Frances Cook's Bread
Submitted by 3512
Old-fashioned milk-and-egg enriched white bread makes two soft, tender loaves with a light crumb and golden crust. A forgiving family recipe for beginner bread bakers.
YIELD
2 loavesPREP
40 minCOOK
45 minREADY
2 hrsA grandmother’s bread recipe that’s held up for decades because it just works. Scalded milk enriches the dough with extra tenderness, an egg boosts color and richness, and a little shortening keeps the crumb soft for days rather than going stale overnight like leaner breads.
The dough is forgiving. It doesn’t need aggressive kneading (just enough to get past sticky and into springy), handles an overnight retard in the fridge if your schedule changes, and tolerates beginner mistakes. Two rises, two loaves, no loaf pan tricks.
Makes excellent toast, French toast, and sandwich bread. Once cool, slice and freeze half for later. If you’ve never made a yeast bread before, this is the one to start with.
Kitchen Tips
- Scald the milk properly. Heat it until tiny bubbles form at the edges and a skin starts to form, then cool to lukewarm. This denatures an enzyme in milk that otherwise keeps dough slack and sticky.
- Test yeast by watching it bubble in the warm water. If it doesn’t activate in 5 minutes, the yeast is dead and you need a fresh package.
- Don’t over-flour while kneading. Too much flour makes a dry, tough loaf; add only as much as needed to keep the dough from sticking to your hands.
- Bread is done when the internal temperature hits 190°F (88°C), or the bottom sounds hollow when tapped. The color-only test is unreliable.
Variations
- Swap 1 cup of the all-purpose for whole wheat flour for a wheatier loaf with more structure.
- Add ¾ cup raisins and 1 teaspoon cinnamon for a holiday-style raisin bread.
- Brush the risen loaves with egg wash before baking for a glossier, bakery-style crust.
Ingredients
Directions
Scald milk and pour over sugar, shortening, and salt.
Let it cool to lukewarm while softening yeast in a small bowl with the warm water.
When soft, add the egg and beat together slightly.
Pour the yeast/egg mixture into the milk mixture and stir them together.
The flour may be sifted or poured into the liquid.
With a large spoon, stir until flour/milk is well mixed.
You should have a firm, but not stiff dough.
Without removing it from the bowl, cover the dough with a plate or towel and set aside to rise until double in bulk (about 2 hrs depending on the temperature in the kitchen).
Instead of letting the dough rise at this point you may put it in the refrigerator and use it later, or the next day.
Watch to make sure it doesn’t spill out of the bowl.
If it starts to spill before you’re ready to use it, punch it back down.
Refrigerated dough is easier to handle but takes longer to rise.
If you want to make bread, dump the dough out of the bowl onto a floured surface and with more flour as needed to keep it from sticking, knead it until springy and easy to handle.
This dough does not require a lot of kneading; only enough to make it easy to handle.
For 2 medium size loaves cut the dough in half and knead/shape each into loaves and put into greased baking pans.
Allow about 2 hours for the dough to double again.
Bake in a 375℉ (190℃) oven until lightly browned on top (if uncertain whether or not bread is done, tip out of pan and see if bottom is browned too).
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