Milk bread is the perfect sandwich bread: soft, fluffy, and easy to slice. It has a subtle yeast flavor that adds tons of flavor! It’s also amazing toasted with butter and jam.
Add yeast, sugar, salt, bread flour, and 6 3/4 ounces (or 1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour to the bowl of a stand mixer, whisking together. With the machine running on medium-low or low speed, slowly add the milk, butter and egg. Gradually add in as much of the remaining all-purpose flour as needed until the dough is moist but not sticky. (Note: I only need around 1/2 of the remaining flour).
Knead for about 10 minutes on medium speed until the dough is smooth. Transfer to an oiled bowl and turn over once to coat with oil. Cover loosely with plastic and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, 1 to 1 1/2 hours (30 to 45 minutes with fast-acting instant yeast).
Punch down, knead briefly, refrigerate for 30 minutes. Form into loaf, place in greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours (30 to 45 minutes with fast-acting instant yeast).
Preheat oven to 375 F, brush top of loaf with cream, bake for 33-40 minutes, or until the top is golden and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped. Cool completely on a wire rack (don’t slice first or steam escaping will pull moisture from bread).
Notes
If you don't have a stand mixer, you can combine in a large bowl using a spatula, and then knead the ingredients in the same bowl. If the dough it too sticky, you can lightly oil your hands.Loosely adapted from Joy of Cooking.