English muffin bread.

When I was a kid, my grandmother made a very specific type of bread for me and my sister that was a staple of our diets, something we’d eat every day for breakfast for about a week until both loaves were gone. It’s a very simple milk bread, but toasted with butter it’s amazing, and, of course, now every bite evokes many memories of childhood and of my grandmother, who died in 2014 seven months after her 100^th birthday.

I’ve had the recipe since I left college, but I made it maybe once or twice before she died, even though she pretty much stopped making it in her early 90s when she lost the forearm strength to knead the dough. She died right after Christmas in 2014, and after I came home from the funeral, I made the bread for the first time in years as a way to remember her while I grieved. My daughter loves the bread too, and we make it a few times a year, usually together now because she’s turned into quite a good cook as well. I think my grandmother, whom my daughter was lucky enough to know and will always remember because she was 8 when my grandmother died, would be so happy to know we’re still making that recipe today.

I made this bread last week and posted pictures on my Instagram account, where several of you asked in the comments for the recipe, so I’m posting that here. This recipe calls for instant yeast, which is all I use – I buy bricks of the SAF brand, usually from King Arthur, and keep it in the fridge for years. If you use rapid-rise yeast, you should follow the instructions on the package for that. Also, my grandmother always used all-purpose flour; I have also made this with bread flour, which produces a stronger loaf with a tighter crumb.

English muffin bread

1 cup milk

2 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

3 Tbsp butter

1 cup water

2¼ tsp instant yeast

5 ½ cups (675 g) flour

corn meal for dusting

1. Scald milk, then stir in sugar, salt, and butter till dissolved. Add water to bring to lukewarm (about 115 F).

2. Add yeast to flour, then combine with liquids and stir until a dough forms. Knead about ten minutes on a floured surface until tacky but not sticky.

3. Place in an oiled bowl and let rise until doubled, about one hour.

4. Divide the dough in half, shape into loaves, roll in corn meal (optional), and place into oiled loaf pans. Let rise again until doubled, about another hour.

5. Score the tops of the loaves and bake 25 minutes at 400 degrees, rotating once. Remove from the pans to cool on a rack as soon as you can handle them.

If you’re really into making bread, I can’t recommend Peter Reinhart’s books highly enough, including his Bread Baker’s Apprentice, Whole Grain Breads, and Artisan Breads Everyday.