Sandwich Bread

  Sometimes I post things to remind myself what not to do. This is one of them.

 Though this sandwich bread recipe definitely makes bread - and saves time - it is not worth doing. I suppose if you wanted to say you made homemade bread, this is a way with minimal work. But it just isn't the yeasty homemade bread with the beautifully risen and browned top I want.

 The texture is all right ... but that's about the only thing.

 I found the recipe on Facebook. It calls for just five items:

3-1/2 cups flour
1-1/2 cups warm water
2 teaspoons sugar
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
2-1/4 teaspoon instant yeast (one pack)

 The idea is to proof the yeast in the warm water and sugar. In ten minutes you'll have this foamy result pictured above, I always do this anyway, even if the recipe doesn't call for it. It's a way to make sure the yeast is healthy and it also gives it a head start on producing the carbon dioxide that rises the bread.

Pix after first rise

 

After adding the liquid to the flour and salt I get a very sticky mess. It's too damp to handle. In fact I dumped it into a greased baking pan by scooping it out with a spoon. I think it would be far better to add some more flour and knead it! But  the recipe calls for leaving it in the bowl and letting it rise for an hour (I used 1:15).

 Then t's into the pan but spreading out the top with a spoon is nearly impossible. I did the best I could but I was hardly happy with it. Then this is allowed to rise half an hour.

 After the second rise the dough looks like this. Too much for a single pan but not enough for two.

 This baked at 375° for "30 to 35 minutes. I used the entire 35 minutes.

 I found the bottom damp when it had cooled enough to dump it out of the pan. That steaminess soon dissipated and the loaf was OK to work with when cool.

 The taste is OK but nothing special. I won't make this again.