Bittman Basics
Are You Ready to Make a Simple Sandwich Loaf?
Now is the time
Whether you’re sequestered at home making toast and sandwiches, or trying your hand at bread baking, this loaf should be in your repertoire.
The ingredients for almost all bread baking are pretty much the same from recipe to recipe: flour, leavening (baking powder, baking soda, or yeast), water (or other liquid), salt, and sometimes fat or other ingredients for added flavor.
In this recipe, the food processor does the kneading here. Or you can use a standing mixer with a dough hook, which also does a good job. Either makes better dough than almost anyone can achieve by hand, but to make this dough without a machine: Combine all the ingredients in a bowl with a wooden spoon until you can’t stir anymore. Then start using your hands to work the dough into a ball. Turn it onto a flour work surface and fold, press with the heel of your hand, and turn as with biscuits, only much harder, repeating for several minutes, until the dough is smooth. Continue to the second graf of this recipe, below.
Simple Sandwich Loaf
Time: 3 to 4 hours, mostly unattended
Makes: 1 large loaf
