Old Fashioned White Bread

This is the BEST white bread I've ever tasted!! Make sure you follow the rolling instructions when you put the dough in the pans as it makes the texture so nice! The crust is perfectly chewy and my toddler will sit down and eat a whole slice by itself. (it does great for French toast too :)

Old Fashioned White Bread

from the Williams-Sonoma Cookbook

1/4 cup warm water (105 degrees - 115 degrees F)

2 cups warm whole milk (note: I combine the water and the milk when warming)

4 tsp active dry yeast

2 Tbsp plus 1 pinch sugar

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1 Tbsp salt

6-6 1/2 cups bread flour

Canola oil for greasing

In a bowl, combine the water and 1/4 cup of the milk. Sprinkle the yeast and the pinch of sugar over the liquid and stir to dissolve. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the remaining milk, the butter, the 2 Tbsp sugar, salt and 2 cups of the flour. Beat on medium low speed until creamy about 1 minute. 

Beat in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Switch to the dough hook. Knead on low speed, adding flour 1 Tbsp at a time if the dough sticks, until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. 

Transfer the dough to an oiled deep bowl and turn the dough once to coat it well with oil. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.

Lightly grease two 9 by 5 in. loaf pans. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board. Divide in half and pat each half into a long rectangle. 

Fold 1 rectangle like a letter, overlapping the short sides in the middle; press to flatten. 

Beginning at a narrow end, tightly roll up the dough into a thick log.

Roll the log back and forth with your palms until it is the same length as the pan.

 Pinch the ends and the long seam to seal.

 Place the loaf, seam side down, in a prepared pan, tucking the ends under to make a neat, snug fit. Repeat with the second portion. Cover loosely with plastic and let rise until about 1inch above the rim of each pan, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake until the loaves are golden brown and pull away from the pan sides, about 40 minutes. Turn out onto the racks and let cool completely.

Enjoy a nice slice of homemade white bread!