Recipe Swap: English Muffin Bread

I was really excited about this recipe swap theme: breakfast. I used to be one of those people who woke up and didn't feel the need to eat for a few hours. A cup of coffee could sustain me until around 10 a.m., noon if I was really busy. Not anymore. Part of getting older?

Now I keep the freezer stocked with homemade frozen waffles, Alton Brown's homemade "instant pancake mix," two different kinds of cereal, bagels, eggs, fruit, etc. One breakfast item I really enjoy is English muffins. In fact, on our recent summer vacation, my dad remembered how much I enjoy English muffins, and bought a 12-pack of them for me. For a 7-day vacation. Thanks, Dad. Not sure I like them that much.

So, anyway, when I received my swap recipe assignment, English muffin bread from Delicious Meliscious, I couldn't wait to make it. This had actually been on my radar for a while, since it's been passed around a cooking-based message forum on which I post.

Even though it's called "English Muffin bread," I was still surprised when I ate my first slice of the bread, and found it had the same flavor and texture as an English muffin. Not only is this bread delicious, it's quite possibly the easiest bread recipe I've ever made. Put the five ingredients in a mixing bowl, whisk, let sit, then bake. Wow. Melissa included a recipe for a compound strawberry butter in her post, but with strawberry season coming to an end, I skipped it, and instead enjoyed mine lightly toasted with a smear of cream cheese and a drizzle of honey. What an awesome breakfast treat!

English Muffin Bread
Source: Delicious Melicious

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups warm (~90 degrees F) water
• 2 ¾ cups (10 ⅝ ounces) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted, divided

Directions

1. Place the water, flour, salt, sugar, yeast, and 1 tablespoon of the melted butter in a large mixing bowl. Whisk just until all the dry ingredients are moistened. 
2. Cover the mixing bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for 90 minutes. 
3. Spray a 9x5 loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Using a bowl scraper or wooden spoon, transfer the dough to the loaf pan. The dough will deflate a little bit. Cover with the same kitchen towel and let rise again another hour. 
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the kitchen towel and place the pan in the oven for 40 minutes. 
5. Remove the pan from the oven and brush the top of the bread with the remaining tablespoon of melted butter. Return the pan to the oven for another 10 minutes. 
6. Remove from the oven and place the pan on a wire cooling rack. Allow the bread to cool completely before slicing and serving.