No-Knead White Sandwich Loaf

This has been an epic summer. Heat waves, moving trucks, road trips and a newly retired husband. It’s been fun and fast. Moving is bittersweet, if I’m being honest, because I miss my house/friends/neighbors/family in Minneapolis and am also looking forward to our new life.

I promise to reveal my landing spot soon, but I have learned the hard way, not to count on something until it is a done deal. Signed contract in hand. We close on our new home next month and then I can share the details. Thank you for asking and being on this journey with me. I can’t wait to settle down a bit (as much as my personality will allow) and nest in my new house.

For now Graham and I are staying at my aunt and uncle’s home in upstate NY, which is also near where Henri has been living out the farm life. Never, ever would I have predicted he’d take to farming as naturally as he has. He farms in the morning and runs Wink Coffee* remotely the rest of the day. It’s just about the perfect summer.

Within hours of landing at my aunt’s house, I baked a loaf of bread. After three days of driving across country, packed in tight with our poodles, it was what I craved. I didn’t only crave a slice of bread, but also I needed to bake. Baking bread calms me. Baking bread smells like home. Baking bread makes me feel settled and happy. With my 5-minute recipe it is easy and fast and I can do it anywhere, even when all of my equipment is packed on the back of a truck.

Many folks who have joined my baking journey more recently may not know that I wrote a best-selling bread series, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, before the Zoë Bakes Cakes & Cookies books. My bread co-author and I wrote the first book in 2005, which came out in 2007, closing in on 20 years ago. Time sure flies. Jeff and I had hoped to make bread simple and fast enough that people would bake fresh loaves at home. It worked! The books have sold nearly 1 million copies and we’ve taught countless people to bake bread.

This simple loaf of homemade white bread is made with 6 ingredients and comes together with nothing but a wooden spoon or Danish dough whisk* (one of my top 5 kitchen tools, more listed below). It takes only 5 minutes of active time to make and you have fresh bread your family will LOVE! The recipe makes enough dough for two large loaves that you can bake up all at once, or save the dough in the refrigerator for when the mood strikes.

The boys grew up baking with me. I even taught this bread method in their school. Baking bread with kids is such a fun way to talk about science (the reaction of the yeast and gluten structure), math (measuring the ingredients), artistry (they would create different shapes to bake, usually Pokémon), and the satisfaction of making their own food. It’s perfect for all ages.