So when I first started this journey, there were 2 common fears everyone had when it came to cooking – making bread from scratch and making pie crusts. I’ve tackled both numerous times on here.
By far, my Artisan Crusty No Knead bread, Chocolate No Knead Crusty Bread, and Cheddar Ale No Knead Crusty Buns have pretty much taken over as numero uno for bread recipes. They are super, SUPER easy, and require no special equipment. A Dutch oven is best. HOWEVER, I will show you how to make it without one.
Well, those breads are fantastic, but sometimes you just want plain old-fashioned white sandwich bread. Now I love, LOVE white bread as for me that immediately takes me to my childhood and Mom making it every Sunday. I’d sit up on the kitchen table, covered in flour from head to toe playing with a piece of dough for hours while I’d try to mimic her. It’s because of her that I fell in love with baking and not having a fear of making bread.
Adding those layers of butter in the folds made this bread FanFriggenTastic! Literally, it needed no jelly, jam, or butter on it! It took everything I had to not rip into it straight out of the oven but bread is one thing that MUST be allowed to cool before cutting.
Do you know why? I mean other than having your Mom smack your hand or getting yelled at (trust me, I learned that lesson years ago!) LOL
Cutting bread while it is still warm can cause the bread to have a gummy texture, and the loaf can collapse. It tears and it’s a big ol mess. It is because of the way starch retrogrades. It needs that cooling time to re-stabilize itself.
But yeah, waiting for this to cool was torture. I mean the SMELL was intoxicating. There is NOTHING that compares to the scent of freshly baked bread. It’s just pure heaven.
This was so good I literally had to slice a piece and leave the room; otherwise, I truly think I would have sat there and eaten the entire thing! LOL
Now I know what you’re thinking: “Just how hard is this? I don’t have a mixer or Dutch oven.”
It’s not hard and you don’t need either of those things! Literally you need the ingredients (duh), a big bowl, a wooden spoon, a bread loaf pan and an oven. I’ve made this bread at least 10 times since I finally perfected it. This will be your go-to white bread recipe for no kneaded bread.
What’s even more awesome is with this bread, any leftovers (if that’s even possible) the leftovers make AWESOME croutons!
I mean, seriously, can’t you smell that warmth and awesomeness? Look at those pockets and flaky layers! Yeah… I bet you’re wishin’ they had Smell-o-Internet now, huh? LOL God, wouldn’t that be awesome?!
*Update: apparently, my recipe is VERY similar to the one Food 52 has (like just a few ingredients are changed). While I love F52, I don’t ever recall seeing it. I went with my white bread recipe and my first no-knead recipe and kind of did a mashup. However, since they were to the pass first and ours are so very similar, I have to give them credit. I could have seen it, but honestly, I don’t remember it. Sorry, F52, I didn’t know you had one posted a month before mine*
PrintNo Knead Sandwich Bread Recipe
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- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 2 loaves
- Category: bread baking, breads, easy bread, no knead bread, white bread
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: Bread Baking, breads, easy bread, no knead bread, white bread
Ingredients
- 3 1/4 cups Bread Flour
- 3 1/4 cups All Purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon instant or active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 tablespoon salt
- 3 cups water, warmed
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 egg with one tablespoon water
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Add water and stir together with a wooden spoon to form a shaggy dough. It’ll take about 2-3 minutes to come together.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and letproof at room temperature for around 5-6 hours. The dough will double in size and may start to fall. This is OK. It just has to double initially.
- When ready to bake, turn the dough on a floured surface and lightly knead 3–4 times. The dough will be slightly sticky, but resist putting too much flour on it. A Bench Scraper works PERFECTLY here! Cut the dough into two equal-sized pieces. Shape the dough into a rectangle approximately 8×12″. Place 1 1/2 tablespoons butter across the middle.
- Fold one-third of the dough into the center, and place 1 1/2 tablespoons butter on top of the fold, followed by the other third. Place seam-side-down in a buttered 9×5″ Bread Loaf Pan.
- Cover with sprayed plastic wrap and let rise for approximately one hour or until the dough has doubled. The dough will not rise above the pan; you want it to double in the pan.
- Preheat your oven to 450F with the rack in the middle. In a bowl, beat the egg and water until well combined. Using a pastry brush, brush the top of the bread with the egg wash. (See note if you do not want to use the egg). Bake for 30–35 minutes or until the top of the loaf has just begun to brown. Remove from the oven and turn out on to cooling racks.
- Let cool for at least an hour before slicing.
Notes
The only special piece of equipment you need is a
9×5″ Bread Loaf Pan. These truly are the BEST pans out there!
Another item I highly recommend is a Bench Scraper. This will make your life SO MUCH easier when working with doughs!
If you do not want to use the egg wash, before you preheat your oven, place a metal pan on the bottom rack. Let the oven come to temperature. Before putting the bread in the oven, lightly mist the top with water. Place the pan on the rack and immediately (WORK FAST!) pour 1 cup of hot water into the baking pan on the bottom. Close the oven door, and do NOT open it until the bread is done!
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