Place evaporated milk, water, salt, sugar, eggs, butter, flour, and yeast in the pan of the bread machine. Select dough
setting and press start. Check the dough (don't be afraid to open the lid). It
should form a nice elastic ball. If you think the dough is too moist, add
additional flour (a tablespoon at a time). The same is true if the dough is
looking dry and gnarly. Add warm water (a tablespoon at a time).
When dough cycle has finished, remove dough from pan and turn out onto a lightly oiled surface (I spray with vegetable spray).
Form dough into an oval, place in a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size. Turn dough over (but do not punch down), cover, and let rise again 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size again.
Oven Rising: Sometimes I use my oven for the rising. Turn the oven on for a minute or so, then turn it off again. This will warm the oven and make it a great environment for rising bread. If you can't comfortably press your hand against the inside of the oven door, the oven is too hot. Let it stand open to cool a bit. Sourdough rises more slowly than yeast bread; Always remember, the longer the rise time, the more sourdough flavor.
Cool or Refrigerator Rise: If I don't have the time
to wait for the rise to finish or I know that I will be interrupted before the
completed rise, I do a cool rise. A cool rise is when the dough is place in the
refrigerator and left to rise slowly over night approximately 8 to 12 hours. I
usually do this after the first rise and the dough has been shaped into a loaf.
As this is a longer rise time, it improves the sourdough flavor in your finished
bread.
Place dough on a lightly oiled surface and form dough either into two small loaves
or one large load. Cover and place in a warm spot to rise, approximately 30 minutes, until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until nicely browned.
A good check is to use an
instant
digital thermometer to test your bread. The temperature should be between 200 and 210 degrees.
This
is the type of thermometer that I use in my cooking.
I get many readers asking what cooking/meat thermometer that I prefer and use in my cooking
and baking. I, personally, use the
RT600C Thermometer
(show in the photo on the right). To learn more about this inexpensive excellent thermometer and to also purchase one (if you desire), just
click on the underlined: RT600C Thermometer.
Remove from oven and place bread on a wire rack. Brush top of bread with
Topping mixture of 2 tablespoons melted butter and then sprinkle with 2
tablespoons sugar. Let cool.
Makes 2 small loaves or 1 1/2-pound loaf.
TOPPING:
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
