Activate the yeast

• Whisk the warm water, warm milk, yeast and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
• Cover and let sit until foamy on top.

Make the dough

• Add the butter, salt and a third of the flour, then beat on low speed and scrape down the bowl.
• Add another third of the flour and beat on medium speed until relatively incorporated.
• Add the remaining flour and beat on medium speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Knead the dough

• Keep the dough in the mixer and beat, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface, until soft and stretchy.
• If too sticky, sprinkle flour a little at a time; the dough should stay soft and slightly tacky.
• Check with the poke test or the windowpane test before rising.

First rise

• Lightly grease a large bowl with olive oil and place the dough in it, turning to coat all sides.
• Cover and let rise until doubled in size.

Shape the loaf

• Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan.
• Punch down the dough and roll it out on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle, about 8x15 inches.
• Roll it up into a log and place it in the loaf pan.

Second rise

• Cover the shaped loaf and let it rise until about 1 inch above the top of the pan.

Preheat the oven

• Adjust the oven rack to a lower position and preheat the oven to 177 °C.

Bake

• Bake until golden brown; loosely tent with aluminum foil if the top browns too quickly.
• The loaf is done when it sounds hollow when tapped or the center reads 90–93 °C on an instant-read thermometer.

Cool and slice

• Cool in the pan on a cooling rack for a few minutes, then remove from the pan and slice.
• Store leftovers tightly covered at room temperature or in the refrigerator.