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You are here: Home / buttermilk / My Favorite White Bread & Lessons My Mother Taught Me

My Favorite White Bread & Lessons My Mother Taught Me

September 18, 2008 By Laura 11 Comments

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When I was in college, my friends spoke very disparagingly of white bread. They referred to it as gummy and flavorless. They only bought whole grain breads. Now that I am an adult, when buying bread, I pretty much only buy whole grain bread as well.

But there is a reason white bread was once the symbol of the privileged.


Frankly, as far as I am concerned, home made white bread is the best sandwich loaf there is. Buttery and rich, it is great for sandwiches, toast, served on the side with dinner or anything else you want to do with it. Like a lot of people, I became very concerned with the health of my family and began only baking whole grain breads. Then one day I made white bread while teaching a friend to make bread. I chose white bread because the feel of the dough is consistently the same and always easy to work with, and therefore is a great way for a novice to learn to make bread.

Wow.

I had forgotten how good it was. How little adornment it needed. A good butter was like the icing on a good cake–a partnership where each individual item can stand on its own.

So where does my mom come in? Well we don’t make the same white bread: hers is more yeasty and less rich, and she prefers the heady flavor of molasses as a sweetener, which I find a little too strong. I am in love with buttermilk while she has always used plain milk, and I like mine enriched with eggs as well.


But 2 facts remain: I know how to make bread because of my mother, who made bread several times a week while while I was growing up. That storebought stuff never crossed our doorstep (except when my lunatic brother asked for Wonderbread–children! the things they put you through!), which is of course why I stared at my college buddies in blank incomprehension when they spoke disparagingly of white bread. The second fact that I learned from my mom is that while the blueprint might remain the same, bread is a canvas waiting for your brushstokes to personalize it. What flavors go well, the guts to fool around with the recipe, etc–those instincts I got from my mom.

So when I started craving my favorite white bread recipe this past week, a recipe by Peter Reinhart, I started thinking about how I might make it a little healthier while not turning it into whole grain bread. The end result? It does not matter what the weather does. It is bread season with a vengeance around here–I made my 7th loaf in as many days today. I am not making whole grain bread, but I have been making bread with some whole grains and seeds in it–but it tastes pretty close to my favorite white bread.

Be sure to check out Susan’s Yeastspotting over at Wild Yeast.


Laura’s Riff On Peter Reinhart’s White Bread, Variation II
Adapted from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice

4 1/4 cups (19 oz) unbleached bread flour (I sub in 4 oz or about 1 cup of white whole wheat flour)
1 1/2 t fine sea salt
3 T sugar
2 t instant yeast
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temp
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

optional add-ins:
2 T ground flaxseed
2 T wheat germ
2 T wheat bran

extra flour and buttermilk for achieving correct dough feel

Mix together the flours, salt, sugar, yeast and any of the add-ins in a large mixing bowl. Add the egg, buttermilk and butter and mix with a large spoon or with the paddle attachment of your mixer. When the dough starts to form a rough, shaggy mass, switch to the dough hook (or begin kneading on a floured surface). Add more buttermilk if the dough is dry; add more flour if it is too sticky. With your dough hook on speed 2, knead for 6-8 minutes (resting your mixer as needed), or knead by hand, until you have a soft, supple dough. It should be tacky but not sticky.

Lightly oil a large bowl and place the dough inside it, rolling to coat it with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until doubled in size.

Gently de-gas the dough by pressing the bubbles out and divide into 2 equal portions. Shape each portion for 2 8X5 loaf pans. Grease the pans and place the loaves into the pans. Lightly spray plastic wrap with oil and loosely cover the loaf pans. Let rise for 60-90 minutes, or until doubled.

Preheat the oven to 350 F about 30 minutes before baking.

Bake the loaves for 35-45 minutes, rotating halfway through. The internal temperature of the loaves should be about 190 F when they are done. I like to butter the tops of my loaves when they come out of the oven. Let the loaves cool on a cooling rack, but for gosh sake, no matter what the experts say, make sure you slice them while they are still warm (just not piping hot–I usually aim for waiting 30 minutes).

Filed Under: buttermilk, yeasted breads

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Comments

  1. That Girl says

    September 19, 2008 at 12:17 am

    It’s funny, my dad’s the bread maker in my family.

    Reply
  2. Grace says

    September 19, 2008 at 1:28 pm

    i got my love of bread-baking from my mamster as well. storebought just can’t hold a candle to homemade–your loaves look perfect! 🙂

    Reply
  3. Sharon says

    September 19, 2008 at 2:41 pm

    GORGEOUS bread! I grew up in a strictly white bread household, though I haven’t had it in quite awhile either. Next time, I’ll be sure it’s homemade and not the Wonder variety.

    Reply
  4. noble pig says

    September 19, 2008 at 10:06 pm

    My mother never made bread, I was deprived.

    Reply
  5. Susan/Wild Yeast says

    September 20, 2008 at 7:25 am

    I don’t think you can go wrong with homemade bread, white or not. I do love the addition of the flaxseed and wheat bran/germ.

    Reply
  6. Anonymous says

    September 20, 2008 at 9:33 pm

    It is a damnable lie! I HAVE NEVER PUT MOLASSES IN MY WHITE BREAD IN MY LIFE!! the bread certainly would not be white if I did so.
    love, mom

    Reply
  7. Laura says

    September 20, 2008 at 9:49 pm

    Ooops, OK I retract it then, I thought you did! Anyway I know you never used buttermilk or the egg. So there!

    Reply
  8. HoneyB says

    September 21, 2008 at 7:59 pm

    hehe, love the mother daughter exchange above. 🙂

    This bread looks awesome and would go great toasted with the apple butter I made this weekend!

    Reply
  9. Anonymous says

    September 22, 2008 at 9:55 am

    i so love that you credit me with inspiring you to take chances with the recipe, and i know i would love your bread!love, mom

    Reply
  10. Laura says

    September 22, 2008 at 10:11 am

    Oh you know your bread rocks the world, Mom.

    Reply
  11. TeaLady says

    October 20, 2009 at 5:02 pm

    Bread is so much fun to make. I make at least one loaf of white bread a week.

    Yours looks really good.

    Reply

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Hi! I’m Laura and I am a recovering history major who has re-channeled all of my passion for learning about the history of different countries to learning about their food culture. That doesn’t mean every dish on here is strictly authentic, but it does mean that even my adaptations are not undertaken lightly. My goal is to show you–by doing–that these dishes are possible in your kitchen. Including desserts because I have quite the sweet tooth! Read More…

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