I have been making this great sandwich and toasting bread for a few years and it is one of my favourites. Since it’s Spring and I needed some great toast to enjoy my Homemade Maple Butter with, I thought I’d share it.
Delicious yeast bread made with maple syrup, this bread makes great toasting bread as it really brings out the subtle flavour of the maple.
This bread makes excellent toast. That may sound obvious, but trust me, not all homemade bread makes good toast. It’s something about the texture and some are definitely better than others. It also slices beautifully. No crumbly or crushed slices with this bread.
There’s only 1/4 cup of maple syrup in this bread, so it’s maple flavour is subtle. Toasting brings the maple flavour out a bit more. It’s also nice to use a natural sugar in my homemade bread, when I can. If you’d like to add a little whole wheat flour, you can replace up to 1/2 of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat (note that this may make a smaller/denser loaf).
Makes one large loaf.
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 1/4 tsp. active dry or instant yeast
- 1/4 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
- 1 tsp. sugar or maple sugar
- 1 egg, beaten
- 4 cups (approximately) unbleached all-purpose flour
- Place milk, maple syrup, butter and salt in a saucepan and scald (heat to just below boiling – when steam rises). Allow to cool to lukewarm.
- Dissolve yeast in the 1/4 cup of warm water along with the tsp. of sugar.Stir and set aside for five minutes until the mixture becomes frothy. Transfer the milk mixture to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a kneading hook. Stir in the yeast mixture and then the beaten egg.
- Stir in two cups of the flour and stir to combine. Start adding more flour in 1/2 cup increments, until the dough forms a ball and is smooth, but not sticky.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead for about eight minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking.
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl, turn the dough to oil on all sides, cover lightly and set aside to rise until doubled, about an hour.
- Turn onto a lightly floured board and roll dough into a rectangle about nine by 12 inches. Roll up jellyroll style, starting from the narrow side. Pinch the seam and ends closed.
- Place the dough seam side down into a greased 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan.
- Cover and set in a warm place to rise until doubled, about 45 minutes (dough should crest that pan by about an inch in the centre).
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Bake for about 45 minutes, until well browned.
- Remove from pan and allow to cool on a rack before slicing.
Adapted from The Wednesday Chef
Hi Jennifer,
Thank you so much for the recipe! We love it, I used bread flour, it turns out huge and tastes good!
BTW, can I substitute maple syrup with honey or golden syrup?
Thanks
Hi Siam and so glad you are enjoying this bread :) And yes, you can substitute honey or golden syrup. Obviously there would be a slight change in flavour and possibly a small change in amount of flour needed. Thanks!
Hi Jennifer,
Can I use bread flour instead of all-time purpose flour?
Hi Jennifer,
Oops sorry, can I use bread flour instead of all- purpose flour I mean…
Yes you can, Anne :)
Hi Jennifer,
Thank you for the recipe! We LOVE it! It’s so easy, and your recipe is accurate (rising times).
Yesterday I doubled the recipe! (I’m going out of town and one loaf is for my family who is NOT GOING and the other one is for the road (we’re driving), and my out of town family. I experimented, adding 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup ground flaxseed. The loaves still rose beautifully (and timely). Before baking I brushed with egg white, and sprinkled on more ground flaxseed and chia seed. It tastes AMAZING!!!! And it makes a beautifully shaped, HUGE loaf of bread!
My husband and stepson are not health food enthusiasts, and they loved it!
Thanks Carolyn and so glad you enjoyed it! I love your whole wheat version :) I’ve had great luck when I keep the whole wheat flour to 1/4-1/3 (in terms of loaf size/density). Seeds are always a nice addition and I don’t find they affect the rise at all.
Oh my your bread looks so perfect! I have only made bread once and it sure did not look like this. I have been wanting to learn to make it so bad and your recipe looks easy not sure if it is but I’m going to try it.
Thanks so much, Beth. Hope you try it. The best way is to just jump in and practice makes perfect!
There is nothing quite like homemade bread and this looks particularly yummy. Can’t wait to try it. Thanks.
I’m sure you will enjoy this bread.
Thanks Kathy. I love one big loaf for a change, too. I always have to freeze the second when the batch makes two, because we just can’t eat that much bread before it goes stale.
Your bread looks perfect! It’s nice to know that this bread slices well and toasts well! Also, love that it only makes one loaf. So many of my bread recipes make several loaves at a time. I will be trying this soon!
This sounds delicious! And I love how your knife says, “bread” on the bottom of the handle! Where did you get it?
Thanks Ruthy. Yes, I have a set of these knives and they all say what they are for on the bottom. I guess so there’s no confusion :) I don’t even remember where I got them. I’ve had them for many, many years.
Oh I love a good piece or two of hot buttered toast with my tea before bed. Your bread always looks so gorgeous Jennifer!
Thanks Renee. I can only credit it to years of practice :)