With lively sourdough starter and warm temps, this recipe can be completed in a day. The first rise (doubling) of my dough took 5 ½ hours at 78-80°F. The final proof -- see the photo gallery for target dough expansion -- should take 1-2 hours at these warm temps. I chose to refrigerate my dough overnight. It needed a few more hours at room temp the next morning to crest over the edge of the pan.

Warm up your milk from refrigerator temperature to 80-90°F.

Combine the ingredients in a bowl or stand mixer with the dough hook attachment and mix for 3-5 minutes. The dough will be soft but should come together quickly and wrap around the hook.

Place in a bowl and cover. Use a straight-walled container if you have one and mark the starting height of the dough.

Let the dough rise until it has doubled in size. My dough needed 5 ½ hours at 80°F.

Lightly flour your countertop and scrape the dough out onto it.

Flatten the dough into a rectangle that's about 7x10 inches. If it is very loose, fold and flatten it again.

Starting on one of the short sides, roll the dough into a tube, and let it rest on the seam. It should be a little shorter than your pan.

Lightly oil your loaf pan and place the dough inside it, seam down.

Cover and proof for 2-5 hours, depending on your room temperature. You can also retard the dough in the refrigerator. The dough is ready to bake when it has doubled, or crested over the lip of a medium loaf pan (9 x 5 x 2.75 inches).

Put your oven shelf on the second-from-the-bottom position and preheat your oven to 350°F for about 15 minutes. Placing the pan on a lower shelf will help the base of the bread cook efficiently and not be dense.

Brush the top of the loaf with milk and put the pan in the oven.

Bake for 50-55 minutes, until the interior of the loaf is over 190°F. Cover the bread for the final 10-15 minutes of the bake if you find it is browning too much. If you'd like the sides of the loaf to be firm, you can take it out of the pan and put it directly on the oven rack for this last portion of the bake.

Remove the bread from the pan and cool it on a rack for at least an hour before slicing.

Once completely cooled, store the bread in a bag, box, or beeswax wrap to keep it soft.