The simplest and most delicious white bread

This is turning out to be a terrible week. It was supposed to be a week of celebration. We knew we were going to have the official approval of the loan for the house and basically we would have closed the deal. After that it was going to be only a matter of “when” (not “if”) we were going to move into out first home….Ohhh our first nest….our dream house….everything seemed too good to be true.

Despite a few things that did not go perfectly smooth due to our inexperience, everything went great….until Monday night. That terrible night, the agent called us saying that out of the blue the seller had decided not to sell anymore. Panic, disappointment, helplessness and much more came through our minds and hearts but never never never it occurred to us that they were trying to cheat us! I say they because we still don’t know the real behind the scene…you can never completely blame anybody. You never know the whole story. You never know the full truth.

Of course, we were shocked. How is it possible? Why did this happen? These were the first questions. Followed by “can this really be happening?” “Is it legal?”. After all, we have a contract. The immediate phone call to my in-laws reveals us that it is very likely that the seller has no right to step back from the purchase. Long story short: we got in touch with a lawyer and it seems we have done everything right, legally and in good faith while they (more the agent than the poor seller who is actually finding himself in a bit of a mess too - but this story is to long to be revealed here) did not. However, in the meantime we are suffering the consequences: thousands of emails, agent not complying, losing sleep, uncertainty, and of course the mental fatigue of dealing with a lot of crazy stuff. Things are (hopefully without any law suit) going to be finalized in these days. I still don’t completely believe we will get this house (I won’t until I will move my furniture in!). This aside, in this moment we are just left with one feeling: sadness. We are very sad for the fact that we tried to be correct, nice, accommodating (to the seller asking us for more time to move out etc) and the only thing we got in return was deceit.

All this happened, during the three days I spent working 12 hours a day moving the school to the new location and setting it up for the licensing agency to come. Today, I just needed comfort food. The only thing I could think about was to make this recipe. This is the simplest yet most delicious bread I’ve ever had. I make it recurrently when in need of comfort food. Today was the right day.

Soft White Bread

Ingredients

540 gr (4 cups or 19.2 oz) bread flour

113 gr (1/2 cup) butter, melted

60 ml (2 fl oz or 1/4 cup) buttermilk

60 ml (2 fl oz or 1/4 cup) whole milk

230 ml (8 oz or 1 cup) lukewarm water

15 gr (1 tbsp) active dry yeast

75 gr (6 tbsp or 2.7 oz) sugar

5 gr (1 tsp) salt

In a bowl add lukewarm water and sprinkle yeast on top.

Warm up buttermilk and add it, together with the melted butter to the yeast.

Blend together and add the dry ingredients.

Place the dough onto a floured surface and knead it for 8-10 minutes.

Place the dough into a oiled bowl. Turn it to cover all sides with oil. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let it rise until double in bulk.

Punch down gently the dough and cut it in half. Place it into 2 loaf pans, cover it and let it rise again.

Bake at 400 F for 40 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Have a sweet day! 

Source: Cooking Bread