This light, fluffy and incredibly soft white sandwich loaf is a classic recipe that you want to keep on hand. It’s so light, so fluffy and so soft that everyone will think it came right from your local bakery.
Who doesn’t love a good sandwich? It’s the perfect snack or lunch, suitable for any sort of occasion or time of the day: at work, for breakfast, at a picnic with friends. You name it.
When thinking about what makes a good sandwich, my first thought goes to what I believe is the most important thing: the bread.
Yes, of course, the filling is quite important too, but the thought of a dry bread or even worse, that of a slice tasting of what I can only describe as ‘long-shelf-life product taste’ (basically the taste of highly processed flour and additives in white, packaged bread) doesn’t sound appetising at all. Ok, perhaps I am being overly dramatic, but there’s no escaping the fact that bread features highly in Italian faith. It’s a love affair.
I don’t know about you but when I bake my white bread or buy a good one at a bakery, half of it is usually gone in 5 minutes. Simply on its own.
My version of the perfect loaf for your sandwich is aerated and fluffy, with a high hydration (around 71% of water) and enriched with butter. The result is a moist, feathery crumb. And best of all, this recipe is really easy to make, with just a handful of ingredients, and a really simple method to follow.
This recipe will be your new favourite. It really is the best white sandwich bread, and once you’ve tasted it, you’ll never want to buy store-bought one anymore.
If you love the amazing flavour of home-made bread, you can give a go at my classic Mantovana bread or to the more rustic five-grain no-knead bread. The smell of freshly baked bread filling your kitchen will turn any sad day into a glorious one. Yeah!
Makes one medium loaf (20 cm long tin)
Ingredients
- 350g bread flour
- 250g lukewarm water (about 38°C)
- 5.5g salt
- 5.5g dry active yeast
- 10g sugar
- 20g butter (you can use vegetable shortening – such as Trex – to make it suitable for vegans)
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT
- Medium size tin loaf (about 20cm length and 10cm wide)
- Dough scraper
- Spray bottle filled with water
Method
- Add the dry active yeast and half the sugar to the lukewarm water and stir until dissolved. Cover and let become frothy for about 10 minutes. Sift the flour into a large bowl, then add salt and the remaining sugar and stir to disperse. Take the butter out of the fridge and leave it at room temperature.
- Add the water mix to the flour and mix with a fork or a spatula until all the dry elements come together in a rough dough. Scrap the dough from the bowl onto the work surface and slap and fold the dough for about 8 to 10 minutes, until it becomes smooth and does not stick to the surface anymore. For an example of the slap and fold technique, check out this short video . Halfway through, wash your hands and continue with the process. Your dough will stick less to clean hands.
- After 10 minutes, add the butter and continue with the slap and fold for another 5 to 6 minutes. At first it will look like the butter has made your dough fall apart, but just continue and trust the process. The butter will absorb completely and make the dough very smooth and pillowy. Form a rough ball, transfer to a clean and oiled bowl, cover with cling film and a tea towel and leave to bulk rise in a warm place for about one hour, or until doubled in size.
- Take the bowl and fold the dough into itself a couple of times, knocking out much of the air in it. Punch it if you prefer, it’s very rewarding. Form a ball again and let rise in a warm place again for another 45 minutes. To test if the dough it’s ready, flour the tip of your index finger and poke a hole in the middle of the dough. If the hole stays the same size and doesn’t shrink back, the dough is proved correctly, otherwise leave it for another 15 minutes.
- Turn the dough onto the counter, press it down to knock the air out, shape it into a ball and leave to rest on the work surface for 10 minutes, covered. In the meanwhile, lightly butter the inside of the loaf tin.
- Take the dough and, using a rolling pin, roll it out into a rough rectangle of about 1cm thickness, with the short side as long and the length of your loaf tin. The dough will still be a bit sticky, so dust it a little more if needed (try to keep the dusting to a minimum). Place the rectangle with the short side in front of you and roll it up as tight as you can to form a log that will perfectly fit inside the buttered tin. Cover the tin with cling film and leave to rise for one hour, or until the dough is about 1cm below the edge of the tin. In the meanwhile, heat the oven to 200°C, conventional mode.
- When ready to bake, place the tin onto a tray and transfer to the oven. Spray water onto the sides of the oven a few times to generate a burst of steam and immediately close the door. Bake for 35 minutes, keeping an eye towards the end for excessive browning of the crust. If you notice the crust is already nice and golden after 25 minutes, cover it with some foil for the last 10 minutes.
- Once baked, take out of the oven, remove from the tin and leave to cool completely onto a wire rack. It will take about one hour. If you tap the bottom of the loaf, you should hear a low and hollow sound. Once cooled, slice up and make your favourite sandwich, or simply spread some butter and jam, or a good dollop of Nutella. I promise you that this bread will make anything you eat with it even more delicious.
Tip: If you don’t eat it all on the same day, the loaf will keep well in a sealed plastic bag for one day. Otherwise, I recommend you slice it and freeze it, for easier use. Simply defrost the slices you need directly in the oven for a few minutes. It will taste as it had just been baked.
Tried this but double everything to make 2. Worked brilliantly and honestly it was the best bread I’ve ever made!
Thank you so much for letting me know!! I am very happy you loved it and worked well for you! 🙂
Can’t wait to try it, looks amazing!
Thank you so much Ary! Let me know how it turns out for you 🙂