Buttermilk Bread

Part of this journey, has for me, been the quest for perfect bread.  I had made bread on a few occasions in the past, but have never had luck.  It always turned out kind of bland, boring, with an odd texture (likely since I am trained to like bakery bread).  So far, I have had a few disasters, a few "alrights" and this one.  So far, this is the best of the bread I have made.  It's a really nice plain white bread.  It doesn't have a hard crust, (which is nice for those among us who have yet to have all their teeth come in) and is fluffy and soft and full of flavour.

3/4 cup warm water (think baby bathwater)

2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

pinch of sugar

stir together in a bowl and let proof until frothy (about 10 minutes)

In the bowl of a mixer (ideally with bread hook attachment) mix together

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
(if you don't have either, use an additional half cup of buttermilk)

1/3 cup butter, melted

2 tbsp liqid honey

1 egg, lightly beaten

3 cups bread flour

Mix together until smooth.  You can do this in a food processor too.  Continue adding flour half a cup at a time until the mixture starts to stick together until you get to an additional

2 1/2 cups flour

Reserve an additional half cup for kneading.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8 minutes.

Set the timer.  I never seem to knead long enough, and no matter how long I need to do it for, I always find I think I'm done well before I actually am.  The dough will get smoother, but will still be a bit sticky when you're done.  If it's sticky like post-its, you're fine, if it's getting stuck to everything and not releasing cleanly, add a bit more flour.

Put into a bowl (lightly coated in oil), cover with a clean tea towel or plastic wrap and let rise for one to one-and-a-half hours.

Once it has doubled in bulk, form 2 loaves and put them into greased loaf pans. Cover again and let rise again for one to one-and-a-half hours.  The dough will be starting to stick out of the top of the pan.

Brush the top with milk

and with a sharp knife cut a few slashes in the top (about 3/4 inch deep).
 
Sprinkle a handful of sesame seeds on top and bake in a 325º oven for 45-55 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. 
 

Remove from pans and let cool.