Description
Yield: 1 loaf, approximately 12 slices
Active prep: 25 minutes
Rising: Approximately 95–150 minutes
Bake: 35–40 minutes
Cooling: Approximately 1½ hours
Total: Approximately 4–5 hours
Pan: 9 × 5 inches
Oven: 350°F
Ingredients
Scale
- 3½ cups all-purpose or bread flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 cup lukewarm whole milk
- 2¼ teaspoons instant yeast
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- Butter or oil for pan
- 1 tablespoon milk for brushing before baking, optional
- 1 tablespoon melted butter for finishing, optional
Instructions
- Whisk milk, honey, egg, and melted butter.
- Stir flour, yeast, and salt together, then mix into wet ingredients. Rest for 10 minutes.
- Knead until smooth and elastic, approximately 8–10 minutes by hand or 5–7 minutes with a suitable mixer. Make only small consistency adjustments if needed.
- Cover in a lightly greased bowl and rise until roughly doubled, approximately 60–90 minutes.
- Shape into a log and place seam-side down in the greased pan.
- Cover and rise until puffy, approximately 35–60 minutes. Preheat to 350°F.
- Brush with optional milk and bake for approximately 35–40 minutes, tenting if needed. Check center doneness; approximately 190–200°F is a useful guide.
- Brush with optional butter, rest in pan for 10 minutes, then cool fully on a rack before slicing.