Simple Fresh Milled Sandwich Bread Recipe
A simple, soft sandwich bread, made freshly milled whole grain flour. An easy, healthy option for an old-fashioned loaf in just 2 hours.
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Nothing, in my opinion, beats the smell of fresh baked bread in the kitchen. The aroma captivates our memories. It can bring back cherished childhood moments and invokes a cozy loving home. Plus who doesn’t love butter on a hot slice?
This recipe is fully adapted from my Soft Sandwich Bread recipe. Check it out if you don’t have a mill yet.
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What is the secret to soft sandwich bread?
Soft sandwich loaves are the goal of all bakers. Bread recipes that yield a soft loaf typically use an enriched dough.
WHAT IS AN ENRICHED DOUGH?
An enriched dough is a dough that calls for more than just flour, water, salt and yeast. Recipes that have eggs, milk, butter or oil create a softer slightly sweeter loaf. By adding fat to the dough you create a tender crumb (holes in the loaf) that is soft and fluffy. Too much fat though can make your gluten strands lose all structure and you’re left with a flat dense loaf.
DON’T OVER-BAKE YOUR BREAD!. I know, seems obvious but you would be surprised by how long some recipes bake their loaves. If its in the oven for more than 45 minutes, its probably over-done and crunchy…I find 35 minutes lends to a soft loaf with a perfectly browned crust.
Is Homemade bread healthier?
The short answer? YES!
Commercially made bread has a whole host of ingredients. Most are fillers, added for shelf life preservation or to create universally consistent loaves of bread. Real bread should have 4-10 ingredients. The starters of all loaves are flour, salt, water and yeast and then you can add dough enrichers such as eggs, butter, oil, sugar or milk and sometimes herbs for flavor. See how everything there can be easily pronounced?
Bread is life (and Jesus is the bread of life) and is the core staple for almost every culture in the world. The rise and fall of governments have happened due to the cost of flour. Only in our modern western world have we concluded that bread is the evil villain of our time. But bread free of pesticides, made at home, especially if you are milling the flour fresh for each loaf may be the most nutritious thing you can serve your family. Commercially available white flour has most of the bio-available nutrients removed for shelf stability. Freshly milled whole grains contain 40 of the 44 essential nutrients our bodies require daily and provide our bodies with nutrition devoid in our every day western diet.
If you’re interested in learning more about whole grains and their dietary impact, check out Bread Beckers. They are an excellent resource.
KNOW THIS! If you don’t have a mill. If you aren’t able to buy the “best” flour and you are making bread at home with basic all-purpose, you are still creating a healthier bread for your family.
Why Freshly Milled Flour?
Nutritionally freshly milled flour is far superior to conventional all purpose flour.
Anecdotal Evidence: Within my own family we have seen one of my children’s constant constipation fully go away, my cycles have greatly benefited and my anxiety. All of us have more energy and are happier people. I love the biblical references to bread, especially as I make bread closer to God’s design.
How to make Freshly Milled Sandwich Bread
Equipment you will need:
- Large Mixing Bowl
- 2 Loaf Pans – These glass pans are made in the USA and are easy to line with parchment.
- Parchment paper – This one is my favorite, I’m able to bake with each piece multiple times.
- Mill – I personally have the Nutrimill, but I hear the Wondermill is great as well.
- Wheat Berries – I source my wheat from Azure Standard – Hard Red & Hard White
Step 1
Mill 1000g of Hard Red or Hard White wheat berries.
(Approximately 6 cups)
Step 2
Heat milk in a small saucepan over low to medium heat.
Step 3
To a large mixing bowl place warm milk (around 100ºF) sugar and yeast. Allow yeast to bloom for 10 minutes.
Step 4
Add oil, eggs and salt to the bowl, combine. Mix in freshly milled flour to your wet ingredients until rough dough forms.
I keep a cup of flour to the side in case the dough is still sticky and needs any additional flour.
Step 5
Knead dough by hand for several minutes until dough is smooth. (You can use a mixer for this, I find it is unnecessary.) Shape dough into a round and allow to rise in mixing bowl for 30-40 minutes or until dough has doubled. Once doubled, remove dough from bowl and cut in half. Shape each half of dough into a loaf and place in parchment lined bread pans. This will prevent your loaves from adhering to the pans and easy to remove. Allow dough to rise in loaf pans until they begin to mound – 20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 350ºF while loaves are finishing their second rise.
Bake loaves for 35 minutes until crust is browning. Remove and let cool fully before slicing.
Between this and my sourdough boule recipe our bread cravings are fully satisfied!
Bread is life and Jesus is the bread of life.
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
John 6:35
Hot Tip For ReHeating
Also, my husband created the best tip I have for you! We all love warm slices of fresh baked bread and he found a way to recreate it….the broil function in the oven.
Cut a slice of bread and place it either onto a cookie sheet or straight onto the baking rack and broil on low for 3 minutes per side. You’ll end up with a soft warm slice of bread, reminiscent of fresh baked. Slather on some butter and enjoy!
– Sourdough lover? Check out my Easy Fresh Milled Sourdough Loaf
– Making Sandwiches? See how easy it is to make your own mayo with my Quick and Easy Traditional Homemade Mayonnaise.
Have a prayer request? Drop it in the comments below – I read each and every one!
Simple Fresh Milled Sandwich Bread
Equipment
- 1 Grain Mill
Ingredients
- 2.5 Cups Warm Milk 100º
- 1/3 Cup Sugar
- 1.5 Tablespoons Yeast
- 1/3 Cup Olive Oil
- 2 Eggs
- 1 Tablespoon Salt
- 1000 Grams Freshly Milled Hard Wheat Flour
Instructions
- Mill 1000g of hard red or white wheat flour.
- Warm milk over low-medium heat on stovetop.
- Place warm milk, sugar and yeast in a large mixing bowl.
- Let yeast bloom for 10 minutes.
- Add oil and salt and eggs to mixing bowl and combine.
- Add 1000g of freshly milled hard wheat flour and mix well until all ingredients are well incorporated and rough dough forms. Add additional flour if dough is still sticky.
- Knead dough for several minutes until dough is smooth.
- Shape dough into a round and allow to rise in mixing bowl for 30-40 minutes or until dough has doubled.
- Once doubled, remove dough from bowl and cut in half.
- Shape each half of dough into a loaf and place in parchment lined bread pans.
- Allow dough to rise in loaf pans until they begin to mound – 20 minutes
- Preheat oven to 350ºF
- Bake loaves for 35 minutes until crust is browning. Remove and let cool fully before slicing.
