White Loaf

Ingredients

• 6 cups / 700g white flour
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp instant yeast
• 1 tbsp salt
• 25g / 1/4 stick butter, softened and cubed
• 150ml / 2/3 cup milk
• 300ml / 1 1/4 cups warm water
• 1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 220°C, 15 minutes before baking.
Oil and line the base of a loaf tin (if you prefer, like I do, to use a silicone pan, then you can skip this).
Into a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Add the butter, and the remaining wet ingredients. Add more warm water if needed.
Knead on a floured surface for roughly 10 minutes or until elastic. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with cling film / foil and place in a warm area for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Once risen, knead the dough for a minute to knock out the air, and shape into a loaf. Place the dough in the prepared tin / pan, and leave to rise for another 30 minutes.
Brush the top of the loaf with the beaten egg, and lightly sprinkle flour on top. Bake the loaf for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, and then turn the temperature down to 200°C and bake the loaf for a further 20-25 minutes.
Once done, place on a wire rack and leave to cool.
To check if the bread is done, a hollow sound should be heard when the loaf is tapped from underneath.