Making sandwich bread: dough for the pan, shaping, baking and cooling

What sandwich bread adds

The basics of kneading and rising are the same for sandwich bread as for any other loaf. The difference is that a large piece of dough is baked in a pan. The pan gives the shape, but in exchange the pan size and dough amount have to match, you decide when to bake by how far the dough has risen in the pan, and the big loaf takes time to bake through and cool. Soft sandwich bread usually adds milk, sugar or butter to bread flour for a fine, moist crumb. For dough and rising basics see the bread dough article; this one covers what is specific to pan loaves.

Pan size and dough amount

A recipe's dough amount assumes a pan of a particular size. If yours is different, scale the dough up or down to match the pan's volume. You can roughly measure a pan's volume by filling it with water and weighing it. One gram of water is about one milliliter, so the weight is the volume. Multiply every ingredient by the ratio between your pan's volume and the recipe pan's. Too much dough overflows or stays underbaked inside; too little gives a short loaf with a coarse crumb.

• Fill the pan with water and weigh it for volume
• Find the volume ratio to the recipe's pan
• Multiply every ingredient by that ratio

Domed or square

Baked without a lid, the top rises into a rounded dome; baked with a lid, you get a neat square loaf. A domed loaf rises freely on top, so its crumb tends to be long and light, and a slightly different dough amount is not a big problem. In a square loaf the lid stops the dough, so the crumb is finer and moister, but if the dough amount and rise are off, the corners stay unfilled and rounded, or dough squeezes out through the gap under the lid. Starting with domed loaves is the easier way to get to know your pan and dough.

Shaping: roll out and roll up tightly

After the first rise, use the dough for one pan as a single piece or divide it into two or three equal weights, round them and let them rest briefly. Roll each piece out long with a rolling pin to press out large bubbles, then roll it up tightly from one end with even pressure. Gaps left while rolling become big holes after baking. Pinch the final seam closed and place it seam side down in the pan. If you divided the dough, set the pieces side by side facing the same way so they rise evenly.

• Roll out to press out large bubbles
• Roll up tightly from one end with even pressure
• Pinch the seam and place it facing down

Judging the second rise in the pan

Cover the dough in the pan so it does not dry out and let it rise a second time. With sandwich bread, how far the dough has risen relative to the pan's height is a handy guide. For a domed loaf, bake when it reaches the height the recipe gives, often with the top near the rim. For a square loaf you stop earlier, because the lid needs to go on before the dough touches it; the dough will rise again in the oven. Overproofed dough can sink on top or bake with a coarse crumb, so have the oven preheated by this point.

Baking and unmolding

Because the loaf is large, it bakes longer than small rolls. If the top browns too quickly, lay foil over it partway through to stop the color while the inside keeps baking. When it is done, drop the pan once lightly onto the counter to release hot steam from inside, then take the loaf out of the pan immediately and set it on a rack on its side or upright. Left in the pan, trapped steam makes the sides soggy and they tend to bow inward and cave. When opening a lidded pan, keep your face back from the burst of hot steam.

Common failures and causes

Sides that cave inward usually mean underbaking or leaving the loaf in the pan too long. A big hole just under the top crust means air was trapped during shaping or the roll was loose. A tear along one side of the top can mean the seam was facing up, or the second rise was too short so the loaf burst upward in the oven. A short, heavy loaf suggests too little dough for the pan or too little rising, and empty corners on a square loaf mean the dough did not rise far enough to fill the lid.

Cooling, slicing, storage and safety

Sandwich bread takes a while to cool all the way through, and slicing it hot squashes the crumb into a gummy mass. Cool it completely on a rack, then slice with a serrated bread knife using a sawing motion. Keep leftovers in a bag at room temperature so they do not dry out, and slice and freeze whatever you will not eat within a few days, toasting it straight from frozen. The fridge actually makes bread go stale faster, so it is best avoided. Pans and lids stay very hot for some time after unmolding, so handle them with dry mitts, and since wheat and dairy are common allergens, tell people what is in it when you share.