Not Your Ordinary White Bread

This loaf came out of a craving for one of those hot chicken sandwiches smothered with brown gravy that you used to get at those Mom and Pop highway diners in the eighties and nineties. They used horrible white bread that disintegrated into gluey pulp under the gravy, but I wanted something sturdier and with flavour, this loaf hit the spot. It’ll make awesome grilled cheese too!

The butter and egg add structure to the bread so that it doesn’t fall apart with the gravy.

White Bread

A KitchenInspirations Original Recipe

Makes one load about 20 cm (8 inches) long

Ingredients:

• 150 mL warm milk
• 6 g yeast
• 30 g sugar
• 1 large egg
• 40 g unsalted butter
• 390 g AP Flour
• 7 g salt

Directions:

1. Combine the warm milk, yeast, and sugar in the large bowl of your stand mixer and allow the yeast to proof for about 5-8 minutes or until frothy.
2. Using the beater attachment, beat in the egg. Add half of the flour and butter and beat until incorporated. Change to kneading hook and add the remaining flour and salt and knead for 8-10 minutes or until smooth. Cover and allow to rise in a warm area for 1.5 hours or until doubled in size.
3. Butter the sides and bottom of a 20 cm loaf pan. Set aside.
4. Turn the dough out to a lightly floured surface, punch down and roll out to a 20 cm x 30 cm rectangle. Brush off the excess flour from both sides of the dough. If the dough is not sticky, spray with a little water on both sides. Roll up the dough from the 30 cm side, pinching the ends closed. Lay it flat into the prepared pan and allow to rise again, covered in a warm place until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
5. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Brush loaf top with a little milk. Bake loaf for 40-45 minutes or until the internal temperature is 200° F. Cool completely on a wire rack. Enjoy.

An old fashioned hot chicken sandwich smothered with gravy. And that damn winter light is sneaking in.