Fluffy White Bread

By Linda1128

I've been baking bread for years and finally perfected my loaf!
This bread is fluffy, soft and great for sandwiches. It makes two loafs.

Ingredients

• 1 packet "highly active" active dry yeast; or 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast; or 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 2 cups lukewarm milk
• 1 egg
• 4 cups Bread Flour (I use North Dakota bread flour)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
• 1/4 cup Baker's Special Dry Milk or nonfat dry milk
• 3/4 cup instant mashed potato flakes

Details

Servings 2

Preparation

Step 1

1 Combine the yeast (or instant yeast) with the remainder of the ingredients. Mix and knead everything together—by hand, mixer or bread machine set on the dough cycle—till you've made a smooth dough. If you’re kneading in a stand mixer, I would let it kneed for about 10 minutes. I believe the longer your kneed the dough the better it will be.

2 Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise, I like to warm my oven just a bit to take out chill and set oven safe bowl in oven covered with towel or let rise in bread machine.

3 Deflate the dough, and shape it into 2 bread loafs to fit pans.

4 Transfer the Bread, smooth side up, to a lightly greased 8 1/2” x 4 1/2” loaf pan. Again cover with towel

5 Allow the bread to rise till it’s at the rim will rise more with baking rise anywhere from 30 min to a hour . Also I use a slightly warmed oven just enough to take chill out bread rises faster this way and cuts down on time.

6 Bake the bread for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes are up form a tent with foil lightly lay over the loafs, and bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes.

7 Turn Bread out of the pan on cooling rack, and brush the top surface with butter.

Allow the bread to cool completely before slicing. Store in plastic bread bags or wrap in plastic wrap make sure completely cooled prior to wrapping.