Bread Machine - Basic White Sandwich Bread recipe

Once upon a time, many moons ago, I convinced Corry to buy me a bread machine.  In order to convince him to buy me one, I had to promise that I would use it all the time.  Fast forward to yesterday and we had only used it a handful of times and I had never used it by myself.  Less than ideal results on my part. 

I decided yesterday that I wanted to start using our bread machine primarily to make our sandwich bread.  Our household typically eats at least 4 sandwiches per day, so we go through a lot of bread in a month.  Because I am trying to reduce our trips to the grocery, this seems like a step in the correct direction.  Plus, since I am using a bread machine, this is possibly the easiest thing that I have baked in months. 

This recipe makes a 1.5-2 lb loaf of awesome white sandwich bread.  It has a slight sweetness to it and a super thin crust that does an amazing job of helping the bread hold it's shape and is absolutely perfect for a sandwich or toast.  We allow ours to sit out after cooking for a few hours to cool and to develop a bit of a tougher crust because we light a more crusty bread. 

Basic White Sandwich Bread
1.5 - 2lb loaf
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 3 hours in bread machine

3 cups flour - the recommendation is bread flour, but I use A/P and it works fine
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 & 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons white sugar
2 & 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 cup warm water - recommended 110 degrees Fahrenheit

• Mix water and yeast together and set aside.  You are not waiting for the yeast to fully activate but you do want them combined while you measure and add the other ingredients to the pan. 
• Add all other ingredients and pour water & yeast mixture over the top. 
• Start machine - should run for 3 hours in a bread machine.  We say medium color, size 2lbs, and sandwich bread. 

We cut ours into slices as we use it.  You could also slice it as soon as it is done in the machine.  Because there are no preservatives in this bread it will mold quickly so you will want to eat in 2-3 days. 

More bread machine recipes to come!!