Looking for a simple bread recipe to create a solid sandwich loaf? Then this isthe bread you need. A Caribbean butter bread loaf that is smooth and sturdy.Perfect for eating alone or creating the perfect sandwich.
I always have a resolution that I am going to eat less flour.And I usually always fail.
But it's hard when I want to share withyou guys my food. I could NOT share this homemade bread recipe with you guys. Sohere's to breaking resolutions.
Baking bread is an integral part ofthe community in the Caribbean. We bake and we share. It's never one or twoloaves.
White bread is usually my go-to bread, and this butter breadis one of those on the top of my list.
What is butter bread?
This Caribbean butter bread is a type of bread that is smooth and dousedin butter during the folding process. It's a nice buttery, soft inside, firmoutside loaf.
This bread is sandwich bread, like the hard dough bread.
Caribbean people especially bought a lot of this butter bread loaf andhops bread from the bakery. Peopleespecially loved it with butter or some cheese or even guava jelly on it.
What makes butter bread different from other bread recipes is that we don't make these in loaf pans.
Ingredients for butter bread, Caribbean style
This bread recipe, like most basic bread, uses simple ingredients. Thereisn't anything extravagant needed from your pantry.
- All-purpose flour
- Salt
- Butter
- Granulated sugar
- Instant yeast
- Vegetable shortening
- Whole milk,
- Warm water
Equipment for making butter bread
- Mixer with the dough hook attachment (optional)
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Rolling pin
- Plastic wrap
How to make butter bread
I always make my bread in my Kitchen-Aid mixer. For me, it beats thehassle.
I throw all my ingredients into the bowl, put on my doughhook, and let the motor do the mixing.
I don't have the mixer on toohigh of a speed when using the hook. I do make sure it runs long enough toactivate the gluten in the flour. A moderate speed (Speed 2) is good.
KitchenAidsays thatkneading for 2 minutes in your mixer is equivalent to kneading for 10-12 minutes by hand.It's sometimes a good idea to lightly oil the dough hook prior to using it.This helps the dough to not "climb" when the mixture starts to come together.
Also,note that if the dough is continuously "climbing" it has been mixed enough.
Thefirst thing is to make sure you have your baking sheet ready before getting yourdough ready to roll.
In your mixer bowl, or in a large mixing bowl,combine your dry ingredients of flour, yeast, salt, and sugar.
Thenadd your wet ingredients of shortening, milk, and warm water to the flourmixture until a smooth, soft dough ball is formed.
Once completed,leave the mixture in the bowl, and cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Thiswe will leave for about an hour so that it yields.
When your hour is up, and your dough has at least doubled, punch themixture down.
Then go ahead and divide it into two parts.
Nowwould be a good to time get your oven on and preheated. (see tip below)
Now we want to roll each dough out on an oiled surface or you canalso use a silicone pad. You can also try a lightly floured surface, but becareful not to add too much extra flour.
Try to get it into as muchof a circle as you can.
Take some of your melted butter now, andbrush that all over the rolled-out smooth dough.
Now we need to roll the dough in as tightly as possible slowly.Don't worry about butter being pushed out. But do roll slowly.
Placethe rolled bread dough on the baking sheet with parchment paper. This bread is abit soft and long so you need to be careful when moving to the sheet. Havingyour sheet ready and close by is important.
Also, be mindful of wherethe end seam is on the roll and where you want to place it on the baking sheet.I prefer to put the end of the roll at the bottom so that when it's baking,there's less likely a chance of it opening up.
Leave the loaves to yield again for another 20 minutes.
Justbefore you are going to place the sheet in the preheated oven, brush the loavesof bread with whatever melted butter you have leftover.
Bake for 20 -25 minutes, until golden brown. Cooking time can vary based on your oven. Butyou basically want it to be a nice golden brown.
How can I tell my bread is done?
Sometimes gauging that your bread is baked and ready to come out cansometimes be a little tricky. After numerous failures, here are three thingsthat help me verify.
1.The color of the bread is a nice golden brown. If I see palespots here and there I usually give it a little more time to finish up.
2.Take the internal temperature of the bread. I use myinstant-read thermometer to verify that the internal temperature is about 190degrees. (sometimes to 200)
3.The bread has a hollow sound. When I tap on the bottom of theloaf, there is a hollow sound.
Best way to store homemade bread
After all that work, we would want to make sure we get to keep this breadas fresh as possible for as long as we can.
Using a bread boxis always a great option. Some of them keep the temperature perfect for thebread to avoid fast molding. If you don't have a bread box, a good airtightcontainer will be a great substitute.
You can alsowrap the bread in plastic wrap. It retains the moisture of the loaf but it does let bread that is crispy onthe outside lose its hard crust.
Freezing bread in slices hasbeen the best thing I've been doing. I would wait until the bread is cool, sliceit up into individual slices, then freeze the loaf.
Can I make this in a bread machine?
This bread can also be made in a bread machine if you have one. Justfollow their process directions as this may vary depending on the machine.
Tips for baking bread
Here are a few things that helped me along my bread baking journey.
Pick the best yeast:There are two types: Dry active and Instant/Rapid Rise. Dry active yeast must beactivated in warm water before use (see tip below for temperature ofwater).Instant yeast can just be added as-is.
Be careful of the water temperature.Be careful of how hot you make the water that you are going to use. Slightlywarm water works best. You can do a heat test by putting two fingers all the wayinto the water. If while you are pulling it out slowly it's too hot, then thewater is too hot for the yeast.
Store your yeast well.Store dry yeast in the freezer once it has been opened. Unopened yeastshould be stored in a cool dry place. It keeps the best there.
Preheat your oven. Try to make sure that it's heated for at least 20 minutes before you put yourbread in there.
Let the bread cool. Well, I fail at this allthe time. Hot bread and cheese are a must when the bread is baking. But it isdefinitely better to cut cooled bread. There are no cracking or indentationsmade. If you look at my main pic you might see a crack in the bread. Yup, Isliced this as soon as it came out to take pics. I also find it better to slicethe bread up side down. (bottom of loaf facing up) It gives a cleaner cut.
Good items to have to bake bread:
A baking stone: Something I need to invest in for myself. Not just for bread but also for pizza. A baking stone helps to create a crust that doesn't crack and allows the bread to bake all the way through and not over brown
Oven thermometer:this little gadget will let you know for sure what the temperature of your bread/meat is and not just based on your oven's digital reading
Scale: This makes the measuring of dry ingredients (especially flour) much easier. An off measure of flour can easily mess your bread up.
Baking Sheet: Perfect for baking things that do not fit into the traditional loaf pans.
If you were able to make this recipe, please let me know and give me a rating on the recipe card.
