Name: Rich Bread
Prep time: 3 h
Total time: 3 h
Yield: Makes 2 round loaves or 1 huge one
Cuisine: Portugese
Ingredients: 2 teaspoons coarse kosher or sea salt; 1 tablespoon sugar; 2 tablespoons cold butter; Melted butter as needed; 2 teaspoons instant active dry yeast, such as SAF; Softened butter as needed; About 1 cup milk; 2 eggs; 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, plus more as needed

Preparation info

Makes
2
round loaves huge one

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
3 hr

Appears in

The Best Recipes in the World

By Mark Bittman

Published 2005

About

This is not unlike the classic American “white” bread——not the stuff sold in supermarkets today but the rich, milk-laden, soft (but not mushy) loaves of much of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It is no more difficult to make than French or Italian bread, but it keeps much better and is better for sandwiches. (Though it isn’t done in Portugal, you could even bake this in loaf pans.)

If you have some saffron, add a pinch to the flour at the beginning for a lovely color and mys