Country White Bread

Since I have been making my multigrain bread almost every week for more than a year now (I am a creature of habit, what can I say?), I finally decided it was time to branch out and try something new. I found this recipe for Country White Bread on www.cookingbread.com and was quite pleased with the results!

Dough:
1 cup water (lukewarm 110 - 115F)
1 cup buttermilk (room temp.)
1/4 cup oil
5-6 cups bread flour (I used about 1 1/2 cups wheat flour instead of all bread flour)
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs (beaten)
1 tablespoon salt
4 teaspoons instant yeast

Egg wash:
1 egg white
3 tablespoons milk

1. Mix together water, buttermilk, and oil. Stir in 1 1/2 cups flour until smooth. Add sugar and eggs. Mix in the salt. Then stir in yeast. Allow to sit uncovered for 15 minutes.

2. Add flour a 1/2 cup at a time until the dough is just a little bit sticky (I did all this in the stand mixer...it was VERY sticky...I used ALOT of flour). Once it's not as sticky, dump it out on floured surface and continue kneading by hand until smooth and elastic.

3. Place dough into a lightly oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl (I used a towel, recipe suggests plastic wrap) and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour.

4. Pour out onto floured surface and divide dough in two. Shape each dough ball into a rectangle the length of a 5x9 loaf pan. Roll the dough like a jelly roll being sure to press with each rotation of the dough. Pinch the seam closed with your fingers. Place into two greased 5x9 loaf pans.

5. Cover and allow to rise until double in bulk about 45-60 minutes (mine was already about 2 inches about the top of my bread pans after 30 minutes, so I went ahead and baked the loaves!)

6. Make egg wash and brush the tops of the loaves. Wait 5 minutes then brush again. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes (recipe said 30-35 but mine were done before 30 minutes). When you tap the bottom of the loaf it should sound hollow. Remove from pans and cool on a wire rack.

Here's the end result:



This bread smelled so good that I just had to cut a slice (or two...) as soon as it came out of the oven! It is perfect: good crust on the outside, soft and doughy on the inside. I'm so excited that it made such large loaves and did not collapse in the middle as some of my loaves have done when they got that high above the top of my bread pans. These were so big that I really think I could have divided the dough into three loaves. Perhaps I just need larger bread pans. As I was making a sandwich for Charles this morning, I realized that these slices are more than double the height of my usual bread because the entire round slice of provolone fit on one slice with room to spare whereas I usually have to fold the cheese in half on the other bread to get it to fit.

Well, it is lunchtime here, and I am off to eat my own sandwich!