Warm the milk and butter in a saucepan, stirring until the butter melts. Keep aside to cool. If using active dry yeast, proof the yeast by mixing it with 1/4 cup of the warm water and sugar and leave for about 5 to 10 minutes till frothy and then add to the flour. If using instant yeast just add that and the sugar to the flour in the bowl directly.

In a large bowl, or the bowl of your machine, put the flour and the yeast mixture (or instant yeast and sugar), salt and the butter-milk mixture. Mix well and then add as much of the warm water as necessary to knead well. Tip the dough onto a flour dusted counter and knead a little more by hand till soft, smooth and elastic. Shape the dough into a ball and place in an oiled bowl, turning it to coat well. Cover loosely and let it rise till double, about 2 hours.

Deflate the dough and then roll it into a rectangle about 14" x 7". Roll the dough tightly, from the shorter side and pinch the edge and the ends of the roll well to seal. Place the roll into a well-greased 8" x 4" sandwich loaf tin. Cover loosely and let it rise till almost double, about 45 minutes to an hour.

With a very sharp blade or knife, make a 1/4" slash the top of the risen dough lengthwise in the middle from end to end. Pour the melted butter into the slash. It doesnu2019t matter if it overflows a bit.

Bake it in a 200C (400F) oven for about 25 to 30 minutes till golden brown on top and it sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from the loaf tin and cool completely before slicing.