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To make the dough: Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. Mix and knead all of the ingredients together — by hand, mixer, or using the dough cycle on a bread machine — to make a smooth, very soft dough. Don't be tempted to add more flour; slack dough is what will give the bread its open structure, which makes it able to "imbibe the butter with more freedom."
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Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until it's noticeably puffy. If you started this dough in your bread machine, transfer it to a bowl to rise; you don't want to risk "dough overflow," as this is a larger-than-usual amount of flour for the typical machine.
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Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased or floured surface, and gently deflate it. The dough is very slack, so you won't be able to shape it into a log; simply pat it into a greased 13" x 4" pain de mie pan, or a 10" x 5" loaf pan. Cover the pan, and let the loaf rise for 45 minutes to an hour, or until it's puffy. If you're using a pain de mie pan, the dough should come to within about 1/2" of the pan's rim.
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While the bread is rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.
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If you're using a pain de mie pan, add the lid and slide it shut. Bake the loaf for 35 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for another 10 minutes. The 10" x 5" loaf will bake for about the same amount of time: 45 minutes or so. When done, the bread will be golden brown, and its interior temperature at the center will be at least 190°F.
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Remove the bread from the oven, and after 5 to 10 minutes turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool.
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Store the bread, well wrapped, at room temperature for several days; freeze for longer storage.
