In my teen years I refuse to eat anything that was made of white flour. Everything had to be whole wheat. As I got older, I stopped caring about eating everything whole wheat. I started to crave white bread. While I still buy whole grains loafs, once in a while I crave for a soft and sweet bread. A milk bread definitely hits the spot. I can eat it with some nice yummy spreads like the peach jam or eat it on its own. Milk bread is a twist on the classic white loaf bread which uses milk instead of water, this provides additional sugar and flavor. It also includes sugar and vegetable oil (although you can add these to traditional loaf bread). The most popular way of making them is through a mixture called Tangzong. This is where you mix water and flour together in a pot and heat it up. It forms a paste and you mix it into the flour.

Alternative to Tangzong method

Being me, I’m kind of lazy. I don’t want to use multiple equipment to make this bread. I opt out of the tangzong method but it doesn’t mean that you can’t make fluffy bread. Typically when you make bread, it’s usually done with bread flour, water and yeast.

This bread recipe is similar to a basic white bread loaf with substitution of water with milk. I used a bit of bread flour along with all purpose flour. I also added vegetable oil and sugar. I’m also using tall bread pan with lid. The lid is optional. The milk gives a nice fragrant to the bread where the sugar adds a slight sweetness to the bread once it’s baked. Overall the result is a nice fluffy bread. For bread I usually have 2 proofs before going to the oven, while it takes longer, the end result is better. As you can see from picture below, the air bubble inside of the bread is pretty even and has a fluffy texture.

Later in the future, I may try the tangzong method and share my experience baking that way. For now I’m too lazy to do it so I’ll share a quick method for making this version of milk bread.

Pro-tip:

• dissolve the yeast into the warm milk, let it bloom for a few minutes before adding to the dry ingredients.
• Use a bit of bread flour, I find that it helps the bread be more pillowy and still stays soft after cooling.
• If the dough mixture breaks apart initially let it rest for 15 min because kneading again
• Lazy tip: use a standing mixer if you have one, saves a lot of work, still works well hand kneading.
• Rest your dough, this helps the gluten to develop before kneading which helps to prevent breakage of the dough.
• Seal your bread with saran wrap or ziploc bags if storing for later consumption. Eat within a week to prevent staleness

Easy Foolproof Milk Bread

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Prep Time 2 hours hrs 40 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Total Time 3 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Course Breakfast

Equipment

• Standing mixer optional
• Bread Pan

Ingredients

  

• 300 g all purpose flour
• 100 g bread flour
• 2 g salt
• 40 g sugar
• 200 ml warm milk
• 5 g dry active yeast 1 tsp
• 1 room temperature egg about 50g
• 30 g butter at room temp

Instructions

 

• Combine warm milk, sugar and yeast and let it sit for 5 minutes to let yeast bloom until you can't see individual yeast granules.
• Combine flour and salt into a standing mixer or mixing bowl.
• Add in eggs, milk yeast mixture and mix together. Once it's all mixture, the dough might be slightly wet and doesn't have a lot of elasticity.
• Add in the butter and continue mixing.
• Mix until all the dough comes together and is smooth.
  
• Let it sit in a warm place to proof for 1 hour
• After proofing, sprinkle some flour on the dough as well on the surface you are working. Press down on the dough and let out some air
• Knead the dough for 5 minutes, divide into 3 equal section.
  
• Take one section, roll into an oblong shape pressing out the air, roll the dough into a sausage
  
• Turn the dough 90° and roll it out again, then roll the dough into a sausage
  
• Place into bread pan, repeat with the other 2 sections
  
• Close the lid on the bread pan and let it ferment for another hour. It should double in size
  
• Once it double in size, crack an egg and add water. Brush the egg mixture onto the bread and close the lid.
• bake the bread in a preheated 350℉ oven for 35 minutes.
• Take the bread out of the oven and out of the mould. Let it cool completely.
  
• The bread can be enjoyed right away or seal with saran wrap or Ziploc bag. To enjoy right after baking, I like to peel small pieces of bread and eat it as is.
  

Notes

I tried just adding yeast to dry ingredients but  I find yeast granules inside dough even after fermenting twice. I found premixing yeast and milk together gives better results.