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easy sandwich bread loaf

Easy sandwich bread

A super easy recipe for a light , soft , buttery loaf of bread !
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Ingredients
  

  • 240 ml or 1 cup water
  • 60 ml or 1/4 cup milk
  • 25 grams or 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 7 grams or 2 1/4 teaspoons active dried or instant yeast
  • 375 grams or 3 cups all purpose flour or maida (you may need more )
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 56 grams or 1/4 cup unsalted butter melted

Instructions
 

  • Heat the milk and water together until lukewarm (about 110 F if you have a thermometer . If you dont , you should be able to put your finger in but want to pull it out in some seconds ).
  • Take off heat and mix in the sugar and yeast. Let this sit undisturbed for 5 to 10 minutes or until frothy ( blooming of yeast)
  • In a large bowl, measure out the flour and salt. Add the melted butter and bloomed yeast mixture .
  • Stir with a spoon or your hands until a sticky dough forms. Add more flour if it doesnt come together (upto half cup more but little by little)
  • On a floured surface , knead this for 5 minutes or so until it is smooth and not sticky
  • Lightly oil or butter a bowl and place the dough in it. Cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel . Keep in a warm place until doubled or for about an hour. ( first proofing )
  • Butter / oil a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan .
  • Punch out the air from the risen dough and roll out on a well floured surface to a rectangle about 8 inches x 15 inches in size. Basically slightly shorter than your loaf pan and the width double the height of rectangle . It doesnt have to be exact .
  • Roll the rectangle starting from the shorter side so that you have a 8 inch log.
  • Place this in your prepared pan . Loosely cover with foil or cloth . Keep in a warm place for about 45 minutes or until the top of the dough is an inch above the rim of your pan . ( second proofing )
  • Preheat your oven to about 350 F or 180 C.
  • After the second resting time , bake the bread at 180 C for about 30 - 35 minutes. Check around 25 minutes to see if the top is too brown . If it is , cover with aluminium foil and continue baking.
  • When done the bread should be browned on top and hollow when tapped.
  • Cool in pan for few minutes, unmould and cool completely on a wire rack

Notes

This makes exactly one tall loaf.
If you would rather have a shorter squarish loaf . ( without muffin top ) , you can either use a longer pan or two smaller pans . In both cases , after the second proof, the dough should almost reach the top of pan .
To make this dough ahead , you can refrigerate the dough (tightly covered ) after making it .for few hours or overnight . Get it to room temperature , unwrap and let rest until doubled (of original dough). Continue rest of steps as above. 
I have not tried freezing the dough or refrigerating after shaping .
To bloom the Yeast , the sugar is needed to activate it and the water- milk shouldnt be too hot (will kill the yeast) or too cold (wont bloom it).
While baking bread, i bake on lower rack in my Oven (to give loaf enough space to rise and not brown too much ) and use both upper and lower rods.
Once the loaf is out of Oven, you can brush the top with some melted butter while still hot for a softer crust . 
My Measuring Cup is 240 ml.