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Another few days of digging through the drafts and editing pictures.. It seems like my props and camera will be unpacked after everything else:).
We hardly ever eat any White bread. Hubbs and me both like hearty whole grain breads. The closest we come to one is a sourdough. I had not posted a vegan White bread recipe yet, so decided to add one. The bread can be used as a base recipe and changed up to include other flours or cracked grains or seeds.
This Sandwich bread is easy, soft and delicious. It doesn’t contain any eggs or milk powder or preservatives or dough conditioners(derived from bird feathers) etc like the usual White Breads found in stores. The almond milk and oil are enough to add the moist softness to the bread.
The key to a nicely formed dome and airy crumb is kneading. If you can, knead the dough for 8-10 minutes. The bread will bake great without that much kneading too, but the kneading helps with good gluten formation which helps hold the bread with all that air in it.
The bread keeps well on the counter for a few days. For longer life, refrigerate it in a zip-lock/air tight container for upto 7 days. You can eat it as is, toast it, make sandwiches, use it wherever you want, savory or sweet. For a whole wheat sandwich bread, see here.
Make this Vegan White Sandwich Bread!
Makes amazing Grilled Sandwiches. like this Buffalo Millet Sandwich. Millet cooked in Buffalo sauce, peppers and creamy ranch, grilled up between 2 slices.
You can also make burger buns with the dough. Make 6-8 balls of the dough. Shape, spray water on top, let rise for 20-30 minutes, then bake for 25-30 minutes. Perfect for any grilled up burgers to serve this summer.
For more Loafs see the Bread collection here.
Did I mention that as kids we used to love to eat the crumb and leave out the crust.(nope, bread wasnt available at homeeveryday. We would get one loaf a week.). To get us to finish our bread, mom made up a theory that all the good nutrients of the bread are actually in the crust, just like an apple . 😉
It is getting warm finally in Seattle and that means some amazing fruits showing up in the market. Fresh and room temperature fruits are something I miss the most from back home. India being a tropical country has an abundant supply of local fruits all year round. And not just a few, there are several families of fruits that are available. Snacking between meals would be grabbing a couple of fruits. Things come full circle dont they. Eating more fresh fruits and veggies again now, after all the meaty and processed snack diet we had settled into after moving to the US.
In other news.
Elephants continue to be exploited on the streets of India where they are forced to beg on the streets, in temples and perform in marriages or circuses. Bijlee, the elephant, who hasd been worked for 50 years, who collapsed on the road recently, was left to die on the street. Even with efforts from rescue orgs, she passed away and her plight is now drawing national and international attention to the unfortunate lives of abuse, limited unhealthy food, no rest days of begging elephants in India. I hope, this movement keeps going just like the movement that was ignited by the beating video of Anne, the circus elephant, that led to a ban of the use of wild animals in circuses in the UK.
You can read more about elephants use in India here. and sign the petition here.
Steps:
Proof the yeast. Add dry ingredients and knead into a soft non sticky dough.
Spray water on top and let rise in a warm place until doubled.
Punch down and shape in to a loaf. Spray water on top, cover lightly with a towel and let rise until doubled.
Bake in pre-heated 370 degrees F for 35 minutes or until the top sounds hollow.
Vegan White Sandwich Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1 Tablespoon sugar , or maple/agave
- 2.5 teaspoons active yeast
- 1/2 cup warm almond milk , or other non dairy milk
- 2 Tablespoons oil
- 3 cups organic bread flour, or all purpose flour or unbleached white flour (See notes section for 100% whole wheat bread)
- 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- In a bowl, proof the yeast by mixing warm water, sugar and yeast. Let sit for 5 minutes or until frothy.
- In another bowl, add the dry ingredients and mix well.
- Add the yeast mixture, oil and warm almond milk to the dry flour and mix well. Knead for 5-8 minutes into a soft smooth non sticky dough. If using a stand mixer, you might need to add a few tablespoons more flour.
- Use more water or flour if needed and knead until somewhat smooth. Spray water on top.
- Cover the bowl with a towel and let rise in a warm place for 1.5 hours or until doubled. I usually keep it in a warmed oven (warm the oven to 130-150 degF)
- Take the dough out, punch it down. If it is too sticky, and an tbsp or so flour to knead and shape. Shape into a loaf, by flattening the dough then rolling into a jelly roll.
- Place in a greased or parchment lined bread pan. Spray water on top and sprinkle seeds or oats. .
- Cover lightly with a towel and let rise until doubled. 30-40 minutes.
- Bake in pre-heated 370 degrees F / 190ºc for 35-40 minutes. Cover the top in the last 10 minutes with parchment to reduce browning.
- Remove the bread from the pan. Cover with a towel to cool. This will help soften the crust. Cool completely before slicing.Store: Store refrigerated in a closed container for upto a week.
Notes
Spray oil on top or dust enough flour to keep from sticking. - Brush melted vegan butter after baking for softening the crust. Nutritional values based on one serving
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
So do you think I could do this in my bread machine?
yes, use a 2 lb bread machine.
Hi Richa,
Will it come out nice if i use wholewheat (chakki ka atta) ?
use half wheat flour and half all purpose.
Hi Richa,
My dough never rose.
What should I be doing?
Is there a specific brand of active/dry yeast that I should use?
did the yeast get frothy/bubbly at step 1?
if it didn’t then the yeast was probably old or bad or the water was too hot.
if it did get frothy, then it died because of something like adding salt directly to the yeast mixture.
I usually use red start active yeast.
Yes, it did. But I am not sure how much it should froth.
I left it after mixing with warm water and sugar for 10-15 mins inside my oven with the oven lights ON. The oven was not heated.
I will try the brand you mentioned.
Thanks.
it should visibly get bubbly and start smelling of yeast, somewhat like beer. If the bread doesnt rise, then the only reason is that the yeast isn’t doing its job. definitely try a different brand of yeast.
you can use the dough to make thin crust pizzas, if you havent thrown it away yet.
HI Richa,
I finally tried again with a new pck of yeast. It raised well. I baked it as you mentioned for 35-40 mins, but i didn’t see a brown crust so i continued baking incrementally for 10 mins. The crust still didn’t become brown. but then I stopped and cooled it. The outside is super hard, but the bread itself is soft. It could still be a little softer though. Do you think, it is due to extra baking time? Should I still stop at 40 mins even if the top is not brown?
Thanks for the awesome recipe. It is super easy.
Great! yes probably because of extra baking. i am not sure why the top isnt browning. maybe the oven isnt heating the top as well. bake it at the middle rack of the oven. and in the end, start the broil for 2 to 3 minutes so it browns up.
the crust will also softer in a few hours.
another tip for a soft crust is covering the bread with a foil after the 35 minutes, bake for another 5 , remove the bread and foil and let it cool.
hope this helps!
Hi Richa,
I made couple of batches of bread. It turned out awesome.
But I couldn’t keep it for too long.
I had dried white patches within 2 days.
What can I do to make it little more moist and last for a few days?
Like make on Sunday and use it until Friday.
How did you store the bread? Let it cool completely the store in a bread container or airtight container that is atleast double the size of the bread. I usually keep my bread refrigerated in a ziplock or airtight container since i never finish in 2 days. I toast the slices a bit and use.
Would a gluten free all purpose flour work as a substitute for regular all purpose flour? I saw that you have an oat bread recipe that is GF but I am oat intolerant. Thanks!
it wont work. gf baking and measurements are very different. try this recipe with a gf flour blend. https://www.forkandbeans.com/2014/01/01/gluten-free-vegan-bread/
I love bread and would love to make this one according to your recipe. I do have a sourdough starter and would like to use it – do you have any feedback on how I can use the starter in place of the commercial active yest for this recipe?
Your bread looks wonderful! Thanks for posting!
Hi Adelina, the measurements change completely with a sourdough starter and it would still need some active yeast.
This bread was so easy to make and I am not a very good baker. Getting ready to make it again would love to add some herbs. Any suggestions and how much?
Great!! a teaspoon of italian herb blend would work beautifully.
I made this bread and it came out perfect. Was so happy. Very easy to follow instructions which are a must for me :). Thank you so much.