• Gather the ingredients so that you have everything close at hand on the counter or table. Coat loaf pans with shortening and flour, or use a baking spray such as Everbake.

Prepare the Dough

• In a large mixing bowl, combine the "fed and active" sourdough starter, warm water, instant dry milk, softened butter, and large egg.
• Add to this the granulated sugar, instant yeast, and kosher salt. Mix to combine.
• Gradually add in the all-purpose flour, and mix with dough hook until the dough comes together in a ball (3-5 minutes). The dough may be sticky.
• Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise until doubled. This may take 1-2 hours, depending on the temperature of your kitchen.

Form Dough Into Loaves

• Once doubled, turn out the dough on a lightly floured workspace and divide into two pieces. Lightly punch down once or twice and spread dough into a rectangle long enough to fit the bread pan you are using.
• Gently roll the dough and pinch sides and ends together to form a nice loaf. Lightly coat the dough in rice flour to prevent sticking to the pan. I like to use a Brown Rice Flour for this step for it's grittiness and whole grain texture.
• (Brown Rice Flour is gluten-free and will not absorb moisture the same as all-purpose flour. It also works very well to coat a banneton when forming loaves of bread. Other options are cornmeal or semolina.)
• Place loaf in one of the prepared loaf pans. Repeat with the second piece of dough. Cover pans with plastic wrap coated with baking spray and allow to rise until doubled. Again, this may take 1-2 hours or more, depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
• (If using a Pullman loaf pan, go ahead and spray the lid with a flour-coated spray, such as Everbake. Then close the lid while the dough rises.)

Prepare the Bake the Bread

• Toward the end of the rising time, preheat oven to 425℉. You'll want your oven to be good and hot, so allow at least 30 minutes heating time before baking.
• Place a pan of water on the bottom rack filled with about an inch deep of hot water. Allow this to heat while the oven warms. This will be used to help create steam while the bread bakes.
• When the loaves have nearly doubled, remove the plastic wrap from the top and place each pan on the middle rack in the hot oven. Drop 1-2 ice cubes in the pan of hot water below, which will immediately create steam. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until tops are golden brown.
• (For a Pullman loaf, check the bread after 18-20 minutes. Remove the top lid and continue baking for another 5-7 minutes until top is browned.)
• Remove loaves from oven and place loaf pan on its side for 3-5 minutes. Remove loaves from their pans and place bread on a wire rack to finish cooling.
• (For best results, allow the loaves to thoroughly cool before slicing with a bread knife. I will often wait until the next day to slice bread, especially if I want to make thin slices.)
• Serve with sandwiches or with butter. This recipe will make two loaves. A standard loaf pan will make approximately 20-24 slices, depending on thickness of each slice. A cocktail "tea" loaf pan will make 44-46 thin slices, which equals 22-23 small tea sandwiches.