Dan's Old Fashioned White Bread

Ingredients

• Servings: 2
• 2 cups milk
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 6 cups bread flour, or as needed - divided
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup butter, softened

Recipe

Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 25 mins Ready Time: 3 hrs 35 mins


• pour milk in a heatproof bowl, and gently warm in a microwave oven set on low until milk is about 100 degrees f (38 degrees c), about 15 seconds. mix in the sugar and honey, and stir to dissolve. mix in the yeast, and let stand until the yeast activates and forms a creamy layer on the milk, about 15 minutes.
• place 4 cups of bread flour and the salt into the mixing bowl of a stand mixer; pour in the yeast mixture, and mix on slow speed with a mixing paddle until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute; dough will be very wet. add the butter, and mix in the remaining 2 cups of bread flour, or as needed, until the dough begins to gather itself into a ball. change the fitting from the mixing paddle to a dough hook, and machine-knead the dough until smooth and springy, about 4 minutes.
• transfer the dough a well-floured work surface, and knead until you see the surface of the dough begin to break during folding and kneading. roll dough into a ball, and place into a lightly floured large bowl. cover the bowl with a kitchen towel, and set into a warm place to rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
• spray 2 9x5-inch loaf pans with cooking spray.
• punch down the dough, remove to the floured surface, and knead for 2 more minutes; cut the dough in half with a sharp knife. form the dough into logs, adding more flour if necessary, and place the loaves into the sprayed pans. cover the pans with a kitchen towel, and place into a warm place to rise until doubled, about 1 more hour.
• preheat oven to 400 degrees f (200 degrees c).
• place the bread loaves into the preheated oven, and turn the heat down to 350 degrees f (175 degrees c). bake until the tops are golden brown and the loaves make a hollow sound when thumped, about 25 minutes. cool the pans on baking racks for about 5 minutes before turning the bread loaves out to finish cooling on racks. cover the loaves with a kitchen towel as they cool.