Maple Bread

I snagged this recipe from the always-awesome The Wednesday Chef who in turn adapted it from this Florence Fabricant article from the late 1980's. That was a good decade. I was born, this bread was written about, and MJ and Madonna rocked the airwaves. Happy baking!


Makes 1 large loaf

Ingredients

1 cup milk
1/4 cup maple syrup
4 tablespoons sweet butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
1 teaspoon sugar or maple sugar
1 egg beaten
4 cups (approximately) unbleached all-purpose flour (or a combo of wheat and white)


Directions

Place milk, maple syrup, butter and salt in a saucepan and scald. Allow to cool to lukewarm.

Dissolve yeast in warm water along with the sugar. Set aside for five minutes until the mixture becomes frothy. Transfer the milk mixture to a large bowl, stir in the yeast mixture and then stir in the egg.

Stir in two cups of the flour. Then add more flour about one-half cup at a time until a ball of dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead for about eight minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. Place dough in an oiled bowl, turn the dough to oil on all sides, cover lightly and set in a warm place (I usually use the top of my stove, with the oven turned on) to rise until doubled, about an hour.

Punch down dough, turn onto a lightly floured board and knead for another minute or so. Roll dough into a rectangle about nine by 12 inches, then roll tightly, jellyroll fashion, starting from the narrow side. Pinch the seam and ends closed. Fit the dough seam side down into a greased bread pan.

Cover and set in a warm place to rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place bread in the oven and bake about 45 minutes, until well browned. Remove from pan and allow to cool, then slice up. I usually wait a solid 5-8 minutes to slice off a hunk. It's just too good to resist, but try if you can.