Weigh and combine all ingredients for the main dough and add them to the bowl of your stand mixer or a large bowl. If you're using a mixer,  mix everything with the dough hook for 8 minutes until you have a smooth dough. If kneading by hand, combine all the ingredients in your bowl with your hands and then knead the dough by hand for 15 minutes or until you have a smooth dough ball.

Let your dough rise in a lightly oiled bowl for 1 to 1.5 hours. The dough should at least double in size.

Once the dough has doubled, remove it from the bowl to deflate the gasses. Shape the dough into a rectangle that's about the length of your 8 x 4-inch loaf pan (or 8.5 x 4.5-inch pan). Carefully roll the dough into a large log about 8 inches wide and seal the seam. 

Lay the dough log in a lightly oiled 8 x 4-inch loaf pan with the seam side down. Place the pan in a warm spot in your kitchen, covered by a lightly greased piece of plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for 1 to 2 hours or until the dough has risen up above the top of the loaf pan.

After 1 hour, start preheating the oven to 350°F. 

Paint the top of the loaf with an egg wash, which is a whole egg, and a tablespoon of water that has been stirred together well. This egg wash will make the top of the bread shiny and pretty.

With a sharp knife, slash the top of the dough twice at an angle or once all the way from one end to another. You want to slash down about a half-inch or three-quarters of an inch deep.

When the oven has preheated, bake the bread for 30 to 35 minutes. 

When the bread has a nice dark color, remove it from the oven, and as soon as you can take the bread out of the pan and let it rest on a cooling rack until fully cool.

Do not slice until the bread has cooled, at least an hour after baking.