Walter Sands Favorite Bread Recipes

WALTER SANDS' SOFT SANDWICH BREAD

Steps:

• (Note: I do this in my stand mixer.) Pour the warm water into a mixing bowl. Add the sugar or honey and then the yeast.
• When the yeast is bubbling, add the butter, the dry milk, the salt, and the flour. Using the dough hook, knead the dough until it begins pulling away from the sides of the bowl and clings to the hook, about 8 minutes total.
• Place the dough in a greased bowl, turn it over to coat all sides, and cover the bowl. Let it rise in a draft-free place until doubled, 1 to 2 hours. Deflate the dough, and divide it in half. Form into loaves and place in well-greased 8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ loaf pans. Let rise until the dough domes an inch above the rim of the pans, another hour or so.
• After the dough has been rising for 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 350°F. When the loaves are sufficiently risen, bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until nicely browned. Remove from the oven and tip the breads out of their pans. Place on a rack to cool completely before slicing.

WALTER SANDS' FAVORITE BREAD

Steps:

• This bread may be prepared and baked right in the machine (1 1/2-pound or larger models), or prepared in the machine, then removed, shaped, given a final rise and baked in a conventional oven. Either way, it's a good, down-to-earth white sandwich bread.
• Place the ingredients in your bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer, and program the machine for white or basic bread, or for the dough cycle. Press Start.
• If you're using the dough cycle, after the cycle is complete, allow the dough to continue to rise in the machine until it has really doubled in bulk. Remove the dough, shape it into a loaf, and place it in an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan. Let it rise until almost doubled. Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for 35 to 40 minutes. Cool and offer to a friend.

WALTER SANDS BASIC WHITE BREAD, BREAD MACHINE VERSION

Steps:

• Put everything in the bread maker in the above order. I choose the dough setting, as I don't like to bake my bread in it. Let rise until doubled, it may take longer than the time allotted by the machine. Remove, form, put in a 9x5' bread pan. Cover with a damp towel or oiled cling wrap and let rise until it is an in to an inch and a half over the rim of the pan, about an hour.
• Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes, rotating halfway through for even browning. Remove, turn out, let cool completely on a wire rack and offer to a friend.
• One footnote; I like to use hi-maize natural fiber as part of the flour, 1/3 cup, it makes white bread healthier, and you don't even know it is there!