Milk Bread

For the past few weeks the rain has been incessant. This kind of weather puts me into a baking mood, so I decided to bake Paul Hollywood's milk bread today. I love milk breads, the crumb is tender as opposed to the chewy texture of a bread made with water. I more often than not choose Italian loaves such as ciabtta or foccacia for my daily loaves but today I felt for the wholesomeness of milk bread.

So I am posting another recipe from Paul Hollywood's "How To Bake", my indispensable guide to bread and baking. I am a Great British Bake Off fanatic....to say the least but I will be posting more on that later. I sometimes hear Paul Hollywood's voice in my head whilst baking and have a good laugh. It usually expresses some sort of opprobrium but then I shake it off and think even Paul Hollywood would be inclined to like what I baked. Well...at least Mary Berry would.

So anyway, here is the recipe. Please give it a go and enjoy it as I enjoyed mine.

Milk Loaf (recipe from Paul Hollywood's "How To Bake")
500g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
10g salt
25g sugar
10g yeast
30g unsalted butter, softened
320ml warm full-fat milk
olive oil for kneading

1. Tip the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the salt and sugar to one side of the bowl and the yeast to the other. Add the butter and three quarters of the milk. At this stage, move the flour around gently with your fingertips. Continue to add the remaining milk, a little at a time, until you've picked up all of the flour from the sides of the bowl. You may not need to add all the milk, or you may need to add a little more - you want a dough that is soft, but not soggy. Use the mixture to clean the inside of the bowl and keep going until it forms a soft dough.
2. Coat the work surface with a little olive oil, then tip the dough onto it and start to knead. Keep kneading for 5 - 10 minutes. Work through the initial wet stage until the dough starts to form a soft, smooth skin. When your dough feels smooth and silky, put it into a lightly oiled large bowl. Cover with a tea towel and leave to rise until at least doubled in size - at least 1 hour, but it's fine to leave it for 2 or even 3 hours.
3. Brush a 1 kg loaf tin with a little olive oil (or you can use melted butter).
4. Tip your dough unto a lightly floured surface. Fold it inwards repeatedly until all the air is knocked out and the dough is smooth. Then form it into an oblong by flattening the dough slightly and folding the sides into the middle. Roll the whole lot up - the top should be smooth with a join running along the length of the base. Put into the prepared tin, making sure the join is underneath. Dust the top lightly with flour and slash lengthways.
5. Put the tin inside a plastic bag and leave to prove for 1 hour, until the dough is at least doubled in size and springs back quickly if you prod it lightly with your finger. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to  210 C.
6. Bake for  25 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped on the base. Leave to cool, out of the tin, on a wire rack.