The softness of shop sandwich bread comes from two things: milk and fat. Dough made with water is like stone the next day, while dough made with milk stays soft for three days. The tin really is necessary; dough shaped by hand grows sideways rather than upwards and the slices will not fit a toaster.
Ingredients
For the dough
For the top
Method
-
Activate the yeast
Mix the warm milk, yeast and sugar and leave for 10 minutes to foam.
-
Knead
Add the egg, butter, salt and flour and knead for 12 minutes. The dough should be soft and slightly tacky; do not firm it up with more flour.
-
Prove
Cover and leave somewhere warm for 1.5 hours, until doubled.
-
Knock it back
Press the dough down to release the gas and roll it into a rectangle on the worktop.
-
Roll it up
Roll tightly from the short edge and put it in a greased loaf tin with the seam underneath.
-
Second prove
Cover and leave for 45 minutes, until it rises above the rim of the tin.
-
Bake
Brush with milk and bake at 180 degrees for 35 minutes.
-
Cool
Turn out of the tin and cool completely on a rack. Bread sliced hot gets squashed.
Tips
- Do not add flour to firm the dough; the tackiness is normal and it is what gives the softness.
- For a flat top use a lidded loaf tin and the bread will not dome.
- Do not slice before it has cooled completely. The inside of hot bread has not yet set.
- If it dries out after two days, slice and freeze it; it goes into the toaster straight from frozen.
Nutrition
Values are per serving and approximate.