Homemade Hokkaido Milk Bread (Japanese Milk Bread)
This homemade Hokkaido milk bread recipe also known as Japanese milk bread is fluffy, light and delicious. It uses a tangzhong (“roux”) to make the dough keeping it soft for days.
Equipment
- Stand mixer with dough hook attachment
- Mixing bowls
- Rubber spatula
- Scraper
- 9 inch loaf tin
- Brush
Ingredients
Tangzhong -
- 2 tbsp bread flour
- 6 tbsp water
Dough -
- 1/4 cup full fat warm milk
- 1 tbsp instant yeast
- 2 3/4 cups bread flour
- 2 tbsp castor sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup heavy cream highest fat percentage
- 2 tbsp milk powder
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp butter
Egg wash -
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp milk
Instructions
Tangzhong -
- In small sauce pot whisk the bread flour and water until smooth. Place it on medium heat and cook for 2-4 minutes, stirring continuously it has thickened, it looks like a gel/glue consistency. Take off the heat and let it cool completely.
Dough -
- In a mixing bowl add the warm milk, sugar and yeast. Stir and let it get foamy, around 10 minutes.
- In your stand mixer bowl add the 2 and 1/2 cups of bread flour, salt, milk powder and stir. Add the tangzhong mixture, heavy cream, egg.
- Pour in the foamy yeast mixture and mix this in the stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Mix for 5 minutes until sticky but no dry pockets of flour.
- Add the remaining 1/4 cup of flour, a little at a time mixing until the dough is soft. (You may not need to use it at all)
- Add the butter one table at a time and mix again until incorporated before adding the next tablespoon.
- Once it dough is smooth form into a ball and line the mixing bowl with a little oil, place the dough in it cover with cling wrap and let it rise for 2 hours or until doubled.
- After it has doubled in size, punch down and transfer it to a lean kitchen surface. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts. Roll each part into a small log and place in a 9 inch loaf tin. Cover and let it rise for 1 hour until doubled.
Egg wash -
- Preheat the oven to 180℃ 30 minutes into the second proof and beat the egg with milk for the egg wash.
- After the dough is doubled, generously brush the top with the egg wash and bake for 30 minutes until the dough is risen and the top is golden. Once you knock the top it should have a hollow sound.
- Allow it to cool completely before removing it from the loaf tin, slicing and serving.
Notes
- Make sure the eggs, butter, cream are at room temperature.
- Using warm milk is important to get the yeast activated so don’t skip on it.
- You can let the dough have its first proof in the fridge over night as well. The next day remove the dough from the fridge, let it come to room temperature, knock back, shape and proof for the second time before egg washing and baking.
- Temperatures and times vary based on the country, type of product you use and altitude you live in. Hence I would suggest you look for the right signs instead of falling timelines. Sometimes the dough might have doubled in have the time or might need more than 2 hours to proof.