Buttermilk Sandwich Loaf

It’s August?! Really, how on Earth did that happen? It seems like yesterday I was moving out of my parents house and into Uni, but it was almost a year ago :O Time goes by scarily fast…

I had a Doctor’s appointment yesterday, glad to say it’s been 6 weeks since I last went, which is good for me as I’m always needing medication, changes, test results etc. He’s upped the dosage of the pill I take to get to sleep better so hopefully I’ll be able to sleep. My brain just doesn’t shut down at night, and because my back hurts so much I can be lying there awake for 2+ hours, so it’s nice when I can fall asleep quickly! He also changed my antibiotics as my body had become too used to the old ones and they weren’t working anymore, so let’s hope these do the trick! I seem to have finally found a really good Doctor who listens and does what he says he’s going to do, referring me for appointments etc. and he always checks how I’m doing, I know that’s his job, but I mean if I go in for something trivial, he’ll double check my back & medication is as under control as it can be, they’ve put new posters up at the surgery saying, one appointment for one patient and one problem, so I guess I’m lucky he brings up my other issues else I really would practically live there!

We’re still having problems with the SLR camera, so I’m still stuck with my normal digital, the SLR got wet when we went to Paris and now it doesn’t like us… Hope to either get it fixed, or get a new one soon 🙂

Now, I adore baking bread, there is no better smell in my opinion. I made this loaf last week and it was a big hit with my other half as he doesn’t like bread with a crusty top (weirdo?!) so because of the buttermilk this one stayed really soft on top as well. I love all bread, but soft in the middle and crunchy on top is my favourite 🙂 I have a few bread recipes coming up in the next few weeks; onion, raisin etc. I bought a new book and it’s fabulous, I’ve made loads of breads from it already. Back to this loaf, it’s lovely and soft and has a nice rounded flavour so it goes with everything, perfect for toast and sandwiches!

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Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:

> 3/4 cup buttermilk
> 1/4 cup warm water
> 1/4 cup butter (if you use unsalted, you may want to add 1/2 tsp salt)
> 7g sachet of yeast
> 2 3/4 cups strong white bread flour + extra to dust
> Oil, to grease bowl and loaf tin

Method:

> Preheat the oven to 100 degrees C. Once heated up, turn it off. This will help your yeast rise later on.
> Place the yeast and warm water in a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer for 5 minutes until it gets all frothy.
> Whilst you’re waiting for the yeast to prove, place the buttermilk and butter in a saucepan until all the butter is melted and then leave to cool for a few minutes.
> Once cooled, place the butter into the yeast.
> Add the flour.
> With the dough hook attachment to your mixer, mix the dough for about 6 minutes until it no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. If doing by hand, mix until you have a dough and then turn out onto dusted work surface and then knead for 10 minutes until the dough is nice and elastic and doesn’t stick.

> Lightly oil a large, clean bowl and then place the dough in the bowl. Cover it with cling film and then place in the cooled oven for 1 hour. During this time grease the loaf tin with some oil.
> After an hour it should have doubled in size.

> Lightly flour the work surface and then turn the dough out. Knock the air out of it and loosely shape into a loaf. Place it in the loaf tin and press it out to make sure it fills the tin.
> Cover with a clean tea towel and then leave it for 30 minutes. During this time preheat the oven to 190 degrees C. After 30 minutes it should have risen again.
> Place in the oven for 30 minutes until the loaf sounds hollow when you tap it. It should be nicely browned all over. When done, take out of the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 20 minutes before turning out and placing on a wire rack to cool completely.

> Will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days and it stays really soft 🙂 I had some for breakfast with my all time favourite toast topper: marmite 🙂

Enjoy 🙂