English Muffin Bread in the Microwave

Barely adapted from James Beard's Beard On Bread
Makes 1 loaf

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp instant yeast¹
• 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tbsp warm water

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:

1. If using active dry, use 1 packet.
2. Our microwave is 1100W.