English Muffin Bread

I can't remember how long ago I received a free 2lb bag of King Arthur Flour which was part of the bake2share program. (Well that flour is long gone and at the rate I have been using flour lately I just got a 10lb bag from my local wholesale club). It came with a print out of three recipes to try out with your flour...English Muffin Toasting Bread, Blueberry Muffins, and Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I have been wanting to try making the English Muffin Toasting Bread recipe since I got it and finally got around to doing it this past week. It seemed really straight forward and not too complicated to make. I was even able to do it from being to end during my son's nap time which is usually around 1.5 to 2 hours.

My bread rising in the pan (a shower cap is being used to cover it)

Bread hot out of the oven

Glamour shot outside in the natural light.

English Muffin Toasting Bread
King Arthur Flour

• 3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil
• cornmeal, to sprinkle in pan

• 12 3/4 ounces King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 ounce sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• 8 ounces milk
• 2 ounces water
• 7/8 ounce vegetable oil or olive oil
• cornmeal, to sprinkle in pan

Directions

1) Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and instant yeast in a large mixing bowl.

2) Combine the milk, water, and oil in a separate, microwave-safe bowl, and heat to between 120°F and 130°F. The liquid will feel very hot (hotter than lukewarm), but not so hot that it would scald you. As a reference point, the hottest water from your kitchen tap is probably around 120°F (unless your tap water is so hot that it burns you).

3) Pour the hot liquid over the dry ingredients in the mixing bowl.

4) Beat at high speed for 1 minute. The dough will be very soft.

5) Lightly grease an 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan, and sprinkle the bottom and sides with cornmeal.

6) Scoop the soft dough into the pan, leveling it in the pan as much as possible.

7) Cover the pan, and let the dough rise till it's just barely crowned over the rim of the pan. When you look at the rim of the pan from eye level, you should see the dough, but it shouldn't be more than, say, 1/4" over the rim. This will take about 45 minutes to 1 hour, if you heated the liquid to the correct temperature and your kitchen isn't very cold. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 400°F.

8) Remove the cover, and bake the bread for 20 to 22 minutes, till it's golden brown and its interior temperature is 190°F.

9) Remove the bread from the oven, and after 5 minutes turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool. Let the bread cool completely before slicing.

Review: This was a very easy bread to make and since there really is no kneading to be done...anyone could make this. I was also super excited when it came clean out of the pan because honestly I never have any luck with that step. I waited for it to completely cool before I took a slice to see what it looked like and to have a little taste of it. I thought it had a really nice and different taste then I thought it would have. It was really delicious lightly toasted with a little bit of butter on it. When it was served with dinner thicker pieces were cut and warmed up. I honestly think this bread is a perfect breakfast bread and would go well with any breakfast meal. I would make it again just because it was super easy and it came out great.