This is MY recipe. I didn’t find it in any book. The loaf is relatively flat.
Makes 2 small loaves. NOTE: all measurements are approximate, I use a serving spoon to measure the sugar and a regular teaspoon to measure the yeast — both a bit rounded but not heaping).
Note on the flour. I use white, organic bread flour. I notice that flour quality differs between companies; but if you don’t have bread flour, just use all-purpose flour.
Mix together in a medium size bowl, preferably one with steep sides:
1 c. warm water (ideal temp is around 100°F)
About 1 to 3 tablespoons of sugar
About 1 teaspoon of yeast
Let sit at least 7 minutes.
Add 1 cup of flour and beat with a spoon until smooth.
Add more flour, about ¼ cup at a time and beat very well after each addition. Do this until the dough starts to be thick enough to handle — it should start to be difficult to stir and adhere to itself. Then dump it onto a floured board or your kitchen counter to kneed it.
I usually use close to 2 cups of flour total, including that on the board. (note, more flour will give a better shaped loaf, but less flour gives a softer texture).
Sprinkle 1 teaspoon full of salt and kneed that in. Kneed about 3 or 4 minutes.
Let the dough sit and wash the bowl you were using with very warm water. Dry it and, while still warm, butter it with lots of butter. Place the dough into the bowl, push it down, then flip it over so the whole ball of dough has butter on the outside. Cover it with a damp dishtowel and set it aside to rise.
Let it rise about 1½ hours. (This is my favorite amount of time for rising, but you could stop at 1 hour or leave it for 2 hours…. depending on what else you are doing and when you can make time to get back to it).
Dump the dough onto the breadboard and divide it in 2 equal pieces. Roll each piece like a snake – kindergarten style…. or let your kids do it. (Usually my snakes are about 12 inches long).
Butter a cookie sheet or metal pan and lay the 2 bread snakes side by side with about a half-inch between them. You can also twist the 2 snakes together. I did this to make the one larger loaf shown in the photo. If you want, you can sprinkle a tiny bit of pretzel salt on top, don’t use too much. Set the pan aside again to rise for 1½ hours.
Preheat the oven to 400°F, and when it is hot, cook the bread for about 11 or 12 minutes; for the twisted bread, cook it about 13 to 15 minutes. I use a food thermometer to measure the internal temperature: it should be between 195°F and 205°F. After taking it out of the oven, I immediately used a pastry brush to put butter on the top of the loaf. Allow the bread to cool at least 10 minutes (it is still cooking inside) before cutting it.
Always use a serrated knife and saw the bread without pushing down (bread knives have teeth). This bread is soft so you may prefer to just pull it apart to eat it.