Incredibly Soft Vegan White Sandwich Bread (No Eggs, No Butter, No Dairy)
Course: Bread
Cuisine: All
Prep Time: 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 45 minutesminutes
Proof the dough twice:: 2 hourshours
Total Time: 3 hourshours
Servings: 15slices
Calories: 128kcal
Author: Marvellina
You will be blown away by how soft and fluffy this white sandwich bread is. It's a very basic recipe with only 6 ingredients, but be ready to be impressed! The recipe doesn't use any eggs and butter. The recipe makes a small loaf of pain de mie or known as Pullman loaf.
I highly recommend using a stand mixer to knead the dough for the best result. You can knead by hand too, but it's just going to take a longer time as we need to rest the dough more so you can knead the dough easier. It's a lot of elbow grease kneading a dough by hand that's for sure!
Combine the bread flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer. I use the hook to stir them to combine. Add the oil and water. Start mixing the mixture at the lowest speed (I use Kitchen Aid) for 1 minute so that the flour won't be flying around, then increase to speed 2 and knead for 2-3 minutes. Increase speed to 4 and knead for 8-10 minutes. The dough should be smooth, flexible, and slightly sticky to the touch (don't be tempted to add flour). If you gently and slowly stretch the dough, it can stretch very thin without breaking.
Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl for 1st proofing
If kneading the dough by hands:
If you knead by hands, combine the bread flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the oil and water and use a spatula to stir to combine into a rough dough. Cover and let the dough rest for 20 minutes
After 20 minutes, gather the edge of the dough and pull it to the center and do that 5-6 times and then transfer to a lightly floured work surface and start kneading the dough, with a motion like you are washing a cloth. The dough will be sticky but don't keep adding flour. As you knead, the dough will get lets sticky since the gluten starts to develop. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, it may take 10-15 minutes to reach there, or longer, depending on how your knead it. It is important that you knead the dough until it's smooth and elastic
Once the dough is smooth and elastic, transfer to an oiled bowl for 1st proofing
1st proofing:
Let the dough proof at a warm place for about 1 hour or until it doubles in size. Don't go by the time, but observe the dough. If you poke your finger into the dough and the indentations stays, that means the dough is done proofing
Punch the dough down to release air and transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface, smooth side facing down. You can also divide the dough into 2 or 3. Lightly dust the rolling pin with some flour and start rolling out the dough (work with one dough at a time if you divide into 2 or 3), into a rectangle, push out any air bubbles in the process of rolling
Then start rolling the dough down and lightly tuck it in as you roll (as shown in the photo above). You will get a log. Transfer this into a loaf pan and slightly push the dough down to fit the pan
If you divide into 2 or, arrange each log inside the pan, side by side
2nd proofing:
Cover the pan with a cling wrap so you can see how far it has proofed. Let it proof at a warm place until it reaches about 2 inches below the top rim. This may take somewhere from 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the temperature. I will start checking at around 30 minutes. Once the dough is about 2 inches below the top rim, cover with a lid if you are using a Pullman tin
Baking:
10 minutes before the end of proofing time, preheat oven to 375 F /190 C
If you are using Pullman pan with the lid, bake for 30-35 minutes. If you bake in a regular loaf pan, bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top crust is golden brown
Check for doneness:
If using Pullman tin, slide the lid open. The internal temperature of the bread has to be at least 190 F (87 C) if you measure it with a digital thermometer. You can also use a skewer and poke it into the middle of the bread. It should come out clean with just a few moist crumbs. If it has lots of damp crumb and/or uncooked dough, it needs more oven time. Try to bake another 5 minutes and check again
You can also check by tapping the bottom of the bread. It should sound hollow. But I don't recommend doing this if you bake with a Pullman tin because the bread will collapse if you get the bread out of the tin and it happens to be underbaked. I recommend using a skewer/toothpick test or digital thermometer to check
Cool down:
Let the bread stays inside the pan for 2-3 minutes and then turn it out to a wire rack to let it cool down completely before slicing, about 2 hours or so. If you bake without the lid and want a softer crust, you can brush the crust with some melted butter