High Altitude White Bread
Everyone needs a basic bread recipe in their back pocket, even those of us that live in high altitudes! A fluffy inside and a golden crusty top make the perfect duo for this white sandwich bread recipe!
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 tsp Instant Yeast (or dry active yeast. See notes)
- 1 tsp Granulated sugar
- 1 2/3 Cups Water (lukewarm, between 98-105°F)
- 1 Tbsp Honey
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter (Room temperature or at least 65°F and cubed)
- 5 Cups Flour (Plus 1/2 cup for dusting on your surface)
- 1 Tbsp Butter (Melted for brushing warm loaves)
Instructions
- In a stand mixer, combine yeast, sugar, and half of the water. If using instant yeast, allow it to proof (sit) for 5 minutes. If using dry active yeast, allow the mixture to proof for 10-15 minutes until foamy.
- Add in the remaining water, honey, salt, cubed butter, and 4 1/2 cups of flour. Turn the stand mixer on low and knead the dough for 3 minutes, gradually adding in 1/4 cup of flour until you use the entire 5 cups. (You may need to add a few extra tablespoons of flour depending on the moisture level of your environment.) Continue to knead for at least 5 minutes. The dough should be somewhat smooth and not too sticky.
- Transfer the dough to a bowl greased with butter. Cover with plastic wrap that is also greased with butter and place in a warm, draft-free area (use the "proof" setting on your oven for best results). Leave the dough to rise for 45 minutes.
- Once the dough has risen and doubled in size, pour it out onto a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough in half and roll out each section into a rectangle, lightly pressing into it to remove air bubbles. Fold the two upper corners in towards the center, fold the top inward, and start rolling the dough into a loaf (see process photos of shaping the dough above).
- Place the shaped dough into a loaf pan greased with butter. Cover with plastic wrap also greased with butter and allow it to rise in a warm place again for 40 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Remove the plastic wrap from the pans and bake the loaves for 30 minutes. Use a food thermometer to check if the internal temperature of the loaves has reached between 205-210 degrees, or check the loaves every 4 minutes after the 30-minute mark. Remove when the tops are golden.
- Brush the tops of the warm loaves with butter to keep soft. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Notes
- If you would like to make this but don't live at high altitudes, simply dial back the flour to 4 cups and bake at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes.
- Either instant or dry active yeast can be used to make this bread. If using instant yeast, proof for 5 minutes. If using active dry yeast, proof for 10-15 minutes or when foamy.
- This recipe can be halved to make one loaf.