palomar
Culinarian

Hi Pat - forget what they said about the sugar - it's the rising that did you in - alwys use a LARGE bowl that has been lightly oiled, turned your dough to lightly coat and cover with clean lint-free towels. If you have a really large bowl - cover with plastic wrap before towels and place in a draft free place - never a heated oven. The oven's heat did it to you.
I've been making breads and sweet breads for 50+years.
I proof in a draft-free spot on my cupboad, undisturbed and I use towels to cover my large bowl - I don't even use the plastic wrap. Sometimes I add sugar while proofing - sometimes I don't. Using milk is no problem at all.

You can check out my blogs and look under BREADS -
TheFamiliaKitchen a/k/a The Family Kitchen
OldFashionedHomeCooking
RecipesByIngredient
Any questions - just give me a holler -