Barely adapted from James Beard's Beard On Bread
Makes 1 loaf
In a large bowl, stir together half of the flour, the yeast, sugar and salt. Warm the milk (in the microwave, if you wish) to 110° to 115° F. Beat into the flour mixture until smooth. Stir in the remaining flour until a stiff batter forms. (It's not quite a dough.) Cover with a clean tea towel and place in a warm corner to rise until doubled, about 40 minutes to an hour.
Dissolve the baking soda in the warm water and stir it into the batter well. Grease a microwave-safe 1 1/2 quart dish (such as a souffle dish or pyrex casserole dish) well and pour batter into the dish. Cover it back up with the towel and let it double again - another 40 - 60 minutes.
Now the fun part: Nuke the batter in the microwave2 for about 6 minutes and 30 seconds, or until there are no doughy spots left. Cool for 5 minutes then remove from the pan to cool completely.
Because this is cooked in the microwave, it will not brown. Then again, it's English Muffin Bread -- it won't brown much anyway. It really needs to be toasted to achieve its fullest potential.
Notes:
Barely adapted from James Beard's Beard On Bread
Makes 2 loaves
Combine flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Add 1 cup warm water and the warm milk, then beat vigorously by hand or using a stand mixer until the dough becomes slightly elastic and the edges come away from the bowl. The dough will still be loose and sticky, though somewhat gummy. Cover it with a clean tea towel and let it rise for 60 - 90 minutes or doubled.
Dissolve the baking soda in 2 tbsp of warm water. Beat down the dough with a wooden spoon and add the baking soda mixture. Mix thoroughly for about a minute or so to ensure that there are no streaks of baking soda in the dough.
Prepare two 9x5x3" loaf pans by greasing well with butter or lard. Divide the dough equally between the two pans. Cover them back up with the towel and let rise for another hour or so.
Preheat the oven to 375°F while the dough rises. Bake the loaves for about 20 minutes, until the top is golden and the edges pull away from the pan. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a rack to cool completely.
Slice, toast and serve.