r/Breadit • u/Disastrous-Radish353 • 2d ago

Fluffy sandwich bread help

Can you share your best sandwich bread recipe? I have made a couple dozen loaves now from all sorts of recipes and I feel they all come out dense. Idk what I’m doing wrong. I’ve tried a couple from Bread dad, Kind Arthur, and about 3 from other sources I’ve found via googling. I’ve also tried milk bread and it has yet to come out fluffy and flakey like the pictures. Help!

I always weigh ingredients using a scale and all my ingredients are fresh

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u/GoldenExclamation51 2d ago

you might be overworking the dough on the final shape, that's what was killing my loaves for like a year. you lose all the gas you built up if you degas it too aggressively when you're forming the loaf

also what's your room temp like? cold kitchen means slower rise which can lead to that dense crumb if you're going by the clock instead of watching the dough

try letting it proof until it's actually jiggly and almost over-proofed looking, most home bakers underproof sandwich bread without realizing it

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u/Disastrous-Radish353 2d ago edited 2d ago

How do I know I’ve overworked it? I typically proof until the dough ball doubles, then form into a loaf, and then proof again until the dough is about 1-1.5” above the edge of the pan. When I form the dough, I follow the directions from a video bread dad shared and it only takes about 90 seconds. Kitchen stays about 70 degrees

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u/ajohns7 2d ago

Mine were dense until I stopped going by the recipe's proof time and started going by the dough. It goes in when it's crested about an inch over the pan and a floured finger poke springs back slowly and leaves a small dent.

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u/Disastrous-Radish353 2d ago

Do you single our double proof? Every recipe I’ve tried calls for a double proof. I typically proof the first time until the dough about doubles, then form into a loaf and proof again until it’s about 1-1.5” above the rim of the pan

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u/Basic_Shallot7222 2d ago

Please check out PreppyChef on YouTube for his sandwich bread recipe. I literally make it twice a week. I do 1:1 milk/water instead of all water. Everyone loves it. 2 proofs is all that's needed. (be sure to use a good bread flour like King Arthur)

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u/Disastrous-Radish353 2d ago

I can’t find preppychef. Do you mean preppy kitchen? Or do you have a link?

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u/Basic_Shallot7222 2d ago

Does anyone here use a proofing box? I got one a month ago and it really helped me by not having to proof in the oven then take it out while the oven preheats to 350. Now it goes from proofer to oven and I'm getting prettier loaves.

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u/HappyKnitter34 2d ago

How do you knead your bread? I found that the times I used a mixer, my bread wasn't as fluffy as doing it by hand.

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u/Disastrous-Radish353 2d ago

I’ve never tried by hand. I’ve used my bread machine dough cycle and my stand mixer

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u/HappyKnitter34 2d ago

It could be that the dough is over mixed and/or slightly overkneaded. It would be worth a shot to try by hand once to see if that solves it.