English Muffin Toasting Bread

This is a lovely, hearty and dense loaf of bread. It is definitely not light and fluffy, but I think it’s all the better because the center stays nice and chewy when toasted. I have an old recipe that called for just plain milk, but I wanted to see if buttermilk would add a deeper flavor. It did, but it does separate when heating.

Ingredients:

Cornmeal to sprinkle inside the loaf pan (a tablespoon or so ought to do you)
1 (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 ½ to 3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
½ cup buttermilk (or regular milk, your choice)
½ cup 2% or whole milk
1/4 cup water
1 Tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces

Directions:

Grease a 8.5 by 3.5 loaf pan and sprinkle cornmeal in to lightly coat all sides. Discard extra cornmeal.
                                            
In a small saucepan, heat the milks and water over medium low heat until just warm, about 120 degrees F. The mixture may start to separate over 80 degrees, but don’t let that bother you. Just stir it.

In a large bowl, mix 2 cups of flour, yeast, sugar, salt and baking soda. Add the warm milk/water mixture and beat on low until well combined (about 2 minutes), scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Stir in another half cup of flour (more if needed) to make a very stiff dough. Shape the dough into a loaf with your hands, trying not to knead or over handle it. Place it into the prepared loaf pan and pat it into shape. Cover and let rest for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake for 30 minutes. Dot the butter across the top of the loaf and continue baking for another 20 minutes or until golden and the loaf sounds hollow when thumped (ok, I just wanted an excuse to use the word ‘thumped’). Turn out onto a baking rack and let cool before slicing with a serrated knife. Toast as you like and slather with butter or whipped cream and jam.

Serving suggestion: Toast two slices of this bread and spread some light mayo and Dijon mustard on one of the slices. Put one slice of aged white cheddar cheese, some lettuce (I scored buttercrunch at the farmer's market today), one fried egg, one crumbled slice of bacon, and one or two slices of vine ripe tomato. Gobble.