In a small saucepan, warm the milk and butter on low heat until ~100F. To the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, add the milk-butter mixture, the yeast, and brown sugar. Turn the mixer on to start stirring. Add the salt and flour. Once combined, let the machine knead the dough for 8 minutes until dough is soft and smooth. Transfer the dough to a large bowl sprayed with cooking spray. Cover bowl with a damp towel and let the dough rise 1 hour until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Half fill a large pot with water and add the baking soda. Bring to a boil.

Turn dough onto a board and cut into desired number of pieces (i.e. 2 for loaves, 4 for burger buns, 8 for rolls). Roll each into a tight ball. Add each to the poaching liquid. Boil 1 minutes, turn, and boil another minute. Remove to a greased baking sheet (make sure it's greased or the bread will stick when it cooks).

Slice a small "X" on the top of each roll with a sharp knife. Add a little water to the egg to make an egg wash (~2 t). Brush loaves with the egg wash. Sprinkle tops with sea salt. Bake loaves 15 minutes at 400, then reduce heat to 350 and bake another 5-15 minutes, depending on the size of your loaves, until well browned. Enjoy!