Sweet Milk Bread

When I first decided I wanted to start a food blog I emailed my family members and asked them what their favorite recipes were and asked them to send me recipes to make and share. My sister-in-law, Whitney, emailed me back pretty quickly saying, "This is the bread of dreams :) It’s from my mom, Dawn. It is the best bread I’ve ever eaten. It takes a little work but it is oh so worth it!"

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Rise: 1 1/4 hours
Bake: 30 minutes
Yield: 3 loaves (8x4)

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 c water
• 1 can (1 1/4 c) sweetened condensed milk
• 1 T salt
• 1/4 c butter
• 8 c bread flour
• 2 T active dry yeast

Directions:

1. Combine 3 1/2 c flour and yeast; set aside. In a saucepan, heat and stir water, milk, butter, and salt just until warm (120 - 130 degrees F) and butter almost melts. Add milk mixture to flour mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on low to med speed for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can. 
2. Knead in enough flour to make a smooth, moderately stiff dough that is elastic (is 6-8 minutes total). Shape into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface of dough. Cover; let rise in warm place until doubled in size (45-60 minutes). 
3. Punch dough down. Divide into 3. Cover. Let rest 10 minutes. Grease bread pans. 
4. Shape into loaves. Place in pans. 
5. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled. 
6. Bake in 375 degree oven for 30 minutes or until bread sounds hollow. Immediately remove bread from pans and let cool on rack. 

*Jam recipe: https://therobertshomemade.blogspot.com/2019/07/the-healthier-spread-jam-and-jelly.html