Golden Sandwich Bread

Sometimes simple is the best! Just like this plain white bread. Soft, fluffy and tasty enough to eat it just as it is. This fantastic bread is from Nick Malgieri's newest book simply titled "BREAD". I ordered this book months ago before it was released, as I have tried one of the preview recipes, Old-Fashioned Raisin Bread, that Nick Malgieri posted on his blog, here, and that bread totally won me over! So has this Golden Sandwich Bread! This bread was chosen as a casual bake with my baking buddies, Lena and Zoe, and both of them have given this bread thumbs up as well. 

The dough is a pleasure to work with. It is soft and just a wee bit sticky, but a light sprinkling of flour on the work surface and your hands really helps.  The dough has a texture of a brioche dough, I just love the feel of it. This bread has three stages of rising, so plan ahead while making this bread. It has lovely oven spring. The top picture is the final rise in the bread pan, let the dough rise to about 1/2 inch above the rim of the pan and bake in an oven which was preheated first at 400C, then reduce to 375C as soon the pan is placed in the oven. At the 20 minute time into baking, I checked the bread and was really surprised how well they have risen further in the oven. So beautiful! I did cover the top with aluminium foil after that as the top of the bread is near to the heat element of my oven ceiling and I do not want an overbaked crust, just a light one for this bread. Continue baking for another 10 minutes and the bread is done. The second picture shows how high it has further risen in the oven during the first 15 minutes or so. 

I made only half a recipe. All that waiting during the 3 stages of rising is definitely worth it! The bread is really soft, fluffy and really tasty, good enough to eat on its own.

It has a soft crust and lovely springy interior. Definitely one of the best white bread I've made.

Just as a white bread should be, soft, fluffy and very tasty. Good, eaten plain on its own and I love it the best, when spread with a generous amount of cold salted butter, accompany with a mug of hot steaming black coffee! 

Yummy, spread with my homemade plum jam!

Great toasted! My kids requested this for their breakfast. Butter the bread, top with a mixture of chopped fresh tomatoes, sandwich ham, some chopped coriander leaves, dash of black pepper, some dried oregano and finish off with a sprinkling of shredded cheddar cheese. Toast the bread until crispy and cheese melts.  A satisfying breakfast!

Now this is my breakfast (brunch actually!). Nick Malgieri has included some ideas on using the breads that you baked. This sandwich is one that he enjoys with his father, which is just a simple regular sandwich that I do make sometimes, the only difference is, I spread the bread with some butter and usually spread the mayonnaise in between the fillings. Nick Malgieri spreads a generous amount of mayonnaise on the bread and top with the lettuce, sliced tomatoes, freshly cooked bacon slices and top with the second slice of bread, also spread with mayonnaise.  Just toast the bread lightly first, then proceed with the assembling of the sandwich. He uses bacon for this, but here I have used sandwich ham slices.

Then slice it in triangles and enjoy! I sure did! So good!

I'm sharing this with :

Recipe Box hosted by Bizzy Bakes

Full Plate Thursday hosted by Miz Helen's Country Cottage

See Ya In The Gumbo hosted by Ms. enPlace
BYOB, Bake Your Own Bread hosted by Roxana's Home Baking

Golden Sandwich Bread
(adapted from "BREAD" by Nick Malgieri)
Makes two 9-inch loaves
6 cups / 800gm bread flour (spoon into a dry-measure cup and level off)
2 tablespoons / 30gm sugar
3/4 cup / 170gm room-temperature tap water, about 75degreesF
3 teaspoons / 10gms fine granulated active dry or instant yeast
1 cup / 225gms whole milk, scalded and cooled
3 large eggs at room temperature
4 tablespoons / 60gms butter, cut into 8 pieces and softened
1 tablespoon / 18gms fine sea salt
Two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans, buttered and the bottoms lined with parchment paper

1. Combine the flour and sugar in a large bowl and set aside.
2. Pour the water into the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk in the yeast. Wait 5 minutes, then whisk again. Whisk in the cooled milk and eggs.
3. Use a large rubber spatula to stir the flour mixture into the liquid a little at a time, stirring to combine between additions.
4. Place the bowl on the mixer with the dough hook and scatter pieces of butter on the surface of the dough; mix on the lowest speed for 1 minute. Stop the mixer and let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
5. Increase the speed to medium, sprinkle in the salt, and beat the dough until it is smooth and elastic, for 2 to 3 minutes longer. Scrape the dough into an oiled bowl and turn it over so that the top is oiled. Cover with plastic wrap and let ferment until almost doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.
6. Invert the dough to a lightly floured work surface. Flatten the dough to a disk. Fold the two sides in to overlap at the middle, then roll the top toward you all the way to the end, jelly-roll style. Invert, flatten, and repeat. Return the dough to the bowl (oil the bowl again if necessary), cover, and let ferment until fully doubled, 30 to 45 minutes.
7. Invert the dough to a floured work surface and shape it into a rough square. Use a bench scraper to cut the dough into 2 equal rectangles, each about 715 grams. Pull the narrow ends of 1 rectangle of dough outward to widen. From one of the wide ends fold the sides in about 1 inch or so, then roll down from the top as for turning the dough. Drop the roll into one of the pans, seam side down. Repeat with the second loaf and pan.
8. Cover with oiled or sprayed plastic wrap and let the loaves proof until they have risen about 1/2 inch above the rim of the pan. Once they're close to the top of the pan, set a rack a notch below the middle level and preheat the oven to 400F.
9. Place the loaves in the oven and immediately lower the temperature to 375F. Bake until well risen and deep golden, with an internal temperature of at least 200F, 30 to 40 minutes.
10. Unmold the loaves and cool on a rack on their sides. Wrap and keep at room temperature, or double wrap and freeze.

#7/100

Nick Malgieri's Sandwich
Lightly toast 2 slices of Golden Sandwich Bread, and generously spread with mayonnaise.
Top one slice with a leaf or two of rinsed and dried leaf lettuce or tender outer leaves of iceberg lettuce.
Add 2 to 3, 1/4-inch slices of tomato; salt and pepper lightly.
Top with 3 to 4 slices of freshly cooked bacon, preferably still warm, and the remaining slice of bread, mayonnaise side down.
Cut diagonally and enjoy immediately.

#8/100