Victorian Milk Bread (Sutlu Ekmek)

Victorian Milk Bread (Sutlu Ekmek)

2 tsp dry/instant yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 ½ cups luke warm milk
3 ¾ cups bread flour
1 ½ tsp salt to taste

Glaze:1 egg
1 tbsp milk
Sesame seeds

Add yeast and sugar into 1/2 cup of milk in a bowl. Leave for 5 minutes; stir to dissolve. Mix flour and salt in large a bowl. Make a well in center and pour in dissolved yeast. Mix in flour. Stir in reserved milk to form a sticky dough. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes.

 

Put dough in a clean bowl and cover with a towel or cloth. Let rise for 45-60 minutes in a warm place. Punch down, cover and let dough rise again until doubled in size about 45 minutes.
Grease an 8 x 4 x 2 1/2 inch loaf pan. Shape dough into a long loaf.
Place shaped dough in greased loaf pan. Cover with towel/cloth. Leave for a rest until dough is 1 inch above the top of pan, about 1 hour.
Brush top of loaf with egg glaze and sprinkle sesame seeds. Bake in preheated 400F (200 C) oven for 40-45 minutes until golden. After taking the bread out of the oven cover it with a towel/cloth to keep it soft and warm.
Serve warm and enjoy Victorian Milk Bread with butter or cream cheese.