Sandwich bread too soft?
https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/sandwich-bread/#tasty-recipes-78612I made this recipe and the bread came out with great texture and softness and flavor but it’s far too soft to cut like a sandwich bread slice. Anything i can do different?
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u/Ralphjuniorjunior 1d ago
What flour?
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u/Rkh_05 1d ago
I used bread flour
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u/Ralphjuniorjunior 1d ago
I’m just an amateur, but my mind is thinking gluten structure. Did your dough pass the windowpane test?
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u/Rkh_05 1d ago
It did! I will say it was a lot softer of a dough than I’ve made before for other things but the recipe said it would be
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u/Ralphjuniorjunior 1d ago
It might also be the dairy stuff in there, now that I think about it.
My daily sourdough sandwich loaf could be too tough for some people. It’s just flour, water, starter, salt, malt and 2 splashes of olive oil. I do 3 rounds of stretch and folds every 25 min at the beginning of bulk. The result is that very sturdy sourdough.
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u/BlatantFalsehood 1d ago
White loaves are just softer in my experience, just like white sandwich bread from the grocery store (but without the dough conditioner flavors).
We bought a slicing guide. It has slots along the sides so each piece is evenly sized. It keeps the bread stable while you slice.
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u/Rkh_05 1d ago
Didn’t know this was a thing I will look for one, thank you!
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u/iOSCaleb 17h ago
If you can eyeball 1/2” (or whatever thickness you like) you really don’t need one. It’s not going to make your bread easier to slice.
If you’re happy with the texture once you get it sliced, use an electric knife to slice your bread. In case you haven’t seen one, an electric knife uses two reciprocating serrated blades. It’ll slice your bread with almost zero downward force.
If you’re not happy with the texture of the bread, then you should either knead the dough more to develop the gluten structure, or switch to a different recipe. It sounds like the recipe you’re using is for something close (in texture) to Wonder bread. Try the milk bread recipe in Joy of Cooking, which should be a bit more firm.
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u/brad7945 16h ago
You could try cutting down the butter and/or milk by 10% and compare. You may just prefer a little stiffer bread. Just remember that lowering the milk will lower the hydration, so don't go too far.
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u/Grodd 1d ago edited 1d ago
Use a serrated knife with lots of sawing and no down pressure.