• Gently heat milk to 110℉ in the microwave or on the stovetop.
• Combine 3 cups of flour, yeast, sugar, milk (or water), salt, and butter (or oil) in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, and mix until combined. Add 1 more cup of flour and mix to combine. With the mixer running, add more flour, ½ cup at a time, until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. The dough should be smooth and elastic, and slightly sticky when touched with a finger. If it's overly sticky, add a little more flour as needed.
• Knead the bread in the stand mixer for 5 minutes at medium speed. Then, stretch a piece of the dough between your fingers. If you can make it very thin where you can see through the dough without tearing, the gluten has developed. Otherwise, continue to knead the dough for another couple of minutes until you can.

First Rise

• Remove the dough from the mixer and shape it into a ball. Place in an oiled bowl, turn to coat all sides, then cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes. The dough should double in size.
  

Shaping the Bread

• Preheat the oven to 375℉.
• While the dough is rising, cut 8 pieces of bakers twine into 20-inch pieces. Arrange pieces of twine on a parchment lined baking sheet in a criss-cross pattern. Repeat with the second set of four.
  
• Divide the risen dough in half. Pull the edges of each dough to the center to form two smooth balls and place in the center of the crisscrossed twines on the baking sheets. Brush egg wash over each dough ball for even browning while baking.
  
• Grasping opposite ends of the baker's twine, draw them together and tie them loosely around the dough, giving it bread room to expand during baking. Cut the excess string before moving on to the next set of strings and repeat until the stall strings have been tied and cut.
  
• Using a dough scoring knife (or razor blade), cut slashes into the sectioned dough in a pattern. This looks pretty and lets the bread expand without tearing while baking.
  
• Bake the loaves for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. An internal temperature should read 190°-200° on an instant read thermometer or sound hollow when gently tapped on the bottom of the loaves.
• Remove the bread from the oven. When cool enough to handle, cut and gently remove the twine and brush lightly with melted butter for additional shine if desired. For a stem, you can use cinnamon sticks or candy apple sticks work beautifully, too.