I am looking for bread recipes to make bread that will good for sandwiches to pack in my children's lunches. I am trying to incorporate more frugality and healthier options into our food budget. Any suggestions would be appreciated. 

King Arthur Flour's website has many bread recipes. Their King Arthur Classic White Sandwich Bread would be a good choice.

Taste of Home has a lot of interesting choices.  I have never had a bad recipe from there.   www.tasteofhome.com

Another thing to consider would be a bread machine.  I used to have one and made a loaf every week.  It was perfect for sandwiches, easy to do, and I could control what went in it - ie no preservatives or chemicals.  I did find that the liquid part of a Vitamin E capsule (puncture it and squeeze the liquid into the batter) would make the bread last longer and stay fresher for days.  It can be set up in the evening and you can have fresh baked bread for breakfast, or set up in the morning with a loaf ready when you get home from work.  Bread machines are inexpensive if you look for them.  Sometimes I see them at the thrift stores still in their boxes.  The only reason I gave mine up is that I moved to a high altitude and it just didn't work anymore, they are not adjustable for high altitude.

One thing, you will have better results if you use bread flour instead of all purpose.  The bread flour has a higher gluten content so the bread will rise higher and have a better texture.

The King Arthur site has recipes for both handmade and machine made bread.  Have fun!!

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/bread

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/bread-machine

 I second the King Arthur flour site reccomendation. My own neglected baking blog has a fantastic recipe by Elinor Klivans for a delicious, and fast sandwich bread.

Check it out; www.babettebakes.com

Cheers!

Elizabeth

EASIEST WHITE BREAD ON THE PLANET

1 1/4 cp warm (not hot water)            1 pkg yeast (envelope)            2 tsp salt

2 tbsp shortening (crisco type)            2 tbsp sugar                             3 cp flour - sifted

Grease and flour a loaf pan, oven to 375.  Stir yeast into warm water until it dissolves.  Add shortening, sugar and salt.  Stir.  Add flour a cup at a time and blend thoroughly after each addition until well blended and it pulls away from the sides of the bowl.  Cover bowl with towel and sit in warm place to raise for 30 to 45 minutes or until almost double in size.  Take a large spoon and stir down for 25 strokes.  Cover hands with flour, remove bowl from loaf pan and gently pat down into the loaf pan until it is smooth on tom.  Cover and let stand in warm place until dough reaches about 1/2 - 3/4" from top of pan.  Bake at 375 for 35-45 minutes until golden brown and when thumped it sounds hollow.  Brush top with butter and let cool before serving.

This recipe is from a 1960s Betty Crocker cookbook.  I've made it for 40+ years, it is fantastic and so easy.  I usually make 2 or 3 loaves at a time, as I eat one right out of the oven.  There  are no preservatives so it won't last long, seal it up 

As I write this I am trying out the Artisan Bread in 5 minutes per day cookbook.  I will keep everyone posted. 

If this works, we are never buying bread in the grocery store again. The kind we like now costs $4.59 PER LOAF.  Forgeddabaddet. 

I made the artisan bread and it is very good--very rustic bread, heavy and dense.  A nice crusty crust.  But I can't recall it slicing nicely into slices.  I have also made many different yeast breads over the years---delicious---but the same problem, none of them slice nicely.  More like slabs or torn pieces.  However, since nothing is as good as homemade bread and butter, I keep making it.  But I just can't make sandwiches with it.  

So I am hoping someone will find the one recipe that actually does slice! 

Stephanie, I would look into your knife and your technique rather than the bread. Especially with a hard crusted bread You need a very sharp serrated knife and a light hand. 

I don't know whether I want to drive everyone crazy with this recipe or not.  But, it makes the best bread and rolls.

This is a wild yeast bread so it tastes different depending on where you are in the world. 

Make the starter and leave it in the refrigerator for 3 to 14 days.

Step I:

Take starter our of fridge, add 1 cup warm water, 3/4 cup Sugar, 3 Tbsp Instant Potato Flakes Let it set out for 12 hours.  Use a large jar for this and put a piece of aluminum foil over the top of the jar with a 1 inch slit in it. 

Step II:

In large bowl combine

      1 1/2 cup warm Water, 1 Tbsp Salt, 1/3 cup Sugar, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, and 1 cup Starter (put remaining starter back in fridge.) 6 cups bread flour.  put dough into large greased bowl.  Cover tightly with foil.  Let the dough set out 12 hours.

Step III:

Punch dogh down - divide into 3 parts.  Knead each part about 5 times.  Grease pans (makes 3 large loaves or 3 to 4 dozen rolls.)  Brush tops of bread with vegetable oil.  cover loosely with waxed paper.  Let dough set out 12 hours.

Step IV:

Bake at 350F about 20 minutes.  Brush tops with melted margarine or butter while hot (this will make it less crusty)

I'm at step two and can't wait.  When I brought home Sister Lester's rolls my roommate and I ate them up in about an hour.  I'm normally not a bread person but these were great.

Tammy, what is 'starter'?  How do you make it?  I am not getting that part.

I am struggling a little with my Artisan Bread.  The first batch was too dry and didn't rise properly.  the second batch was too wet and didn't bake well but tastes great.  I added a cup of artichoke tapenade to the dough.  It is as easy as they say, but I think my altitude problem in what is going on.  I am encouraged to keep trying.  I can't imagine doing it without a Kitchenaid mixer though.  I couldn't do it by hand for sure. The recipe is adamant that you not knead the dough and I couldn't get the flour mixed in without the Kitchenaid.

A starter is a culture of wild yeast.  In the case of my recipe it is the warm water, sugar and potato flakes.  If you leave it out for a few days it will culture wild yeast that you can then use as the mixture to cause your bread to rise. 

Friends rave about Mark Bittman's basic bread recipe. They say it's the easiest ever, and fool-proof. It's in his cookbooks, and I'm sure on line if you google his name and bread.

But it does require starter. Baking is challenging for me, and I shy away from breads that need starter!!!

I have one of bittman's cookbooks.  I can not recommend the recipes in them.  They maybe ok as a jumping off point but I have yet made one up that gave me anything that I would write home about.

If you buy dry yeast and bloom it in warm water you are using a starter.  Only difference is time and no package and a better rise when you use a homemade starter. 

I've never made bread before but im intrigued. do I need a bread maker? or can I use those glass loaf pans?

Pamela, how high up are you?  I am in a mountain area, and need to make some adjustments to bread recipes to make them work.  I had to sell my bread machine because it just wouldn't make bread when I moved up here.  King Arthur Flour High Altitude Baking

Starter is a way of baking using a bloomed yeast that has had a few days to ferment, so you get a sourdough bread.  How to Start Starter

Madeline, you can make bread without a bread machine, it was done that way for centuries.  You can use glass loaf pans, or just free form the dough and bake on a cookie sheet - depends on the recipe.  You will need to do the kneading by hand, and have a warm place for it to rise (or proof) without drafts.  Have fun!  Nothing (except maybe chocolate chip cookies) makes a house smell more wonderful than baking bread.