What’s the most important ingredient in a sandwich? Almost certainly the bread. After all, regardless of what kind of sandwich you’re making, bread is integral to its success. And what’s better than homemade bread?
This version works well for sandwiches, toast, French toast or anything you might use basic store-bought stuff for, and it’s only five ingredients (not counting the water). It takes a little bit of effort to knead this for the full 10 minutes, but if you set a timer and turn on some music or a TV show in the background, you’ll be done before you know it (and can skip arm day tomorrow).
Plus, once you’ve got the basics down, you can try different kinds of flour, add cinnamon and raisins, or sprinkle the top with seeds and oats to customize this loaf. Slice and freeze whatever you’re not going to use right away, so you can thaw and toast as you go.
5-ingredient sandwich bread
7
3 hours 15 minutes to 3 hours 45 minutes
25 minutes
3 hours and 40 minutes to 4 hours and 10 minutes
1 cup water, warm
2 tablespoons honey
3 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil plus extra for greasing baking pan
In a small glass bowl or measuring cup, combine the warm water, honey, and yeast. Set aside for 3 to 5 minutes or until frothy.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the bread flour and salt.
Add the vegetable oil and yeast mixture, and stir vigorously until a dough forms.
Turn dough out onto a floured work surface and knead 8 to 10 minutes (or use a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment).
Lightly grease a large bowl with vegetable oil.
Add the dough, and rotate it to ensure all sides are greased.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set in a warm place to rise for 2 hours.
Lightly grease an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2 bread pan with vegetable oil.
Punch down the dough, and shape it into a rectangle the size of the prepared pan.
Transfer it to the pan and re-cover with plastic wrap.
Allow the dough to rise in a warm place for 60 to 90 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size and risen over the lip of the pan.
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Remove the plastic wrap and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, rotating halfway to ensure even baking.
Allow the bread to cool slightly before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.