Chilean white sandwich bread, or pan de molde blanco, is a soft homemade loaf made with wheat flour, fresh yeast, a little sugar, butter, and powdered milk, baked in a loaf pan. It takes about 3 hours of preparation, most of it rising time, plus 40 to 50 minutes in the oven, and makes 12 slices.
It is an easy and inexpensive bread with a tender, fluffy crumb that you can slice for breakfast, sandwiches, or toast, and serve with butter or jam.
How to Make Chilean White Sandwich Bread?
Pan de molde is a lightly enriched dough. The yeast is first activated in warm water with the sugar, then kneaded with the flour, powdered milk, salt, butter, and the rest of the water, left to double in size, shaped into a roll, given a second rise in the buttered pan, and baked until golden.
Nutritional Information
Each slice of white sandwich bread (1/12 of the loaf) contains approximately 200 kcal, 5 g of protein, 2 g of total fat (1 g of saturated fat), 5 mg of cholesterol, 35 g of carbohydrates, 3 g of sugars, and 300 mg of sodium. These values are estimates and may vary depending on ingredients and portion sizes.
Homemade Chilean White Sandwich Bread Recipe
Preparation: 3 hours (including two rises)
Cooking: 40 to 50 minutes
Servings: 12 slices
Ingredients
- 500 g (4 cups) of all purpose wheat flour
- 300 ml (1¼ cups) of warm water
- 15 g of fresh yeast (or 5 g of instant dry yeast)
- 3 tablespoons of sugar
- 2 tablespoons of butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons of powdered milk
- 1½ teaspoons of salt
Instructions
- Dissolve the yeast and sugar in about 100 ml of the warm water and let it rest for 5 minutes, or until it starts to bubble.
- In a large bowl, sift the flour and make a well in the center. Add the powdered milk, salt, yeast mixture, butter, and the remaining 200 ml of warm water. Knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and no longer sticks to your hands. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let it rise for 90 minutes, or until doubled in size.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll it into a rectangle as wide as your loaf pan. Roll it up and place it seam side down in a buttered loaf pan, spreading it evenly. Cover with a clean towel and let it rise for another 90 minutes.
- Bake in an oven preheated to 180°C (356°F) for 40 to 50 minutes, until the top is golden and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry. Unmold and let it cool before slicing. Serve warm or cold with butter or jam.
Additional Tips
Check that the yeast is alive
If no foam appears on the water after 5 minutes, the yeast is inactive and the bread will not rise. Use water that feels warm on your wrist, around 37°C (99°F), since hot water kills the yeast.
Let it cool before slicing
Cutting the loaf while hot squashes the crumb and makes it gummy. Wait at least 30 minutes so the steam can finish setting the inside.
Make a whole wheat version
Replace 350 g of the white flour with whole wheat or multigrain flour. If the dough feels stiff, add a little liquid milk until it reaches the right texture.
| Original ingredient | Substitute | Ratio | Flavor note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fresh yeast (15 g) | Instant dry yeast | 5 g | Same result, mix it straight into the flour |
| Powdered milk | Liquid milk | Replace 100 ml of the water | Slightly richer crumb |
| Butter | Vegetable oil | 1:1 | Softer, less flavor |
| White flour | Whole wheat flour | Up to 350 g | Denser, nuttier |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. How long does sandwich bread need to rise?
It has two rises of 90 minutes each. The first is in the bowl, covered with a towel, until the dough doubles in size. The second is after shaping, inside the buttered loaf pan with the seam facing down. That is why the whole process takes about 3 hours before baking.
2. How do I know when the bread is done?
Bake it for 40 to 50 minutes at 180°C (356°F) in a preheated oven. It is ready when the top is golden and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry. Then unmold it and let it cool before slicing.
3. Why do I have to wait for the yeast to bubble?
The bubbles show that the yeast is active. In this recipe, 15 g of fresh yeast and the sugar are dissolved in about 100 ml of warm water for 5 minutes. If no foam appears, the yeast is not working and the bread will not rise.
4. What makes homemade sandwich bread soft?
It is a lightly enriched dough with sugar, butter, and powdered milk, which give it a soft, tender, fluffy crumb. Kneading for about 10 minutes and allowing both rises to finish also helps.
What Is Pan de Molde?
Pan de molde is the Spanish name for sandwich bread baked in a rectangular pan, or molde. Its square slices and thin crust make it the standard bread for toast, sandwiches, and canapés in Chilean homes, as an alternative to the everyday marraqueta and hallulla.
Origin of Sliced Sandwich Bread
Sliced bread was first sold in 1928 by the Chillicothe Baking Company in Missouri, using a slicing machine designed by the American inventor Otto Frederick Rohwedder. It was marketed as Kleen Maid Sliced Bread and was so successful that sliced loaves soon spread across the United States and the rest of the world.
Did You Know?
The expression “the best thing since sliced bread” was born from that invention, and today pan de molde is one of the most common breads in supermarkets around the world, including Chile.
How to adapt this recipe to a vegan or vegetarian version?
How to adapt this recipe to a gluten-free version?
How to adapt this recipe to a keto (ketogenic) version?
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