Milk Bread

I found this recipe in The Great Victorian Cookbook by John Midgley, published in 1995...It's a fascinating cookbook about Victorian era cooking. I particularly want to try making this bread someday and thought it best to place here for safekeeping!

• Ready In: 2 hrs 30 mins
• Serves: 10
• Yields: 1 standard size loaf

Ingredients

• 4  cups bread flour
• 1  large egg, room temperature
• 4  tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature
• 2  teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1  teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1  cup 1% low-fat milk, warmed but NOT scalded

Directions

1. Grease a standard size loaf pan.
2. Sift the flour into a large warm bowl and add the egg, butter, yeast, salt and sugar.
3. Gradually mix in the milk--NOT all of it may be necessary--and knead by hand or by machine until smooth and elastic.
4. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place for approximately 1 hour.
5. Knead the dough again, BRIEFLY and fit the dough into the loaf pan.
6. Let rise again in a warm place for approximately 45 minutes; then glaze the top of the loaf with either some beaten egg or some milk.
7. Bake the loaf in a 450°F oven for 15 minutes; then REDUCE the oven temperature to 425°F and bake for an additional 20 minutes or until the loaf is golden and sounds hollow when tapped on it's base.
8. This bread was declared by Victorians to be a nice soft loaf with a good storage life and deemed perfect for teatime or breakfast use.
9. Prep time includes time for the dough to rise.