Sabrina's Sandwich Bread

Now that I have conquered a easy delicious whole wheat bread, I decided to find a good white bread recipe to make from scratch. So far this one is the winner. This recipe comes from Martha Stewart's July 2004 magazine. Easy and it just tastes great!

• Ready In: 24 hrs 35 mins
• Yields: 2 loaves

Ingredients

• 2  envelopes active dry yeast
• 2  cups warm water (about 105°)
• 1⁄4 cup honey or 1⁄4 cup granulated sugar
• 3  tablespoons  melted unsalted butter, plus
• 1  teaspoon  melted unsalted butter, for bowl
• 2  tablespoons coarse salt
• 6 -7  cups all-purpose flour, plus
•  more flour, for dusting

Directions

1. Sprinkle yeast over warm water in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
2. Add honey, butter and salt; whisk until yeast is dissolved.
3. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
4. Add 3 cups flour; mix on low speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.
5. Add 3 more cups of flour; mix until incorporated.
6. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough, adding up to 1 cup more flour as needed; knead until smooth, elastic, and slightly sticky, about 5 minutes (I do this with my dough hook in the mixer).
7. Let rise in a large buttered bowl, covered with plastic wrap in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.
8. Preheat oven to 400.
9. Butter two 4 ½ by 8 ½ inch loaf pans.
10. Punch down the dough; transfer to a lightly floured surface.
11. Divide dough in half.
12. Gently knead each piece until smooth.
13. Shape each piece into a loaf, tucking sides underneath to form a seam down the middle.
14. Place loaves, seam side down, in buttered pans.
15. Let rise until dough reaches top of pans, 15 to 20 minutes.
16. Brush top of loaves with butter.
17. Bake until golden brown and hollow-sounding when tapped on bottom (briefly turn out loaf to test), 35 to 45 minutes.
18. Let cool slightly in pans on wire racks; unmold.
19. Let cool until just warm before slicing.