Hokkaido Milk Bread

Equipment

The dough for this Japanese milk bread recipe is very sticky to work with. It’s best made in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. You could also use a bread machine.

Hokkaido bread method

Combine the flour and the milk for the tangzhong in a small saucepan. Place this over medium heat and whisk until the mixture is cooked into a thick paste.

Remove it from the heat and scrape it into a small bowl. Let it cool down until just lukewarm to the touch.

While the tangzhong is cooling, combine the warm milk, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer.  

If using active dry yeast, let this sit for around 5-10 minutes until it becomes foamy; if using instant yeast this step can be skipped.

Add in the cooled tangzhong, the dough flour, egg and salt.Turn the mixture onto low speed and combine it into a shaggy dough.

Turn the mixer to medium speed and mix for 5 minutes until the dough strengthens.

Add in the softened butter a few cubes at a time.

Continue kneading for a further 15 minutes until the sticky dough is strong and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Window pane test

Let the dough rest for 5 minutes, then break off a piece and see if it can stretch out really thin without tearing.

This is called the window pane test and is a good way to see that the gluten has developed enough.

First rise

Add the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover it with plastic wrap, a damp kitchen towel or a lid.

Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, around about 1 hour. The exact rise time will depend on your room temperature.

Shaping the final dough

Punch down the dough and pull it from the bowl onto a lightly floured surface.

Weight the dough, then cut it into 3 equal pieces. Use a scale to get really equal proportions. Shape each piece into a ball.

Use a rolling pin to roll each dough ball on the work surface into a long oval shape, around 20cm/8-inches in length.

Roll up each piece like a swiss roll. Place each roll into a greased or parchment paper-lined 9×5 inch loaf pan.

Second rise

Cover the baking pan with compostable plastic wrap or place it in a warm place to rise again until doubled in size.

Baking

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C

Mix together an egg with a tablespoon of water and brush the top of the dough with this egg wash.

Bake the bread in the preheated oven for around 30-35 minutes until deep golden brown on top. If you find the bread is browning too quickly, loosely cover it with aluminum foil.

When you remove the bread from the pan and tap the bottom of it, it should sound hollow. The internal temperature of the loaf should be around 200°F/94°C.

Remove the bread from the pan and let it cool on a wire rack.

Serving and storing

The bread can be served slightly warm or cooled at room temperature. It’s delicious to tear into when just a little bit warm. If slicing it for sandwiches, let it cool completely.

Store leftover bread in an airtight container, or tightly wrapped, at room temperature for up to a week. Leftover milk bread makes amazing french toast!

The bread can also be frozen for long-term storage, up to 3 months.

FAQS

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Hokkaido Milk Bread Recipe

Elien Lewis

Super fluffy and soft, this Hokkaido milk bread uses a tangzhong method to create an extra fluffy bread.

5 from 13 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Additional Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 3 hours hrs

Course Bread

Cuisine Japanese

Servings 1 loaf

Calories 316 kcal

Equipment

• USA Pan 1145LF Bakeware Aluminized Steel 1.25 Lb Loaf Pan, Medium, Silver

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

Tangzhong

• 24 g bread flour
• 120 g whole milk

Bread dough

• 120 g whole milk
• 25 g granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast or active dry yeast
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• All the tangzhong
• 312 g bread flour or all-purpose flour
• 55 g unsalted butter, room temperature, cubed

Egg wash (optional)

• 1 egg + 1 Tablespoon water

Instructions

 

Tangzhong

• Combine the flour and the milk for the tangzhong in a small saucepan. Place this over medium heat and whisk constantly until the mixture is cooked into a thick and glutinous paste.
• Remove it from the heat and scrape it into a small bowl. Let it cool down until just lukewarm to the touch.

Dough

• While the tangzhong is cooling, combine the warm milk, sugar and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. If using active dry yeast, let this sit for around 5-10 minutes until it becomes foamy, if using instant yeast this step can be skipped.
• Add in the cooled tangzhong, the dough flour, egg and salt. Turn the mixture onto low speed and combine it into a shaggy dough.
• Turn the mixer to medium speed and mix for 5 minutes until the dough gains some strength.
• Add in the softened butter a few cubes at a time and continue kneading for a further 12-15 minutes until the sticky dough is strong and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
• Let the dough rest for 5 minutes, then break off a piece and see if it can stretch out really thin without tearing. This is called the windowpane test and is a good way to see that the gluten has developed enough.

First rise

• Add the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover it with plastic wrap, a damp kitchen towel or a lid.
• Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, around about 1 – 1 1/2 hours. The exact rise time will depend on your room temperature.

Shaping

• Punch down the dough and pull it from the bowl onto a floured work surface. Weight the dough, then cut it into 3 equal pieces. Use a scale to get really equal proportions. Shape each piece into a ball, using a little flour on your hands and the tops of the dough to stop them from sticking.
• Use a rolling pin to roll each dough ball on the work surface into a long oval shape, around 20cm/8-inches in length. Roll up each piece like a swiss roll. Place each roll into a parchment paper-lined 9×5 inch loaf pan.
• Cover the baking pan with compostable plastic wrap or place it in a warm place to rise again until doubled in size.

Baking

• Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C
• Mix together an egg with a tablespoon of water and brush the top of the dough with this egg wash.
• Bake the bread in the preheated oven for around 30-35 minutes until deep golden brown on top. If you find the bread is browning too quickly, loosely cover it with aluminium foil.
• When you remove the bread from the pan and tap the bottom of it, it should sound hollow. The internal temperature of the loaf should be around 200°F/94°C.
• Let it cool on a wire rack.

Notes

Instant yeast or active dry yeast. The yeast used in this recipe can be instant yeast or active dried yeast. Instant yeast will rise faster than active dried yeast. Whichever one you use, it needs to be viable. Usually, the instant yeast sachets are pretty foolproof, but sometimes active dried yeast can lose viability.

Butter. You could use salted butter or unsalted butter. If you are using salted butter, you may want to decrease the added salt in the recipe.

The flour – Bread flour is best, however, you could also use a strong all-purpose with a protein level of at least 11%.

Baking – When you remove the bread from the pan and tap the bottom of it, it should sound hollow. The internal temperature of the loaf should be around 200°F/94°C.

Stand mixer – The dough for this Japanese milk bread recipe is very sticky to work with. It’s best made in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. You could also use a bread machine.

Cup sizes – The cup sizes given are US-sized. Note that these are smaller than metric. For best results, use grams.

Doubling the recipe – If you want to make more than one loaf, this recipe can easily be doubled.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 316kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 8gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 55mgSodium: 297mgFiber: 2gSugar: 6g

Keyword milk bread, quick bread, tangzhong, yeast bread

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