BREADS - RICH WHITE BREAD

Makes 2 loaves

1 ½ cups hot water (120F-130F)

½ cup nonfat dry milk

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

2 packages dry yeast [I use 1]

5 ½ to 6 cups bread or all-purpose flour, approximately

2 tablespoons lard or butter, room temperature

2 eggs, room temperature

MIXING

Pour the hot water into a mixer bowl and stir in the milk, sugar, salt, yeast, and 3 cups flour.  Blend.  Add the lard or butter and eggs.  Beat with a spoon until the batter is smooth and sheets off the spoon, or at medium speed with the mixer flat beater for 2 minutes.

Stir in the balance of the flour, ½ cup at a time, first with the spoon and then by hand.  The dough will be a rough, shaggy mass that will clean the sides of the bowl.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl with your fingertips or with a plastic scraper. 

KNEADING

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead with the rhythmic motion of push-turn-fold for about 8 minutes.  The dough will become smooth and elastic.  Sprinkle more flour on the dough if it sticks to your hands or the sides of the mixer bowl.

FIRST RISING

Place the dough in the bowl and pat with buttered fingers to keep the surface from forming a crust.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until the dough has doubled in bulk, about 1½ hours.  If prepared with a new fast-rising yeast at the recommended higher temperatures, reduce the rising times by about half.

SECOND RISING

Turn back the plastic wrap and punch down the dough with fingers.  Fold toward the center and turn over.  Re-cover and let it rise until three-quarters doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes.

SHAPING

Knead the dough for a few moments to press out the bubbles.  Divide the dough into 2 pieces.  Shape into balls, and let rest for 3 or 4 minutes.

Form each loaf by pressing a dough ball into a flat oval, roughly the length of the baking pan.  Fold the oval in half, pinch the seam tightly to seal, tuck under the ends, and place in the pan, seam down.

THIRD RISING

Cover the loaves with wax or parchment paper and leave until the center of the dough has risen to 1” above the edge of the pan, about 50 minutes. 

BAKING

Preheat the oven to 400F 20 minutes before baking.

Bake the loaves until the crusts are golden brown and loose in their pans, about 35 minutes.  Midway during baking and again near the end of it, shift the pans so the loaves are equally exposed to temperature variations.  When done, remove the loaves from the pans and thump the bottom crust with the forefinger.  A hard hollow sound indicates the bread is baked.  If using a convection oven, reduce heat 40F. 

Cool the loaves on a metal rack before slicing.  This bread will stay fresh for several days because of the high butterfat content.  Freezes well. 

NOTE: For a soft crust, brush the loaves with melted butter while they are cooling and cover with a tea towel for 30 minutes. 

From Bernard Clayton’s New Complete Book of Breads by Bernard Clayton.