This bread was a big surprise. It rises overnight in the refrigerator. I wasn’t sure about it all the way to the tasting. Then…. WOW! Makes 2 loaves.
For the bread:
- 4 ¼ cups (542 grams) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 envelope instant yeast 2 ¼ teaspoons,7 grams, or ¼ ounce
- 4 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1 ¼ cups hot tap water
For the egg wash:
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon tap water
- soft butter for greasing the pans
Combine flour, sugar, yeast and salt in a medium-large bowl. Stir well to combine then make a well in the center.
Melt butter in the
microwave for 30-45 seconds on high power, until just melted. Remove
from microwave and add the ¼ cup of milk. Stir with a fork then add the
egg and stir again until well mixed.
Add the milk mixture to the
well in the center of the flour. Add the very warm tap water to the
well then stir to combine. Continue stirring until all flour is
incorporated. Cover the dough and place in refrigerator overnight, 8-16
hours.
Generously butter two 8×5-inch loaf pans (I use metal pans)
Generously flour a work
surface and transfer the dough to the work surface. Turn several times
with a bench scraper or spatula until the dough is well coated with
flour.
Using a bench scraper or spatula, divide the dough in half. Turn each piece in the flour to coat all of the surfaces. Add more flour to the work surface if needed.
Take one piece of the dough and flatten it out with your hands or a rolling pin into a rectangle shape with the long side slightly longer than one of your bread pans. Turn to coat both sides lightly with flour if any of the surfaces are sticky. If dough is stiff from being chilled, let it rest on the counter for 10 minutes.
Roll up tightly like a cinnamon roll, then tuck the ends under and shape with your hands into a loaf. Place in one of the prepared pans.
Repeat with remaining piece of dough. Cover the pans with a clean kitchen towel and let the bread rise again until the loaves look like they’ve doubled in size, about 2-3 hours (if your house is chilly, it may be on the longer side.
When the loaves are close
to being doubled in size, preheat the oven to 350˚F. Prepare the egg
wash by vigorously whisking together one large egg with 1 tablespoon of
water.
With a pastry brush, brush
each loaf over the top with the egg wash. Try to be careful not to let
the wash drip down the sides of the loaves into the pan.
Place loaves in the preheated oven for 18-25 minutes or until golden brown (25 minutes in my oven). Check it after 15 minutes. If it’s getting too brown on the top, cover it with foil for the last 3-8 minutes. (Larger loaves will take longer.) Bread will be ready when internal temperature reaches 200-210 degrees. Remove bread from pans and transfer to a cooling rack. (If bread is stuck to the side of the pan anywhere (from the egg wash), loosen it with a small thin-bladed knife.) Bread is around 190 degrees internal temperature when done.
Adapted from The Cafe Sucrene Farine and Alexandra Cooks
