makes two 9x 5–inch loaves
Sandwich bread is a hot topic in home-baking circles. Most homemade breads are perfect for serving alongside soups or acting as a vehicle for a giant slab of butter, but if you’ve ever tried to choke down a peanut butter and jelly sandwich made with two dry slices of 100 percent whole wheat bread, you know the experience is less than palatable. Not only do homemade sandwich breads tend to dry out much faster than their store-bought counterparts, many of them are nearly impossible to slice thinly without creating a crumbly mess. I’ve wrestled with this issue for years, so I was thrilled when my dear friend and author of Sweet Maple: Backyard Sugarmaking from Tap to Table, Michelle Visser, offered to let me try—and share!—her maple sandwich bread recipe. These mildly sweetened oat-filled loaves are soft and smooth with the most delectable hint of real maple syrup. Plus, they work beautifully for sandwiches—hallelujah! My search is finally over.
1 cup rolled oats
½ cup maple syrup
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon honey
2½ teaspoons fine sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups boiling water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
5½ cups all-purpose flour
In a large bowl, combine the oats, maple syrup, butter, honey, salt, and cinnamon. Add the boiling water and let sit for 15 minutes. Stir in the yeast and flour to form a soft dough. Knead for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and satiny. Cover and let rise for 1 hour in a warm place.
Divide the dough in half, shape it into two loaves, and place each loaf into a greased 9 x 5–inch loaf pan. Let the loaves rise until they poke up about an inch above the rims of the pans, 1 to 1½ hours.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake the loaves for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown, covering the pans lightly with a sheet of foil for the last 15 minutes of baking to keep them from becoming too brown.
Let them cool slightly, about 5 minutes, then remove the loaves from the pans to cool. They will keep for 3 to 5 days in an airtight container on your counter. Or you can wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and freeze them for later.