Ingredients

Over night sponge

• 72 grams bread flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons osmotolerant yeast (instant worked just as well too)
• 114 milliliters potato water, or whey or water (potato water or whey really make it extra tender & soft)

Dough

• 6 tablespoons butter, room temp.
• 30 to100 grams brown sugar
• lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs, room temp.
• 120 milliliters milk, room temp.
• 460 grams bread flour (you can use part whole wheat if you like)
• 2 tablespoons flax seeds, ground

Instructions

1. Beat sugar and butter until creamy.
2. Add zest and salt and beat.
3. Beat in each egg separately and completely; mix will appear curdled.
4. Stir in milk and sponge.
5. Stir in 2 1/2 cups flour and beat vigorously (in a stand mixer it would clear the sides of the bowl, by hand lifting the spoon up should stretch the dough about a foot.)
6. Add remaining flour to make stiff dough.
7. Knead 5 minutes or more to incorporate all the flour.
8. Dough should be smooth, soft and very supple with a slight stickiness. Looks a little like very thick cake batter or a brioche dough.
9. Shape into ball, oil bowl and dough ball.
10. Cover and allow to rise about 2 hours, should almost or triple in size.
11. Divide into loaves, shaped into balls.
12. Allow to rest 20 to 30 minutes before final shaping with rolling pin.
13. Press in a + and a x with a rolling pin. For best demarcation of indents be careful to dust dough ball well with flour.
14. Shape and place into well oiled cake pans seam side down.
15. Allow to rise an hour to 2 hours; more than double in size.
16. Brush with egg wash if you want that beautiful glossy finish.
17. Bake 350°F: 50 minutes as two loaves, 35 minutes as four loaves.