>basic white bread

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.04
  
       Title: Basic White Bread
  Categories: Polkadot, Faylen, Breads
       Yield: 3 Loaves
  
       2 c  Milk
       1    Stick butter (1/2 cup)
       2 pk Active dry yeast
     1/3 c  Warm water
       1 tb Sugar
       2    Eggs
     1/4 c  Molasses or brown sugar
     1/2 ts Salt
       7    -8 c unbleached
            -all-purpose
            -flour (approximately)
  
   In a saucepan, heat the milk and butter over a low flame until the
   milk is scalded (brought just short of boiling).  Set aside to cool.
   If quick cooling is necessary, fill a bowl with ice water and set the
   saucepan inside, stirring milk mixture until lukewarm, no cooler.
   (baby bottle temperature.)
   
   In a mixing bowl, dissolve the sugar and yeast in the water. Set in a
   warm place for 20 minutes, until a sponge is formed. Add the milk,
   eggs, molasses or brown sugar, and salt, and mix.  Add flour a cup at
   a time until dough is stiff enough to work by hand.  Turn dough out
   onto a floured board and knead until elastic (until dough stops
   coming off on your hands!)  Grease the inside of a large bowl, put
   the dough in, then turn the dough to coat the top with grease.  Cover
   bowl with a wet tea towel (not dripping, just wet!) and set in a warm
   place to rise for about an hour or until double.  (If you have a gas
   oven with a pilot, this is perfect.  So is the top of the
   refrigerator.)
   
    Punch the dough down, knead it briefly, then re-cover it in the bowl
   and set it aside to rise for another hour. Punch the dough down
   again, knead it for about a minute, then divide it into three equal
   parts. Form each portion into a loaf, and place into a greased loaf
   pan (if you made a seam in the loaves when forming them, place the
   seam at the bottom.) Cover with a moist towel and let the loaves rise
   about 45 minutes, until the tops of the loaves are just above the top
   edge of the pans.
   
   After 30 minutes of this rising, preheat the oven to 375 degrees (350
   for glass pans). For a chewier top crust, you can brush on a mixture
   of one beaten egg and a Tablespoon of water before placing the loaves
   in the oven. (for a moister crust, bake plain, then rub a stick of
   butter over the hot loaves until the top crust is lightly coated as
   the loaves are cooling on a rack.) Bake the loaves for 35-40 minutes.
   The crust should be golden brown, and the loaves will sound hollow
   when rapped with a knuckle. Remove from pans immediately and place on
   wire racks to cool. Cool completely before storing in any airtight
   container.
   
   * The Polka Dot Palace BBS  1-201-822-3627  Posted by FAYLEN
  
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