I discovered Hokkaido milk bread a few months ago and have had it on my ‘to bake’ list ever since. It looked like it would be very similar to a Warbie’s milk roll… or brioche if you’re more upmarket!
The recipe for this bread is originally from Taiwanese Yu Fen Chen’s (Yvonne Chen) book 65°C Bread Doctor.
Apparently, the secret to the bread’s softness is using a kind of roux or flour & water/milk paste called tangzhong; heating it to 65ºC.
It’s an easy but not a quick loaf – good things come to those who wait…
…there’s a 15-minute electric knead, 2 proves of up to an hour each time, a 20-minute ‘rest’, a bit of dough origami before finally baking for 30-40 minutes – phew!
I put the loaves in the oven, took the dog for his evening walk and on re-entering the house, the aroma was even more amazing than normal bread; maybe it was the added sugar, maybe it was the tangzhong.
The recipe quantities below make 2 small loaves – the tins I used measured 19cm x 9 cm x 6cm tall. I made one plain loaf and one where I added a handful of raisins.
I’ve found variations online where grated cheese or finely chopped bacon were rolled in; I reckon chocolate chips would be a good addition!
This is quite a sweet loaf, but the next time I make it I’ll omit the sugar and make hot dog rolls or burger buns. Watch this space for Hokkaido, the sequel!
Hokkaido milk bread
Ingredients
For the tangzhong
- 50 g strong bread flour
- 250 ml milk
For the dough
- 50 ml double or whipping cream
- 55 ml milk
- 2 eggs
- 540 g strong bread flour
- 85 g caster sugar
- 8 g salt
- 10 g powered milk
- 11 g instant dried yeast
- 185 g tangzhong
- 50 g butter softened
Instructions
To make the tangzhong
- Add the 50g flour and 250ml milk to a medium-sized saucepan and mix with a whisk until there are no lumps
- Heat over a low-medium heat, stirring constantly. After a couple of minutes (and when it reaches the magic 65ºC) you'll notice the mixture thickening. Lower the heat and continue to stir until the tangzhong begins to come away from the sides & bottom of the saucepan and begins to form low peaks when you lift the whisk
- Put the tangzhong into a bowl, cover with cling film and allow to cool while you make the dough
To make the bread
- In a mixing bowl (I used my Kenwood mixer as there's a lot of kneading involved!) add the cream, milk and eggs and combine for a few seconds
- Add the flour, sugar, powdered milk, yeast and tangzhong and, using the dough hook, mix for 3 minutes on a low setting
- Add the softened butter and salt and mix for a further 10-15 minutes, again on a low setting
- Remove the dough hook, quickly form the dough into a ball, cover the bowl with clingfilm and allow to prove in a warm place until doubled in size (45-60 minutes)
- Grease 2 small bread tins
- Put the dough on a floured work surface, divide into quarters, form each piece into a ball, put them on to a floured oven tray, cover loosely with clingfilm and leave to relax in a warm place for 20 minutes
- On the floured work surface, one by one, roll each ball into a rectangle using a rolling pin
- Fold each rectangle of dough into ⅓s along the long sides, turn over so the overlap is on the underside and re-roll into a rectangle
- Roll up each rectangle along the long end and put into a baking tin with the end of the roll facing down to stop unravelling
- Cover the pans loosely with cling film and leave in a warm place for the 2nd prove for 45-60 minutes
- Preheat the oven to 175ºC
- Once proved, brush the top of each loaf with egg wash and bake for 35-45 minutes
- Allow to cool on a wire rack before eating
