Perfect White Bread

Step 1
Heat milk in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until it bubbles. Remove from heat and stir in sugar, salt, and shortening. Cool to lukewarm.

Step 2
While milk mixture is cooling, dissolve yeast in warm water and let stand until creamy, about 5 minutes.

Step 3
Combine cooled milk mixture with yeast mixture in a large mixing bowl. Stir in 2 cups flour, then add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, to make a moderately stiff dough.

Step 4
Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour 20 minutes.

Step 5
Lightly grease two 9×5-inch loaf pans.

Step 6
Punch down dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Shape into 2 balls, cover, and let rest for 10 minutes. Shape dough into 2 loaves and place into the prepared pans; let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Step 7
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Step 8
Bake loaves in the preheated oven until the tops are golden and loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottom, about 35 minutes.