White Sandwich Bread

Makes 2 loaves (can easily be divided in half to make 1)

2 1/2 cups warm water
1 Tbsp. active dry yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
6-6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter, softened

Pour 1/2 cup of the water into a bowl (preferably that of a stand mixer) and stir in the yeast and sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes, unit foamy. (If the yeast doesn’t do anything, toss it out and buy fresh yeast.)

Add the rest of the water and about half of the flour. Stir until well blended. Add the rest of the flour, the salt and butter and stir with the dough hook (or by hand) until well combined and shaggy. Continue to knead (let the dough hook go for about 8 minutes, poking it down once in awhile) until it’s smooth and elastic. You could do this by hand, too. If you used the dough hook, turn the dough out onto the countertop and knead a few times to make sure it’s evenly smooth. Doesn’t it feel great?

Shape it into a ball and put it back into the bowl. Cover with a tea towel and let it sit for 1 – 1 1/2 hours, until it’s doubled in size.

Butter two 4″x8″ loaf pans. Punch the dough down (love that part!) and pat each piece into a rectangle that’s about 9″x12″ – or a bit bigger than a standard piece of paper.

Starting at a short end, fold it in thirds, like a letter. Place seam side down in the loaf pans, tucking the ends in. Cover with the tea towel again and leave them for an hour, until they puff right up out of the pan.

Preheat the oven to 375°F and put the rack in the middle of the oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the loaves are honey brown. Immediately turn the loaves out of their pans and onto a rack to cool.

Whole Wheat Pita Bread

Yields 8-10 pitas

1 1/4 cups warm water
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups bread (or all-purpose) flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

In a large mixing bowl (or bowl of a stand mixer), sprinkle the yeast over the barely warm water and allow to sit about 5-10 minutes until activated (looks frothy). Mix in the olive oil, and salt. Gradually add bread flour and whole wheat flour, mixing until the dough comes together. If the dough is too dry and will not come together, add small amounts of water until it does. Conversely, if the dough is too sticky, add flour until it becomes workable; however, do not add too much flour or the bread will become dense.

Turn out dough on a lightly floured surface and knead the dough for 7-10 minutes, or until elastic. Alternatively, using the dough hook on a stand mixer, knead the dough on the slowest setting for 7-10 minutes, or until elastic. Cover dough with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Punch down the dough before turning out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough evenly into 8 to 10 pieces (depending on how large you would like the pitas) and roll into balls. Using a rolling pin, roll out the balls until they are 1/4 to 1/8-inch thick. If the dough resists rolling out, allow it to rest for 10 minutes and it will roll out easier. Cover the rounds with a kitchen towel and let rise for another 30 minutes or until puffy.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Place a baking sheet in the oven and allow it to heat as well.

Toss as many pitas into the oven as you can fit onto the hot baking sheet and bake for 3-5 minutes. Once they are finished baking, wrap each pita in a damp paper towel or cloth to soften them. Press down on the pitas lightly to flatten.

Serve warm or store until later use.