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Japanese Milk Bread

Print Recipe
Course: baking
Keyword: baking, bread
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time3 hours 25 minutes
This recipe is straight from the King Arthur cookbook. Please visit their website for more information and notes.

Equipment

  • 1 stand mixer
  • 1 dough paddle

Ingredients

  • Tangzhong
  • 3 Tablespoons Water 43 grams
  • 3 Tablespoons Milk, whole preferred 43 grams
  • 2 Tablespoons King Arthur Bread Flour 14 grams
  • Dough
  • 2 1/2 cups King Arthur Bread Flour 300 grams
  • 2 Tablespoons Equate Dry Milk or nonfat dry milk 14 grams
  • 1/4 cup Granulated sugar 50 grams
  • 1 teaspoon Table salt 6 grams
  • 1 Tablespoon Instant yeast
  • 1/2 cup Milk, whole preferred 113 grams
  • 1 Large egg
  • 4 Tablespoons Unsalted butter, melted 57 grams

Instructions

  • To make the tangzhong: Combine all of the tangzhong ingredients in a small saucepan, or pot and whisk until no lumps remain.
  • Place the saucepan over low heat and cook the mixture, stir constantly, until thick and the whisk leaves lines on the bottom of the pan. This takes about about 3 to 5 minutes.
  • Transfer the tangzhong to a small bowl or measuring cup and let it cool to 100 degrees. Anything above 120 will kill the yeast.
  • To make the dough. Weigh your flour; (in grams). Combine the tangzhong with the remaining dough ingredients, then mix and knead — by mixer or bread machine — until a smooth, elastic dough forms; this could take almost 15 minutes in a stand mixer.
  • Lightly grease a large bowl, then shape the dough into a ball, and allow it it rest in the bowl, covered, for 1 and 1 1/2 hours, until puffy but not necessarily doubled in bulk.
  • Gently deflate the dough with your fingers and divide it into four equal pieces. If you have a scale, each piece will weigh between 170g and 175g.
  • Flatten each piece of dough into a 5" x 8" rectangle, or a bread pan size. Then fold the short ends in towards one another like a letter. Starting with a short end, roll them each into a 4" log.
  • Place the logs in a row of four — seam side down and side by side — in a single lightly greased 9" x 5" loaf pan.
  • Cover the loaf and allow it to rest/rise for 40 to 50 minutes, until doubled in size.
  • Towards the end of the rising time, (about 30 minutes) preheat the oven to 350°F.
  • To bake the bread. Brush the loaf with milk and bake it for 30 minutes, until it's golden brown.
  • Remove the loaf from the oven and cool it in the pan until you can transfer it safely to a rack to cool completely. It can take up to 10 minutes to cool enough for this.
  • Store leftover bread, well wrapped, at cool room temperature for 5 to 7 days; freeze for longer storage.

Notes

We found this Japanese Milk Bread recipe from our King Auther cookbook.The tangzhong you make adds so much flavor to the bread and makes it so light and fluffy!
Here is the link below if you want to find more information!
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/japanese-milk-bread-recipe