James Beard's Basic Home-style Bread

Total Time: 5 hrs 45 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 5 hrs

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 2 cups warm milk, 100 to 115 deg
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 5 -6 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 egg , lightly beaten (optional)

Recipe

• 1 add the yeast to 1/2 cup of the warm milk, along with 2 tbl sugar, and stir well until the yeast in completely dissolved. allow the yeast to proof.
• 2 place the remaining milk, butter and salt in a bowl. (beard liked a lot of salt, and i would use less). stir in the flour, 1 cup at a time, with a wooden spoon.
• 3 after the third cup, add the yeast mixture. continue stirring in flour until the mixture is rather firm, which should take about 4 to 5 cups.
• 4 remove the dough to a floured board and knead, adding more flour as necessary, until it is supple, satiny and no longer sticky.
• 5 butter a bowl and place the dough in it, turning to coat all sides with the fat. cover and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• 6 deflate the dough by punching firmly two or three times, return to the floured board, and knead 4 to 5 minutes more.
• 7 divide into two equal parts and shape into loaves. place in well-buttered 9x5x3 in loaf tins, cover, and let rise again until doubled in bulk.
• 8 slash the loaves with a sharp knife and brush with lightly beaten egg or water.
• 9 bake in a 400 deg. oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped with the knuckles.
• 10 remove the loaves from the pans and put them back in the oven a few minutes longer to become crisped.