tutorial: homemade sweet, soft and squishy sandwich bread

The photos from this tutorial are actually recycled from some bread making directions I posted a year and a half ago. But the last two photos are of the new loaf I have been making. It is divine. Brad can't get enough of it. It's sweet and soft and the closest 'healthy' version of childhood 'Wonderbread' I have been able to come up with.

This recipe can be played with a bit but I wouldn't alter it too much- it took me years to find the perfect combination of ingredients. For example, you could substitute the coconut oil for olive oil or the agave nectar for honey but it would completely change the taste and texture of the loaf.

Ingredients

2 cups warm water

1/3 cup agave nectar

1 1/2 tbs dry yeast

2 tsp sea salt

1/3 cup coconut oil

4 cups white spelt flour

2 cups whole spelt flour

Directions

Combine the yeast, warm water and agave nectar in a bowl and let it sit for a few minutes until it becomes frothy (this means the yeast has activated).

Combine the dry ingredients and then add the wet yeast mixture.

Stir with a wooden spoon.

After the ingredients are well combined pick the dough up and KNEAD- by hand for at least 10 minutes or you can get lazy like I do a lot now and use a trusted machine to do the hard work.

Form a big ball with the dough and put a thin layer of coconut oil on top, then cover it with a warm tea towel and let it rise in the sun or a warm spot (in the winter I turn the oven on for a few minutes, turn it off and then let it rise in that warm place).

When it has risen I punch a hole in the dough and punch it all until there is no air left.

If you want to get really fancy you can let it rise in the bowl again. 

Then punch it a final time and take it out of the bowl and roll/fold it into a loaf shape (making sure there are no air bubbles in the middle of it). 

In this photo I added seeds, but you can leave it plain.

Let it rise for about 20-30 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 220˚ 

Bake it at this high temperature for the first 10 minutes then put it down to around 205 for 20-25 minutes more.

You'll have to play with your oven as they are all so different.

Remove the loaf when the loaf looks golden on top and the kitchen smells like warm homemade bread  

Let it cool a bit before transferring to a wire rack, then let it cool a bit more before slicing.

Here is what my new and improved final loaf looks like:

 

It is so squishy, sweet and soft. Perfect for open-faced sandwiches (I find two pieces is way too filling when you're using homemade bread), toast or a meal accompaniment. On the 3rd or 4th day when it starts to go stale we use the remaining pieces to make french toast.

I hope you like it as much as we do!