The cooking martyr

I started out making this bread for Brad and Cassie's school lunches, but then I switched to Buttermilk Oatmeal Bread most weeks (with Honey-Wheat Bread thrown in once in a while for some variety) because Cassie liked it best. Lately I've gone back to this one because it's a little easier to make and doesn't require a special trip to buy powdered buttermilk. And Cassie has switched her allegiance to this bread anyway, because it's not as crumbly as the Buttermilk Oatmeal Bread, which is true. It doesn't rise as high as the Buttermilk Oatmeal Bread, but it does have a denser crumb, which makes for a better lunch-eating experience.

I threw this one together yesterday afternoon, which was a Monday, because Brad and Cassie didn't have school (teacher workday; every day is a lawyer "workday"), and I didn't want to make the bread as usual on Sunday and have it get stale by the time they could eat it all. I had forgotten I still had to do the weekend baking on Monday, so I was grumpy about having to make bread and muffins after getting home from work. Mom offered to make the muffins, but that didn't last long when she used a measuring cup (😝), and a dry measuring cup at that (😝😝), to measure out the oil for Spicy Pumpkin Muffins, rather than my kitchen scale (read my blog much?). So I ordered her out of the kitchen, at which point she told me not to be a "cooking martyr." The things I do for you guys. (And by the way, I weighed the bowl and found that the oil Mom had measured out with the dry measuring cup (😡) only weighed 75 grams, which is about 30% less than what's called for in the recipe. So "use a kitchen scale" y'all, and your baked goods will come out better.)

Brad & Cassie's Sandwich Bread

Adapted from King Arthur Flour

236 grams (1 cup) warm water
80 grams (⅓ cup) milk
42 grams (3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
240 grams (2 cups) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
170 grams (1½ cups) King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
30 grams (¼ cup) ground flaxseed meal
35 grams (3 tablespoons) granulated sugar
20 grams (2 tablespoons) flax, sunflower, or sesame seeds, or a combination, more to taste (optional)
1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
1½ teaspoons instant yeast

    1. Add the ingredients to the bread pan in the order listed.  Set the machine for a 1.5-pound loaf, "Basic" cycle, and "Medium" color, and press "Start."
    2. The first kneading cycle lasts 10 minutes (on my machine). Near the end of that time, check the dough. If it feels a little sticky and there's a slight smear of dough under the knead blade(s), the dough is fine. If the dough is very sticky and clinging to the sides of the pan, add 1 tablespoon of flour. Allow the flour to be mixed in completely before making any more adjustments. If the dough is dry and very firm and the machine appears to be laboring, add 1 teaspoon of lukewarm water. Allow the water to be mixed in completely before making any more adjustments. The dough is just right when it is smooth and soft, and the bottom of the pan is clean.
    3.  Set a kitchen timer for about 8 minutes shy of the machine's full baking cycle. Check the bread when the timer sounds. If it's done, turn the machine off and unplug the cord. Remove the bread pan, turn it upside down, and shake gently until the loaf comes out. Transfer the loaf to a rack to cool completely. Makes one 1½-pound loaf.