The last time I went grocery shopping, I finally caved in and bought cookie butter. I've been tempted many times but always went for a more wholesome topping for toast, like almond butter or peanut butter. This time, I told myself that I deserved the cookie butter now, given how busy I've been at work recently. I had no second thoughts, except to lament that I had no bread to use for toast so that I could enjoy it every morning.
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That's why I made Light Wheat Bread from The Bread Baker's Apprentice (affiliate link) for Bread Week 28. It was perfect. Soft, not entirely unhealthy since it was ⅓ whole wheat, ideal for making into toast and topping with cookie butter. I was impressed with how high the loaf rose.
I really enjoyed this loaf of bread. The bread had a nice top crust, and was not particularly crumbly. It had a soft and tender sandwich-bread texture. Since it was only ⅓ whole wheat, it wasn’t particularly wheaty. The bread made for great toast, but it was really good without toasting, too. This is a good all-purpose loaf of sandwich bread, and it was easy to put together. I would definitely make it again.
📖 Recipe
Light Wheat Bread
Ingredients
- 11.25 ounces bread flour (~2 ½ cups)
- 6.75 ounces white or regular whole wheat flour (~1 ½ cups)
- 1 ½ tablespoons honey or sugar (.75 ounces)
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons powdered milk (affiliate link) (1 ounce)
- 1 ½ teaspoon yeast
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 ¼ cups water
Instructions
- Mix together all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low with the dough hook until a ball of dough forms. Add a little more water if necessary to form a dough that is slightly tacky, but not sticky. Add more flour if dough is too dry.
- Using the dough hook, mix on medium speed for about 6-8 minutes. Dough should be tacky, and the dough should pass the windowpane test. Place dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature for 1 ½ to 2 hours, until dough has doubled in size.
- Remove dough from bowl and shape it into a 6x8 inch rectangle. Working from the short end, begin to roll the dough tightly into a loaf, pinching the seam into the dough to increase the surface tension. Once the dough is entirely rolled up, pinch the final seam into the loaf. Place loaf seam-side down in a lightly greased or oiled 8x4 inch loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about 90 minutes, until the dough has risen above the top of the pan. Check early, though - this only took 45-60 minutes for my dough.
- Place bread on a sheet pan and bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Rotate the pan and cover the top with foil if the bread seems to be browning quickly. Bake another 15-30 minutes, until the loaf's internal temperature is 190F. Bread should be golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. This took 15 minutes for me.
- Remove bread from loaf pan and cool on a rack for at least 1-2 hours before slicing. I sliced what I needed each day, and stored mine in the loaf pan, with a piece of foil to protect the cut side, and a sheet of plastic wrap loosely draped over the loaf to keep it from drying out.
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