Pullman Loaf

Method

1. Warm 130 ml of whole milk to blood heat (about 35C) in a small pan. Pour into a bowl, whisk in 8 g of caster sugar and 3 g of fast-action yeast, and leave 5 minutes until the surface is foamy.
2. Combine 200 g of strong white bread flour with 4 g of fine salt in a mixing bowl, pour in the yeasted milk and stir to a shaggy dough. Turn onto an unfloured surface and knead 5 minutes until it comes together smoothly.
3. Smear 15 g of softened unsalted butter over the dough and keep kneading — it will slacken and turn slippery before it firms up again. Work it 8 to 10 minutes more until the dough is satiny and a pinch stretched between your fingers goes translucent without tearing.
4. Round the dough, set it in a lightly buttered bowl, cover and leave in a warm place for 1 to 1 hour 15 minutes, until doubled and a floured fingertip leaves a dent that fills back only slowly.