White Bread

I needed a break from super-wet, large-holed, crusty-type breads, and this simple white bread was exactly what I wanted.

I've been making this recipe for what really does seem like forever, but today I varied it by using bread flour and vital wheat gluten. It made a much heavier, firmer loaf with better crust development. I also used non-fat dry milk (reconstituted) rather than the whole milk I would ordinarily use. The results are impressive. I'm attributing the higher rise to the wheat gluten, though I cannot be certain it wasn't the flour. Either way, this ended up being a sturdy bread that I cannot wait to have as toast in the morning.

You Will Need:

2 1/4 teaspoons granulated dry yeast (not instant)

1/4 cup lukewarm water

2 cups milk, scalded

1/4 cup unsalted butter

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons sugar

8 teaspoons vital wheat gluten

5-6 cups bread flour

Proof the yeast in the warm water. Scald the milk and pour it over the butter, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Cool to lukewarm. Add the yeast. Add the flour and wheat gluten. Add the flour a cup at a time and beat well with a wooden spoon to incorporate. When you can no longer stir, turn it out on a board and keep adding flour until you have a decent consistency for kneading-you don't want it too dry, but this bread shouldn't be terribly sticky either.

Butter a bowl and place the dough inside turning once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel (it's really cold in my house right now-we keep the thermostat at 62-64-ish) and let rise until doubled in bulk-about 2 hours.

Gently deflate and divide into two. Grease loaf pans well with butter and place the shaped loaves inside. Cover with a towel and let rise until almost doubled (about 45 minutes).

Twenty minutes into the second rise, begin pre-heating the oven to 400 degrees F.

Use whatever (if any) wash you prefer on the loaves (I did 1 whole egg with 1 tablespoon water.I dusted one loaf with sesame seeds and left the other plain) and place in oven. Check the loaves after twenty minutes. I like to rotate them in the oven at this point. Continue baking until they sound hollow when rapped, or an internal temperature of about 195 degrees F. Your eye is always the best guide.

Cool on racks.