Loaves, Not Fishes

I'm pretty enamored with no-knead breads lately, and this is my new go-to recipe. It's a lovely, basic white sandwich bread, but there's a bit of whole wheat flour in there, too, so it's a little earthier and a little more dense than your average white bread. It makes outstanding toast, and I would not doubt you if you told me it made some pretty delicious french toast too. I made two loaves on Sunday, and we've been breakfasting on one of them since then; the other has been employed for the Thanksgiving stuffing, and is currently very busy drying itself out on pans in the kitchen.

This will make two loaves, so split it in half if you only want one loaf. BUT, the magical thing is that you can make the whole batch, bake one loaf, and save the other half of the dough. Just refrigerate it in a lidded (but not completely air-tight) container and use within 5 days. Incredible!  

A Nice Sandwich Loaf
adapted from Family Fun magazine

2 cups warm water
1-1/2 tablespoons (2 packets) yeast
1-1/2 tablespoons coarse salt or 1 tablespoon table salt
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup vegetable oil
6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour

In a large bowl, whisk together the water, yeast, salt, eggs, honey, and oil, then stir in the flours.

Loosely cover the dough and let it rise at room temperature until it doubles in size, 2-3 hours.

Lightly grease a loaf pan. Dust the dough with flour, then quickly shape it into a smooth-topped loaf shape and place it in the pan.

Let the dough rest for 60 minutes covered loosely with plastic wrap.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush the entire top of the loaf with an egg wash (one egg whisked with a tablespoon of water), then use a sharp knife to make three cuts across the top. Place the loaf on the oven's center rack and bake it until it as brown on top and firm, about 30 minutes. (Set it for 25 and then watch it carefully. The original recipe said that it would take 45 minutes to bake, but mine took way less!) Remove the loaf from the pan and let it cool on a rack. Slice into it while it's still very warm, since that's when it will be in its most pillowy, divine state. Otherwise, you'll really only need some salted butter, a spreading knife, and one hungry belly.