[Almost] Softest Sandwich Bread Recipe

It’s taken me over a year to find and adapt a recipe that makes a loaf of bread that is almost as soft as the sandwich bread you find in the stores.

I have learned a few things (and am still learning)…..

1. Fresh milled flour is way different than the flour you buy from the store
2. Fresh milled flour requires higher hydration if you want a to yield a softer loaf of bread
3. You cannot over knead fresh milled flour dough and must be kneaded a long time to achieve the “window pane test”
4. True “window pane test” doesn’t exist with fresh milled flour, but you can get very close
5. Autolyse overnight for the softest bread

With all that being said, recipes I came across didn’t work for the area I live. I live in a humid and hot environment.

Furthermore, this recipe was written for the exact ingredients listed and I used an Ankarsrum mixer with the dough hook. I have not experimented with replacing white sugar with honey, using a different type of oil, etc.

So without further ado, here’s the recipe I have created that makes me the softest loaf of bread.

Yields 2lb loaf.

The night before you want to bake bread:

1. Mill 4.5 cups of hard white berries (yields about 6 cups of flour depending on your mill and mill grinder settings)
2. In a medium bowl, measure out 3.5 cups of flour and mix with 2 cups of HOT water and mix thoroughly
3. Cover with plastic wrap or damp towel and let the flour mixture sit overnight on the counter

The next morning, gather your ingredients:

1/4 cup of warm water and stir in 3 teaspoons of salt and 1/4c of sugar and whisk to dissolve the salt as much as possible

1 egg, room temperature

1/2 cup of olive oil

1 tablespoon of instant yeast

2 teaspoons of Vital Gluten

1. In your mixer, put in the water+salt/sugar mixture, egg, olive oil and mix the ingredients
2. Add the autolyse flour mash you made from the previous night
3. With your dough hook and dough knife, start your mixer on medium speed (3 o’clock on Ank)
4. Add in 1 cup of hard white flour
5. Add in 1 tablespoon of yeast (I use instaferm brand)
6. Add in 2 teaspoons of gluten
7. Knead for 12 minutes

As is it is kneading, check the sides and the stickiness of the bowl, the dough should be a little tacky and the dough should start to look like long strips of dough (fruit roll-ups/laffy taffy). If the dough is too wet, add 1/4 cup of flour at a time until you achieve the “laffy taffy” look. The dough should stretch in long pieces. I have had to add up to an additional 1 cup of flour depending on humidity and temperature of my home.

Once the 12 minute kneading cycle has completed.

Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.

Check for “window pane”. The dough should be able to be pulled up without breaking. You may not achieve true window pane, but it should stretch a few inches before starting to tear.

If the dough breaks, knead for longer. I have had to knead up to a total of 24 minutes.

If window pane is reached, place into your bowl to rise and double in size. Approximately 1 hour.

Once doubled in size, remove dough from the bowl careful not to break the gluten development and gently shape into your loaf pan.

Let it rise again for approximately 45 minutes.

Complete the “knuckle” test on the dough. The indentation from the knuckle should not fill back in once pushed in.

I used a 2lb Pullman loaf pan and I bake at 400F for 35 minutes.

Check internal temperature of 200F+ and bread should be ready.