White Sandwich Bread

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

If you ever wanted to bake a simple white sandwich or part whole wheat sandwich bread for a gathering, then these two recipes would work well for you. They are both easy to prepare, taste terrific, and feed lots of people. Or as I am going to do with the leftover bread from yesterday’s JazzVox home concert, where I served 35 people Sloppy Joes (recipe on site) over toasted slices of both of these breads, use the leftovers for the dressing I am making this Thursday (Thanksgiving). So, kill two birds with one stone, or as in this case use the same breads for two meals, WHY THE HECK NOT? And hurray!

Not only did I save a great deal of money by making my own base for Sloppy Joes, but it is also now completely unnecessary for me to pay an exorbitant amount of money for dried bread cubes at the grocery store. And that brings up a good point.

Even if you don’t make your own bread, you can still buy a cheap loaf of white or whole wheat bread and simply cut the bread (crusts and all) into small cubes and dry them at a very low temperature in your oven. Why the people who package cut up days old bread charge such ridiculous prices (Brownberry Premium Unseasoned Cubed Stuffing 12 oz. for $12.25) and get away with it is beyond my comprehension! So, even if you don’t want to bake your own bread, just buy a loaf of Wonder Bread (a 20-oz. loaf of white sandwich bread from Walmart $2.92) and make the dried cubes yourself! OK, I’m done pontificating!

Anyway, both of these recipes make for very simple, but tasty and inexpensive sandwich bread. I hope you enjoy both the recipes.

And for all of you who are hosting Thanksgiving dinner, I’ve included my favorite recipe for Turkey Dressing at the bottom of this post. The dressing is savory and just a perfect base for Turkey Gravy with Cognac. (You can find that recipe on this site.)

So, to all of you who are hosting Thanksgiving dinner, bless you for all your hard work. And all of you attending Thanksgiving in someone else’s home, be sure and thank your host and hostess. They have put in a lot of work on behalf of you and all the others that participated in the dinner.

And for all of you who read my blog, thank you for being a part of my life. It remains a great joy for me to be able to share my love of cooking with each and every one of you. And for me to share with you my hopes for a better world for everyone, everywhere.

I leave you with the lyrics to What the World Needs Now by Hal David (lyricist) and music composed by Burt Bacharach.

What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love
No not just for some, but for everyone

Lord, we don’t need another mountain
There are mountains and hillsides enough to climb
There are oceans and rivers enough to cross
Enough to last ’til the end of time

What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love
No, not just for some, but for everyone

Lord, we don’t need another meadow
There are cornfields and wheatfields enough to grow
There are sunbeams and moonbeams enough to shine
Oh listen, Lord, if you want to know

What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love
No, not just for some, oh, but just for every, every, everyone

PEACE AND LOVE TO ALL AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING

WHITE SANDWICH BREAD

2½ c. slightly warm milk

1 T. active dry or instant yeast

1 T. granulated sugar

6 – 6½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tsp. kosher salt

¼ c. (½ stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

veggie oil

Pour the warm milk into the bowl of your stand mixer and stir in the yeast and sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes, or until foamy.  

Add about half of the flour. Stir until well blended. Add another couple cups of the flour, salt, and butter and knead for about 8 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add enough more flour as needed.   

Pour a bit of veggie oil in the bowl, and using your hands and a stiff spatula, form the dough into a lightly greased ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 1 – 1½-hours or until doubled in size. Lightly grease a 13×5-inch loaf pan and a 9×5-inch loaf pan and set aside. Or 3 9×5-inch loaf pans.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Punch it down and roll it into a rectangle about 20-inches long. Fold the long side of the rectangle toward the center, press to seal the edge. Fold the bottom of the rectangle to the top to make a cylinder. Cut a third of the loaf off. Place the longer piece in the 13-5-inch pan and the shorter piece in the smaller pan. Or if you are using 3 9×5-inch pans, divided the long piece in thirds. Place the dough in the prepared pans seam side down, tucking the ends in and pressing the dough into a flat piece of dough in each pan.

Cover with plastic wrap and leave for an hour, or until the dough almost doubles. As the dough rises, pre-heat the oven to 375-degrees with the rack in the middle of the oven.

Bake for 30-32 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches at least 190-degrees. Remove from oven and turn the loaves out of the pan onto a rack to cool.

Store covered at room temperature.

WHOLE WHEAT SANDWICH BREAD  

2 c. whole milk
¼ c. honey
4 tsp. active dry yeast

4 T. (½ stick) unsalted butter, room temp.  

2 tsp. kosher salt
3 c. whole wheat flour

3 T. vital wheat gluten, opt. (but recommended)
1½ to 2 c. bread flour
extra virgin olive oil 

Heat the milk slightly (about 105 degrees).  Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer and add the honey and yeast. Let stand for about 5 minutes until the yeast bubbles.  

Add the butter, salt, whole wheat flour, vital wheat gluten, and ½ of the bread flour. Mix until combined. 

Cover and let stand for 15 minutes. Add in the remaining bread flour and with a mixer fitted with a dough hook, knead the dough on medium speed until the dough is smooth and springy.  (about 6 minutes)

Pour a bit of olive oil in the bowl, and using your hands and a stiff spatula, form the dough into a lightly greased ball. Cover with plastic wrap and let double in volume (about 60 to 75 minutes). 

Lightly grease a 13×5-inch loaf pan or 2 9×5-inch loaf pans. Set aside.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Punch it down and roll it into a 13-inch-long rectangle. Fold the top of the rectangle toward the center, press to seal the edge. Fold the bottom of the rectangle to the top to make a cylinder. Place the dough in the longer pan seam side down. (If you are making 2 loaves, cut the dough into 2 equal size pieces before placing in the pans.)

Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for about 60 minutes.  

Bake in a pre-heated 400-degree oven for about 25-30 minutes or until golden and the internal temperature reaches at least 190-degrees.

Remove from oven and immediately turn the loaf or loaves out of the pan(s) onto a cooling rack and let cool thoroughly before slicing.

TURKEY DRESSING (with or without cooked breakfast sausage)

1 c. butter

1½ c. chopped celery (stalks and leaves)

2 med. onions, finely chopped

12 to 14 lg. button mushrooms, chopped

1 c. chopped fresh Italian parsley

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 T. minced fresh sage

1 T. dried thyme leaves

2 T. poultry seasoning, or more to taste

1 tsp. savory, either powdered or dried leaves

2 tsp. kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

16-20 c. dry bread cubes  

1 lb. cooked breakfast or Italian sausage, opt.

3 eggs

5-7 c. turkey or chicken stock

In a large sauté pan, melt butter and add celery, onions, and mushrooms. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add the parsley, garlic, sage, thyme, poultry seasoning, savory, salt, and pepper. Remove from heat. Place dried bread cubes in a very large mixing bowl. Stir in the cooked sausage. Add the sautéed vegetables; mix thoroughly.

Beat eggs in a separate medium sized bowl. If you are using stock that is simmering happily on your stove, vigorously whisk 5 cups of the broth into the eggs. (The hot stock will scramble the eggs if you don’t stir vigorously.) Pour the hot liquid over the bread cubes and gently stir. Add more stock if the dressing is dry. (Remember, this is dressing, not stuffing and therefore is not going into the cavity of the turkey. So, any moisture needs to be added while it is being prepared.) Taste the dressing and add additional poultry seasoning and/or salt if needed.

Place dressing in a buttered casserole dish, cover and refrigerate until ready to bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 45 minutes or until hot. (I put mine in the oven when the turkey comes out.)

OK, once again I must eat a large helping of humble pie! Because I stated many years ago that I didn’t particularly like muffins. At least most store-bought or bakery made muffins, and even some homemade muffins just didn’t rock my socks. But over the years, things have changed regarding muffins. There are some homemade muffins now that I really like. These for example. And maybe I even like them a bit too much.

But for many years, I only truly liked my recipe for homemade bran muffins. And in writing up this preface I came to the realization that I had never posted that recipe.  What? How could that be? I’ve been making bran muffins since my beloved sister-in-law Evelyn gave me the recipe in about 1973!

Her recipe is in my first self-published cookbook (1998), but I hadn’t written it up for my blog? Shame on me! Because the bran muffins I’ve been making now since God was a child are the tastiest and easiest bran muffins to ever come out of an oven.

The recipe used to be found under the catchy title of Six-Week Bran Muffins. Because apparently, the refrigerated batter would still be fine even if it was allowed to happily reside in your refrigerator for up to 6 weeks. Never happened in my household, so I’m not going to make that statement. But I will state unequivocally that the recipe you find below makes for absolutely wonderful bran muffins. So, if you too love bran muffins, please find the recipe below. But back to orange raisin nut muffins. (That’s really why you’re here right? I do get so carried away!)

So, in getting ready for an upcoming trailer trip, I decided muffins for breakfast would be lovely. But for years now, I have been trying to duplicate my grandmother’s orange raisin cake. With poor results I must confess. So, why not an orange raisin muffin? So based on a recipe by Wescott Sharples on the relish.com site, I came up with this version.

And boy oh boy are these muffins tasty. Not too sweet, and semi moist and chewy from the oats, chopped golden raisins, and walnuts. And the simple crumble topping gives these muffins just the boost of flavor and crunch that I feel is needed. All in all, a truly great muffin. And just a super breakfast treat.

Since I am getting ready for a trip with buddies, I am going to keep this preface short. Lucky you! And of course, lucky me too. (For the trip of course.)

We are so blessed to live in this beautiful part of the world. And to have a trailer and wonderful friends with whom we can share amazing adventures. As I said, we are well and truly blessed. So, here’s to Craig and Marsha – old friends, great friends, musical friends, intelligent friends, and every possible type of friend in between. Let the fun continue.

And as always, dear readers and friends, peace and love and lovely muffins to all.  

Crumble Topping:

½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour

¼ c. brown sugar, packed

¼ c. old-fashioned oats

1/8 tsp. salt

4 T. (½ stick) unsalted butter, at firm room temperature

Whisk together the flour, sugar, oats, and salt. Work in the butter, mixing until coarse crumbs form. Refrigerate until needed.

Orange Raisin Walnut Muffins:

¾ c. whole wheat flour, fluffed

¾ c. whole wheat pastry flour, fluffed (or unbleached all-purpose flour if you must)

1 c. uncooked old-fashioned oats  

2½ tsp. baking powder

¼ c. granulated sugar

¼ c. brown sugar

½ tsp. fine sea salt

1 T. orange zest  

1 lg. egg

1 c. (8-oz.) sour cream

2 T. vegetable oil

¾ c. orange juice (does not have to be fresh squeezed orange juice)

¾ c. chopped golden raisins (I almost always use golden raisins because I like them best)

½ c. chopped walnuts (but pecans would also work)

Line 18 muffin cups with paper baking liners. Set aside.

Whisk the whole wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, oats, baking powder, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, and orange zest together in a large bowl.

Whisk the egg, sour cream, vegetable oil, and orange juice together in another bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture mixing only until blended. Gently stir in the chopped raisins and nuts.

Using a #16 ice cream scoop (scant ¼ cup – 2-oz.) plop batter into prepared muffin cups filling until almost full.

Sprinkle the crumble topping over the muffins, dividing evenly, and patting gently.

Bake in a pre-heated 400-degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Do not overbake.

Remove from oven and let cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Best warmed a bit before serving.  

BRAN MUFFINS (½ recipe from the original) (the best bran muffins imaginable)

3 c. bran cereal (I use Kellogg’s All-Bran cereal)

1 c. boiling water

½ c. veggie or canola oil

1½ c. granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 c. buttermilk

2½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed

2 T. wheat germ

2½ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. fine sea salt

Line 24 (or more as needed) muffin cups with paper baking liners. Set aside.

Combine the cereal and boiling water in a large mixing bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes or more. Combine the remaining ingredients with the softened bran.

Using a #30 ice cream scoop (scant ¼ cup – 2-oz.) plop batter into prepared muffin cups filling until almost full.

Bake in a pre-heated 400-degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Do not overbake.

Remove from oven and let cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Best warmed a bit before serving.  

For our 4^th of July dinner, I served hot dogs and a Caesar salad. I know, not a traditional combination, but hey, this is what sounded good to me and because I was doing the cooking….. Well, I’m sure you can see how this works!

Anyway, with Hebrew National all-beef hot dogs happily residing in our refrigerator, I decided that because these were especially good wieners, they deserved special treatment. And to me that meant that they should be served in a really great bun. (And coincidentally, we deserved good buns too.) And since I happen to know how to bake bread, I decided to play around and see what I could come up with. So, this recipe is kind of a mishmash of several recipes I reviewed. And as luck would have it, the buns were amazingly tasty. But a bit more about hot dog buns before I go any further.

I recently read an article about New England style buns. This unique bun predates, by several years, other hot dog buns found almost everywhere else in the United States.

Before the “invention” of the New England bun, commercial bakers would simply slice rolls all the way through. But New England style buns are different. Not only do they have a very tender crumb, but because they are baked close together, they have very soft sides. Then they are cut on top about halfway down through the bun allowing frankfurters, chicken salad, lobster filling, etc. to fit easily in the slit without the filling oozing out the sides. (Which of course makes consuming one of these babies a lot less messy!)

But to make “proper” New Englund style buns, they must be baked in a special pan. Which BTW, I do not ever plan to purchase. (I already have too many baking pans that have only been used once. And I feel guilty enough without adding possibly 1 more pan to the list!)

Anyway, I tried to duplicate the official New Englund style pan by using a 6×6-inch square pan and an 11×6-inch rectangular pan. And it worked, but I will not go to the trouble next time. Because, to my thinking, what makes these buns special is the flavor and texture, not the shape or the requirement to use a special pan. (If you are interested, you can see what the pan looks like for yourself by searching for one on Amazon. Only $31.95 each!)   

Regardless of special pan or not, you can bet your bottom dollar that I will be making these buns again. Because they are delicious, tender, easy to make, and a lot smaller than the kind of hot dog buns you can buy in a grocery store.

Like the Mikado sings in Gilbert and Sullivan’s famous operetta The Mikado – “let the punishment fit the crime”. To my thinking, it’s of equal importance to “let the bun fit the hot dog”! So, I hope you will give this recipe a try when next you choose to serve gourmet hot dogs.

Now I know there are some who would argue that a gourmet hotdog qualifies as an oxymoron. All I can say is – poor deluded person. Because done right, hot dogs are magnificent! And I’d argue with anyone that a really great frankfurter, in an outstanding bun, decorated with fabulous condiments, deserves nothing less than 5 stars!    

Even if you disagree, I still wish you all the peace and love you can handle. 

½ c. warm whole milk

½ c. warm water

2 tsp. instant yeast

1 T. granulated sugar

1½ tsp. kosher salt

1 egg

¼ c. powdered milk

2½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more as needed

4 T. (½ stick) unsalted butter, room temp., plus more to grease the baking pans

extra virgin olive oil, to grease the mixing bowl

whole milk

In the bowl of your stand mixer, using your dough hook, combine the warm milk, warm water, instant yeast, and granulated sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Then add the salt and egg. Mix until combined.

Add the powdered milk and the flour. Knead the dough for several minutes. Add more flour if the dough is too wet. The dough should come away from the sides of the mixing bowl but stick slightly to the bottom of the bowl.

Add the butter, a little at a time, and knead for a further 4-5 minutes until the dough is shiny and smooth.

Pour a little olive oil in the bowl, and using your hands and a stiff rubber spatula, form the dough into a nicely greased ball.

Overnight method:

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to 24 hours.

On the day you bake the buns, turn the chilled dough out onto a lightly floured surface and lightly dust the surface of the dough with flour as well.  

Same day:

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour in a warm place, or until the dough has doubled in size. Then gently punch the dough down to remove some of the air bubbles. Turn onto a floured surface and add a bit of flour to the dough ball as well.     

To shape and bake the buns:

Butter a large baking sheet and set aside.

Cut the dough into 10 equal sized pieces. (Or as close as you can get!)

Roll each portion into a flattened piece of dough about 5 inches long. Then roll up the long side up tightly to form a tube shape. Place the formed buns ¾-inch apart, sealed side down, on the prepared pan.

Cover the buns with plastic wrap that has been lightly coated with cooking spray and let the dough rise for about 45 minutes in a warm place.

Just before baking, gently brush the buns with milk before placing them in a pre-heated 350-degree oven.   

Bake for 17-20 minutes or until a light golden brown on top and the internal temperature reaches at least 190-degrees.

Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Best eaten the same day.  

Just before serving, slit along the top and add lots of yummy condiments and a great frankfurter or any other filling that rocks your socks.

And yes, of course you can cut the bun in half lengthwise for a traditional, non-New Englund presentation. But why?