Knead it until dough is elastic and has a slight sheen.
Never worry about over kneading the dough, most the time people under knead it.  

It should bounce away from your finger when you press on the dough.

5. Form into a ball and place in a large, oiled bowl.
Turn the dough to coat with the oil

and allow it to sit and rise until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. 

I lay a bit of wax paper over the top to keep it from drying.

6. Punch dough down and turn it onto a surface to knead out the air.  You don't need

more flour and this isn't a heavy kneading just a bit of punching out the air.

Half the dough and let it rest on the counter for 10 minutes.  

Put that wax paper or a cotton towel over the two loafs.

7. Form each ball of dough into a loaf. 

For a sandwich loaf, 

roll dough into a 1/2" thick rectangle about as wide as the pan. 

Beginning on the short side, roll up the

dough Jelly-roll fashion.

pinching the rolled portion to the flat portion every half turn or so.

  Pinch the ends closed and fit

snugly into a greased 9 X 5 inch loaf pan.

Shaping it higher in the center than at the sides and ends. 

 This goes fast.

Let dough rise again until doubled; it should rise

about 1 inch about the pan rim.

8. While the loaves are rising, preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Bake them in the center of the oven for 15 minutes. 

REDUCE the oven to 350 degrees 

and bake the loaves for about 20 minutes longer. 

The loaves will have shrunken away from the sides of the pan.

Turn out the loaves from the pan and bake them for 5 more minutes or

until a firm rapping on the bottom produces a hollow sound.

Remove from oven, rub with butter and cool.

Unless you just have to have a hot slice which is not easy to slice but do enjoy!

Makes 2 loaves.

If you have a mixer with a dough hook you are really in business

It will knead your dough so much faster than you can.  

If you press your hands into the dough ball after the machine kneads

it you will get an idea of what you will it will feel like

when hand kneading. 

No photos tonight I put this recipe here to let you see what ingredients 

you will need.  Tues I will make a couple of loaves and take photos.