Tuesday, February 1, 2011

The BEST Bread I Have Ever Eaten


This past Sunday, I had signed up to bring the bread for our church's sacrament meeting. But, instead of simply buying some from the store, I decided to bake my own instead. As for a recipe, I decided to go with one that I had seen on the site, At Home with Haley. It looked so good that I knew this was the one I wanted to try.

I did make a couple of changes to the recipe and used regular all-purpose flour and water instead of whole wheat flour and milk, simply because that's what I had on hand at the time. I also decided to form the dough into rolls and mini loaves using these cute ceramic bread pans I found at Michael's.


When the bread was finally baked, I could hardly wait to try a piece. The crust was a beautiful golden brown and had a fantastic crunch. The inside of the loaves were pillowy soft. And the taste, ohhhhhh the taste. I know you're thinking this is just plain white bread, but this is anything but plain. My eyes popped open in delight as I took my first bite and I just could not stop exclaiming about how delicious it was. After finishing my first slice, I went back for a second and would have gone back for a third and even a fourth if I had allowed myself the luxury. Seriously, it was THE best bread I have ever tasted, hands down, I kid you not. This will forever and ever be my go-to recipe for bread and rolls. Thank you Haley!!!


Sandwich Bread (adapted from At Home with Haley)

2 c. whole wheat flour (I used all-purpose flour)
2 c. bread flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. yeast
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted (if using salted butter, omit 1 tsp. salt)
1/4 c. honey
1 1/4 c. warm milk or water - 105F (I used all water)

Combine the water, melted butter, and honey in a bowl and heat until it reaches 105-110F. (I microwaved it to get it to reach that temperature) Add the yeast and let sit until mixture is foamy, about 5 min.

Mix the 2 cups of bread flour with the salt. Add to the yeast mixture. Stir in the all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl (I ended up adding about 1 1/2 cups). Knead mixture by hand on a floured surface for 5-10 minutes until dough is soft and pliable. If it is too sticky, add flour a tablespoon at a time. If it is too dry, add a teaspoon of milk or water at a time. The proportions may vary depending on your climate. (I ended up kneading in about 1/4 cup of flour in the process.)

Place the dough in a large, lightly oiled bowl, then flip the dough bottom side up to lightly coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a dish towel and allow the dough to rise in a warm place for about 30-60 min. or until doubled in size.

Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it in half. Roll each half into a rectangle about 10x14". Starting with the 10" side, roll the dough up, pinching together as you go to make a log. Pinch all seams together with moist fingers. Fold ends under and place dough seam side down in a well greased bread pan. Cover pans loosely with plastic wrap and a dish towel and let rise for another 30-60 min. or until doubled in size.

Bake in preheated 400F oven for about 25 min. (For my mini loaves and rolls, it took about 15 min.) Remove from pans and let cool on a cooling rack before slicing.

This recipe is linked to:
Decidedly Healthy or Horridly Decadent
Fat Camp Friday
Full Plate Thursday

51 comments:

  1. So soft and nice. Looks like a perfect bread recipe!

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  2. Hmmmm. "pillowy soft bread" sounds really good to me! YUMM!

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  3. Lisa, I'm so honored! I'm so glad you enjoyed the bread so much. Your loaves look beautiful. Thanks for the links back to my blog. Have a great night.

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  4. I know exactly what you mean! Home baked bread is one of my weaknesses! I can eat half a loaf (and no we are not talking the mini loaves!!) These look sooo cute in the minis. I haven't made white bread in mini loaves yet, but what a fun gift to give someone.

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  5. There really is nothing better than homemade bread! I've been making my own bread for a couple of years and we just love it, especially hot out of the oven.

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  6. There is almost NOTHING better than homemade bread, especially with butter and jam! I'm going to try this recipe. How special that you made it for the sacrament:)

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  7. they look lovely! i can eat a loaf of that :D

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  8. Sounds great, might have to give this a try:@)

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  9. I love making my own bread. it just tastes so much better! Your bread looks so fluffy and delicious!

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  10. That bread looks unbelievably good! Mmmmm!!

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  11. You got my attention with "Pillowy Soft!" I love homemade bread/rolls --- saved this recipe in my recipe folder to try sometime! Looks delicious!

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  12. I do love bread! And you can't beat great bread when it is warm and fresh out of the oven. I'm definitely bookmarking this recipe!

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  13. I need to try some good bread recipe. I've been having some issues working with yeast this weekend.

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  14. Homemade bread (warm!) is certainly one of my favorite things in life! I love your adorable ceramic pans. Your pictures are great too!

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  15. Lisa, your bread looks amazing. I bet it was wonderful. Nicely done (=

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  16. Glad came to this site through your comment on my blog. I will definitely try those lovely cookies!
    I havent baked any cookies yet. So these cookies are making my mouth water

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  17. I think I have a good bread recipe, but after reading about this one, I am going to have to test this out and see for myself!

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  18. The mini loaves are just adorable. Beautiful job on this bread.

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  19. Your bread looks amazing! I no longer fear making bread and would love to make this sometime.

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  20. this looks phenomenal! i am always amazed how easy it is to make your own bread and how much better, how much more real, it tastes then wonder bread. thanks for posting, look forward to giving this a whirl!
    -meg
    @ http://www.clutzycooking.blogspot.com
    @ http://www.myscribblednotebook.blogspot.com

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  21. I love my home made breads too.... they just taste soooo much better than store bought....and in reality....are very simple to do ... and surprise, surprise to me.... not nearly as long as I thought bread took...

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  22. I haven't tried making sandwich bread yet. I can't wait to try this one. Thanks for sharing! :)

    -Marissa

    http://noraisinsonmyparade.com

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  23. My husband loves homemade bread so I am definitely going to have to try this recipe out!

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  24. i love it when that tiny morsel of bread is delicious... especially on fast sundays ;)

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  25. Your breads look so spectacular! I am so jealous; a slice right now would be so perfect with my coffee (maybe a little butter, perhaps?).

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  26. Oh my, your bread looks delicious!!!!! There's nothing better than the smell of bread cooking!

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  27. I love fresh bread and have been wanting to make some lately. Looks like we will be housebound again tomorrow. I think I will make this. Thanks for sharing it:)

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  28. Looks like another yummy success! The bread looks great!!!

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  29. Lisa, your bread sure looks yummie, light and so fluffy...I love the smell of bread baking...the whole house smell SO good :-)

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  30. you are a saint! ive always been so afraid to try making bread... but im going to try! maybe I should sign up for sacrament meeting so I can't bail out :)

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  31. id love to link up...but to be perfectly honest, I dont really know how! Ive never done it before :) you'll have to fill me in!

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  32. OOOH how I love bread!! Slice me up a piece or better yet just give me a loaf! This looks incredible. I can almost smell it cooking. I will have to try this one out! YUM!!

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  33. This looks beautiful! I want a slice covered in peanut butter.

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  34. That looks so good. I swear I can almost smell it while I am looking at your post. I am a BREAD LOVER!

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  35. Your bread looks so fluffy and yummy. Thanks for stopping by my page. I look forward to joining in again on Saturday. There were so many amazing recipes. ~Alaan~

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  36. With that excellent endorsement, I'll definitely make your recipe! It looks so soft and wonderful..just like my family likes it! Thanks for sharing, Lisa...off to print it :)

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  37. That bread looks yummy and so cute in those loaf pans!

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  38. Hi Lisa! I would love to link my brownie cookies to your blog on Saturday. So fun!!
    There really isn't anything like warm homemade bread. Yum!

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  39. This looks so good! There is nothing better than freshly baked bread :)

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  40. The bread does look wonderful! I bet your ward members loved it too! You are welcome to link my cookies to your "sweets for saturday" part of your blog, I was touched you asked. :] Happy Healthier Baking!

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  41. There is nothing like homemade bread! I bet everyone was thrilled when you showed up with it! And of course, the baker cannot eat just one slice...ever...

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  42. Oooo, this bread looks so yummy!

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  43. they do look indeed pillowy soft. i love making bread and this sounds good.
    thanks for Sharing Lisa
    have a wonderful Friday

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  44. I have a Stylish Blogger Award for you at my blog!

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  45. You can never have enough bread recipes! This one definitely looks like one I will add to my bread recipe collection :-) I can smell it baking now!

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  46. Hi Lisa,
    I can see where it would be the best bread ever. The honey in the recipe would really make it delicious. Thank you so much for bringing it to Full Plate Thursday for us to enjoy.You have a great week end and please come back!

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  47. Those loaves look so wonderful. I could eat an entire loaf of homemade bread right out of the oven.

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  48. Lisa - thanks for sharing! It's really a testament to a recipe with both you and Haley giving a nod to the same one. The texture looks perfect. Your group is so lucky you're on the "bring a dish" list.

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  49. Lisa, your bread sounds wonderful! Mmmm...there's just nothing quite like freshly baked bread! I love the way you improvised and made the recipe your own.

    I saw your feature over at Lamb Around and wanted to come by to pay my regards!

    Your newest follower,
    Jenn/Rook No.17

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  50. It definitely looks like the best bread I could ever eat! I'll have to try this one out!

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