Hokkaido Milk Loaf

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This Hokkaido Milk Loaf is the fluffliest and lightest bread you can ever come across! It's incredibly easy to make and it's great at any time of day!

Prep Time30

Cook Time30

Resting Time3

Course: Breakfast, Side Dish

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: bread, milk bread

Servings: loaves

Calories: 393kcal

Ingredients

Tangzhong

60 mL milk semi-skimmed or whole
60 mL water
25 g bread flour sifted

Milk Bread

Tangzhong room temperature
320 g bread flour sifted
2 tbsp granulated sugar
7 g instant yeast
½ tsp salt
1 egg medium-sized, room temperature
120 mL milk semi-skimmed or whole + more for brushing
60 g butter softened and cut in cubes

Instructions

Tangzhong

Place water, milk, and flour into a small saucepan on medium heat, whisking continuously to prevent to formation of any lumps.
Heat for 1-2 minutes, until a smooth and thick slurry forms and turn off heat. Transfer Tangzhong to a small glass bowl and cool completely before using. If making ahead, chill overnight in fridge and thaw to room temperature before using.

Hokkaido Milk Loaf

Place sifted flour, instant yeast, sugar, and salt into a large mixing bowl of an electric mixed fitted with the bread hook attachment.
Add egg, milk, and Tangzhong (room temperature).
Mix on low speed for 2-3 minutes until combined. Scrape any ingredients from the side of the bowl using a spatula.
Add cubed softened butter.
Mix and knead on low speed until dough is smooth and pulls from the side of the bowl, around 7-10 minutes. (Please note, at first, the dough will stick all over the bowl. As the butter incorporates, the dough will start pulling from the side of the bowl and form a smooth “ball”).
Cover the mixing bowl containing the dough with plastic wrap and allow to proof in a warm place for 1½-2 hours, or until doubled in size.
Once doubled in size, punch the dough and place it on a lightly floured working surface. (you may also need to lightly flour the dough if its too sticky). Divide the dough into 4 equal-sized balls (you can weigh these to make sure they're equal in size!).
Lightly grease a loaf tin with butter. Roll out each piece of dough using a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface. The width for each piece needs to be equal to the width of your loaf tin, whilst the length should be around 6 inches (15cm). Roll the dough tightly so that it resembles a Swiss roll. If the width of the dough is longer than that of the loaf tin, lightly "push" in the sides.
Place each piece of rolled dough into the loaf tin, with the seam side at the bottom side of the tin. Do the same for the remaining 3 dough balls.
Cover the loaf tin with plastic wrap and allow to proof for at least 1½ hours in a warm place, until doubled in size. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C (356F).
Lightly brush the surface of the proofed dough with milk, using a pastry brush. Bake in a preheated oven for 20-35 minutes (depending on the size of your bread), until the surface becomes golden brown. Bring out of oven and allow to cool in loaf tin for 5-10 minutes. Then, transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.

Nutrition