Made two loaves of this yesterday. Mom, Erin (my daughter) & I devoured 1/2 a loaf before it ever cooled down. Delicious!

BUTTERTOP BREAD

Dough:

5 cups All-Purpose Flour

2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup dried potato flakes

2-1/2 tsp. instant yeast

1/3 cup sugar

1 large egg

4 Tblsp. butter

1-1/2 cups water

Topping:

1 to 2 Tblsp. melted butter

Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients till you've made a smooth, though somewhat sticky dough. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise for about an hour; it should become quite puffy, though it may not double in bulk.

Divide the dough in half, and bake it in two 8-1/2 x 4-1/2-inch pans. Using a pair of scissors, cut the loaf vertically down the middle from end to end, almost but not quite to the bottom of the pan. Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow it to rise till it's crowned about 1 inch over the rim of the pan.

Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven till it's golden brown about 25-30 minutes). Remove the bread from the oven, and brush it with melted butter. Yield: 2 loaves.

Source: The King Arthur Flour Company, Inc.

**My notes: Why the vertical cut down the center? Actually, I think it's more for looks than anything. It makes it look like those buttertop loaves you buy in the store. And it creates a crevice for the butter to go in when you put it on the loaf after it comes out of the oven. I didn't exactly "brush" it with butter - I sort of put little chunks of butter in the crevice and let them melt. It was yummy!

Oh and I forgot to mention that the only "instant mashed potatoes" I had on hand had 4 different types of cheese in them (I bought them when Mom had a couple of teeth cut out a couple of weeks ago). They gave this bread an excellent flavor and I reduced the salt a bit to compensate for the amount in the potatoes.

I made two more loaves this morning. It's just the best. Gave one loaf to a long-time neighbor/family friend yesterday evening (she's in her 90's) and she was tickled to death.

{{gwi:1525910}}