Milky Bread Comfort Food

CHEF JOHN'S MILK BREAD

Steps:

• Whisk bread flour, water, and milk for starter together in a small saucepan until very smooth. Place over medium-low heat and cook, stirring often, until very thick and just about to bubble. If you want to check, it should be at least 150 degrees F (65 degrees C). Pull off the heat and transfer into a measuring cup; you will need exactly 1/2 cup. Let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
• Prepare dough: Combine bread flour, cooled starter, salt, sugar, yeast, warm milk, and egg in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Beat on low speed until dough begins to form a ball and pull away from the sides of the bowl, scraping down the sides as needed, about 5 minutes.
• Stop the mixer and scrape dough off the hook and into the bowl. Add butter and knead on low speed until dough is slightly tacky but very smooth and elastic, scraping down the sides as needed, 10 to 12 more minutes.
• Remove dough from the bowl and shape into a smooth ball. Transfer into a lightly buttered bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Very generously butter a 9x5-inch loaf pan.
• Transfer dough to a work surface (you don't need flour.) Press and knead out all the air and shape into a 9-inch wide rectangle. Starting at one 9-inch side, roll dough lengthwise into a log. Transfer log into the prepared loaf pan with the seam down. Press on dough a bit to be sure it's evenly distributed. Cover the pan and let dough rise until it comes to just about the top of the pan, 35 to 45 minutes.
• Brush the top of the loaf with just enough milk to lightly coat the surface.
• Bake in the center of the preheated oven until the top is golden brown and the load is beautifully puffed up, about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest in the pan for 10 minutes. Very carefully remove bread and place on a wire rack to cool all the way to room temperature before slicing, about 1 hour.

EASY MILK BREAD

Steps:

• Spray a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray and sprinkle the cornmeal all over the inside of the pan. Tap out any excess.
• Add the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and yeast to a large bowl and whisk to combine. Set the dry mixture aside.
• Add the milk and butter to a small saucepan and attach a candy thermometer. Turn the heat on low and bring the mixture up to 125 degrees F. If the mixture gets too hot, let it cool to the correct temperature before continuing.
• Pour the warm liquid over the dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula to mix until the dough comes together, but is still shaggy. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until the dough is soft and elastic, 2 to 3 minutes. Form the dough into a log and transfer it to the prepared loaf pan, seam-side down. Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm area until it's puffed up and almost doubled in size, about 1 hour.
• While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Bake the loaf until the top of the bread is golden and the internal temperature is 190 degrees F, 25 to 30 minutes. Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove the bread from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

BREAD AND MILK

Steps:

• Tear the bread into rough chunks, and sprinkle with the sugar. Warm the milk and pour over the bread and sugar to serve.