1. Heat milk in microwave for 30sec - 1 min or until lukewarm (slightly warmer than room temp).
  2. Combine milk, water, honey, and yeast in bowl of standing mixer. Let rest 10-15 min or until bubbly (you can skip the wait time if you're using instant yeast).
  3. Add salt + flour to liquid/yeast mixture & knead briefly.
  4. When most of the flour is absorbed, while the mixer is running, add in the soft butter. At this point, the dough should not be sticking to the sides of the bowl at all - if it is, slowly add in more flour, up to 1/4 cup until it starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough seems quite dry and dense, add up to 2 TBSP water until it starts to become more slack.
  5. Continue to knead for at least 6 or up to 10 minutes, the dough will become smooth.
  6. Grease a bowl with unsalted butter (might as well grease your loaf pan too while you're at it).
  7. Remove dough from the bowl of your standing mixer and form it into a ball with your hands (the dough should not stick to your hands, but if it does just grease them with a little unsalted butter too), plop the dough ball into your greased bowl and cover with a cotton or paper towel (do NOT use plastic wrap, the condensation will cause your dough to stick and make you sad).
  8. Put your covered bowl full of dough in a warm place (I put it in the oven with just the light on) for 45min - 1hr, until at least doubled, usually tripled in size.
  9. After your dough has risen, it's time to shape it! Grease a large cutting board or portion of your counter with some unsalted butter.
  10. Punch down your dough and dump it out onto the greased up area then flatten it into a rectangle with the shorter side being about the same length as your loaf pan, and near your body. -To clarify, you now have a rectangle of dough in front of you, the long sides are the left and right and the shorter (top and bottom) sides are about the same length as your loaf pan.-
  11. Beginning with the edge closest to your body, roll up the dough like you're rolling a cinnamon roll, or a sleeping bag. Try to keep the roll nice and tight, with few air bubbles and no rips while maintaining the proper length so it will fit into your loaf pan! When you get to the end of the roll, use the outside of your hand/palm to seal the edge. Plop the roll into the pan with the seal side down. GREAT JOB!!
  12. Cover your freshly shaped loaf in it's pan with the cotton or paper towel from earlier, and put it in a warm place. Set a 45 minute timer.