Place milk in a large mixing bowl with the honey and yeast. Stir lightly.
2 cups milk, 4 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast, 1 tablespoon honey
Allow mixture to rest for 5 minutes so yeast can bloom
Add water and one cup of flour. Mix well.
½ cup water, 5 cups flour
Mix in baking soda, salt, oil and an additional cup of flour
2 tablespoons oil, 2 teaspoons salt, ½ teaspoon baking soda
Continue adding flour until all flour has been used. The dough will be very wet and shaggy. Stir well so all flour is well incorporated.
Spray two bread pans with a nonstick spray and sprinkle with cornmeal. Shake cornmeal gently around pan so it covers all areas and dump out any extra.
2-3 tablespoons cornmeal
Pour half of the bread dough into each pan
Spray a spatula with nonstick spray and use spatula to spread dough evenly in pan
Cover pans with plastic wrap and allow dough to rise until it comes just below the top of the pan - about 45-60 minutes
Bake in a preheated 375° oven for 35 minutes
Remove from oven and let rest for 2-3 minutes and then remove bread from pans
Place bread on a baking rack to fully cool.
Once bread has been fully cooled, it can be sliced. Each loaf can be sliced into 10 slices.
Notes
Use a heavy spoon to mix dough
This dough is very wet. Do not be tempted to add additional flour.
Rise time will vary depending on your yeast and temperature of your kitchen
I often spray the plastic wrap with a bit of nonstick spray before covering loaf pans. This prevents dough from sticking to the plastic wrap when it rises.
Remove bread from loaf pans within a few minutes of removing from oven
Allow bread to fully cool before slicing
Nutritional values are estimated when slicing loaves into 10 slices.