Who out there is tired of artisan breads? I sure am, so this week I’m baking up a soft, squishy white bread, perfect for those of us nostalgic for the PB&J, grilled (American) cheese, mayo and tomato, and/or egg salad sandwiches of our youth. Or, be like a millennial and make some avocado toast! 🙂

• 2-1/2 tsp yeast
• 1 cup milk, at 110 degrees
• 360 g AP flour
• 8g salt
• 3 Tbsp honey
• 3 Tbsp butter, softened
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 46 g dried potato flakes, OR or 1/2 c mashed potatoes, riced

STEP 1: Make dough

1. Measure out all ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer.
2. With the dough hook attachment, knead on #2 for about 5 ~ 7 minutes, until dough starts to clear the sides of the bowl. It doesn’t have to completely clean the bowl and form one ball. If it seems too dry add some milk, but just 1 tablespoon at a time!

STEP 2: First Rise

1. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise until it’s doubled and puffy. This can take between 60 ~ 90 minutes, depending on the temperature of your room.

STEP 3: Shape and second rise

1. Lightly grease your countertop
2. Holding the container close to the countertop, turn dough out. Don’t punch it down, i.e. deflate it, but while carefully turning edges under so that a kind of tight “skin” forms on top, shape it into an 8″ rectangular loaf
3. Place in a lightly greased 8.5″ x 4.5 ” or 9″ x 5″ loaf pan. Slip it into a plastic bag, tented, so it there’s room to rise.
4. Let rise until the center is about 1″ over the rim of an 9 x 5 pan. or 1-1/4″ above a 8.5 x 4.5 pan. Don’t let it go higher than than, or it might deflate during the baking process. This can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.
5. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.

STEP 4: Bake!

1. Bake the bread for 20 ~ 25 minutes until it’s golden brown, and the internal temperature is 190 degrees. If it starts to brown too early in the process, tent with foil.
2. Cool on wire rack, and remember — don’t slice it while it’s still warm!