Basic White Bread

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.04

Title: Basic White Bread
Categories: Polkadot, Faylen, Breads
Yield: 3 Loaves

2 c Milk
1 Stick butter (1/2 cup)
2 pk Active dry yeast
1/3 c Warm water
1 tb Sugar
2 Eggs
1/4 c Molasses or brown sugar
1/2 ts Salt
7 -8 c unbleached
-all-purpose
-flour (approximately)

In a saucepan, heat the milk and butter over a low flame until the
milk is scalded (brought just short of boiling). Set aside to cool.
If quick cooling is necessary, fill a bowl with ice water and set the
saucepan inside, stirring milk mixture until lukewarm, no cooler.
(baby bottle temperature.)

In a mixing bowl, dissolve the sugar and yeast in the water. Set in a
warm place for 20 minutes, until a sponge is formed. Add the milk,
eggs, molasses or brown sugar, and salt, and mix. Add flour a cup at
a time until dough is stiff enough to work by hand. Turn dough out
onto a floured board and knead until elastic (until dough stops
coming off on your hands!) Grease the inside of a large bowl, put
the dough in, then turn the dough to coat the top with grease. Cover
bowl with a wet tea towel (not dripping, just wet!) and set in a warm
place to rise for about an hour or until double. (If you have a gas
oven with a pilot, this is perfect. So is the top of the
refrigerator.)

Punch the dough down, knead it briefly, then re-cover it in the bowl
and set it aside to rise for another hour. Punch the dough down
again, knead it for about a minute, then divide it into three equal
parts. Form each portion into a loaf, and place into a greased loaf
pan (if you made a seam in the loaves when forming them, place the
seam at the bottom.) Cover with a moist towel and let the loaves rise
about 45 minutes, until the tops of the loaves are just above the top
edge of the pans.

After 30 minutes of this rising, preheat the oven to 375 degrees (350
for glass pans). For a chewier top crust, you can brush on a mixture
of one beaten egg and a Tablespoon of water before placing the loaves
in the oven. (for a moister crust, bake plain, then rub a stick of
butter over the hot loaves until the top crust is lightly coated as
the loaves are cooling on a rack.) Bake the loaves for 35-40 minutes.
The crust should be golden brown, and the loaves will sound hollow
when rapped with a knuckle. Remove from pans immediately and place on
wire racks to cool. Cool completely before storing in any airtight
container.

* The Polka Dot Palace BBS 1-201-822-3627 Posted by FAYLEN

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