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White mountain bread is good stuff. It has an extra-fermented bready taste, and enough strength that it won't tear when you spread peanut butter on it. This ain't no mushy kiddie bread!

What you need (separated by stages):

3/8 cup warm water
1/2 envelope (1/2 tbsp) active dry yeast
a "pinch" of sugar

3/4 cup of warm milk
1.5 tbsp melted unsalted butter
1.5 tbsp honey
3 cups unbleached all-purpose or bread machine flour
1/2 tbsp salt


Cooking spray or something else to grease a pan
A loaf pan or a cookie sheet, depending on how you're shaping the bread

As ever, I haven't made this by hand. I made the dough using my bread machine. I've included by-hand directions based on the recipes I've found, but I have not done them myself. I have made steamed buns with this dough, however!

Bread machine version:

Mix the warm water and sugar in a cup. Sprinkle the yeast onto the top, then stir it to moisten the yeast evenly. Let it rest for 10 minutes while the yeast foams up.

Dump the yeast mix into the bread machine. Add the milk, butter, honey, flour, and salt, in that order. Put it on the dough cycle and let it do its thing.

When the dough is ready, dump it onto a lightly floured kneading surface. Punch it down by mashing your fist into it to deflate it, then cover it and let it rest while you grease the cooking pan. Then pat the dough into a flat rectangle about as long as your loaf pan, roll it up jelly roll style, pinch the ends and the seam to seal it, and place it in the pan with the seam down. (Or shape it into smaller loaves, or make a big round loaf to cook on a cookie sheet, or whatever you feel like. Have fun.) When you're done, cover the loaves-to-be lightly with plastic wrap and put them aside to rise for 45 minutes, until they double in size.

20 minutes before you're ready to cook preheat the oven to 375 degrees. When you near the 45 minute mark, press two fingers an inch into the top. If the dent fills back in, the bread needs to rise more. If it remains, the bread is fully risen and ready to bake, so make a quick slash, 1/4 inch deep, down the length of the loaf with a serrated knife. This will let the dough expand during the rest of the rise and cooking. If you make a big round loaf make two cuts in a cross pattern. Bake the bread for 30-35 minutes - but if you're making smaller loaves and rolls check it at about 20 minutes. The bread is done when you tap the top crust and it sounds hollow.

Take the bread out and place the loaves on their sides on a wire or wooden cooling rack with room for air to circulate for 15 minutes so the dough won't get soggy and the centers will be completely baked.

When I've bought white mountain bread in stores it's had a sprinkling of cake flour on the top for the "white mountain" look. You can do this if you feel like adding the extra touch.

Hand-kneaded version:

Mix the warm water and sugar in a cup. Sprinkle the yeast onto the top, then stir it to moisten the yeast evenly. Let it rest for 10 minutes while the yeast foams up.

In a large bowl mix the milk, butter, honey, salt, and 1/2 cup of the flour. Beat it for about three minutes, until it's creamy. Add the yeast mixture. Mix with a wooden spoon, adding the flour in a half cup at a time, until the flour is all in and the dough is stiff and a little sticky.

Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. Knead until it's smooth and springy, which takes about 7-10 minutes. Then grease a bowl, put the doughball into it, and swirl it around to get a light coating of grease on the dough's surface.  Cover it with plastic wrap and set it aside for about 90 minutes to 2 hours to rise to double its size.

When the dough is risen, punch it down by mashing your fist into it to deflate it. Dump it out onto the lightly floured working surface, cover it, and let it rest for 10 minutes while you grease the cooking pans. Pat the dough into a flat rectangle about as long as your loaf pan, roll it up jelly roll style, pinch the ends and the seam to seal it, and place it in the pan with the seam down. (Or shape it into smaller loaves, or make a big round loaf to cook on a cookie sheet, or whatever you feel like. Have fun.) When you're done, cover the loaves-to-be lightly with plastic wrap and put them aside to rise for 45 minutes, until they double in size.

20 minutes before you're ready to cook preheat the oven to 375 degrees. When you near the 45 minute mark, press two fingers an inch into the top. If the dent fills back in, the bread needs to rise more. If it remains, the bread is fully risen and ready to bake, so make a quick slash, 1/4 inch deep, down the length of the loaf with a serrated knife. This will let the dough expand during the rest of the rise and cooking. If you make a big round loaf make two cuts in a cross pattern. Bake the bread for 30-35 minutes - but if you're making smaller loaves and rolls check it at about 20 minutes. The bread is done when you tap the top crust and it sounds hollow.

Take the bread out and place the loaves on their sides on a wire or wooden cooling rack with room for air to circulate for 15 minutes so the dough won't get soggy and the centers will be completely baked.

When I've bought white mountain bread in stores it's had a sprinkling of cake flour on the top for the "white mountain" look. You can do this if you feel like adding the extra touch.

Steamed white mountain bread rolls: You can steam this stuff too! Simply make the dough according to the recipe, but instead of making a big loaf, make smaller rolls. (Or set aside a little of the dough when making a loaf, and use that to make a few rolls.) When they've finished rising, steam them for 30 minutes. This makes very soft, tasty rolls with the characteristic white mountain bread flavor.