I love making bread. Really anything requiring a dough; tortillas, pie crusts, tart shells, rolls, bagels...you get the idea.
One recipe I haven't been able to really tackle has been just an ordinary sandwich bread loaf. I have tried a couple of recipes in the past 5 years or so without much luck. I wasn't finding the consistency or the "look" of an average American sandwich bread I had hoped for.
Last week my wonderful hubby who always picks me up cookbooks at the library (without me asking :) found this one. Usually I turn up my nose to huge compilation cookbooks. I have a couple in my stash here at home (i.e Betty Crocker, Taste of Home) but there are some out there that really don't have very good recipes. Anyhow, back to this one.
It is from the editors of Cooks Illustrated magazine (which I LOVE!) Lots of scientific explanations behind each recipe and their test kitchens try each recipe like a bazillion times. They will tell the pros and cons of the various methods they used and what recipe they finally end up with. Both Mike and I have been pouring over this cookbook!! It is so interesting to read. He has been equally as enthralled with it as I have.
So I stumbled on their recipe for the "American Sandwich Loaf" and just had to try it. It was fairly easy and had a few tricks such as rolling out the dough into a square and then jelly rolling it before putting it in the pan. Also, adding a pan of hot water to the oven while the bread is baking to "steam" bake it.
The end product is just what I was looking for. It is a bread that even my kids want sandwiches on. I made grilled cheese yesterday that was crazy good!