English muffins in a loaf. Toast it and it soaks up butter like the best of them. So good I’ve never once been inspired to make my own english muffins.

If you’ve never made bread before this is a great place to start. There is no kneading involved, no proofing of yeast, and it doesn’t take long to rise. If you have made bread before, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how quickly you can whip this out.

Muffin Bread adapted from a Fleischmann’s Yeast ad from the 1980′s

2 packages yeast (about 2 TBS)
6 cups flour
1 TBS sugar
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups milk*
1/2 cup water

Grease 2 bread loaf pans really well. If you keep white vegetable shortening (ie Crisco) around, use it to grease the bread pans. If you’re using margarine or butter, I recommend greasing and flouring the pans.

Stir together 3 cups flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and baking soda in a large mixing bowl. Heat the milk and water to 120°F. This is the temperature at which you should be able to swirl your finger in the liquid and say “That’s hot, not warm” but not have to yank your finger out immediately to avoid burning yourself. Add the liquid to the mixing bowl with the dry ingredients. If you’re using a stand mixer use the beater attachment, not the dough hook, and beat till smooth. If you’re mixing by hand, use a wooden spoon to combine all the ingredients and then keep mixing till smooth. Using either method, stir in the rest of the flour to make a stiff batter.  Spoon the batter into the greased pans and cover with a damp dish towel. Let rise for 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake the loaves at 400°F for 25 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on a wire rack.

Besides being brilliant toasted, muffin bread makes a great stand in for english muffins when making eggs florentine.

*You can replace the milk with water and still get great bread. However the crust will be a bit crunchier and the bread will be a little less soft overall.