Amish milk bread is an airy, slightly sweet white bread that is traditionally made in Amish communities in America. It’s fantastically moist and ideal for anywhere you’d typically use white bread, like sandwiches, French toast, or bread pudding. Simple ingredients, and a little patience yield a wonderful loaf of bread without the additives or preservatives that are common in store-bought sliced bread.
Ingredients
- 2 1/4-ounce packets dry active yeast, or 1 1/2 tablespoons
- 1/4 cup water, warm; 95 to 110 F
- 2 cups milk, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons butter, soft
- 6 cups bread flour, divided
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Instructions
- Gather the ingredients.
- In a large bowl, gently stir together the yeast and warm water.
Yeast in bowl - Add the milk, brown sugar, salt, and butter. Stir well to incorporate.
Add the milk to the mixture - Add 4 cups of flour and mix well. Add enough of the remaining flour, a little at a time, to make a dough that follows the spoon around the bowl.
- Add four cups of flour
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes, adding more flour as needed until the dough is firm and smooth to the touch.
- Turn the dough on a floured surfaceGrease a large bowl with vegetable oil and place the dough in it, turning it over so that the top is also lightly greased. Cover with a clean cloth and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 hour.
- Place dough in a greased bowl
- After one hour, firmly punch down the dough.
- Punch down the dough
- Turn dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead for 5 minutes, or until the bubbles are out of the bread.
Pressing down on dough - Divide dough into 2 equal portions. Shape each dough half into a loaf.
- Divide dough into two parts
- Place each loaf into a greased 9 x 5-inch bread pan. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.
- Put dough in loaf pans
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake the loaves for 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when tapped.
- Bake bread until goldenRemove the loaves from the pans and allow them to cool down on a rack.
Let bread cool on a rack - Serve and enjoy!
