The Bakinglady 

Japanese milk bread

I cannot begin to tell you how damn good this utterly delicious, soft and fluffy bread is - similar in taste and texture to a brioche loaf, It’s incredibly simple and easy to make but I would definitely recommend only making it if you have a stand mixer with a dough attachment or a bread maker as the dough is extremely wet and quite difficult to knead by hand. It’s started with a simple roux sauce but then quickly becomes a standard bread making recipe, so roll your sleeves up and tantalise your tastebuds, because it's well worth the effort x

You will need 2 x 2lb loaf tins, lightly oiled

Tangzhong (starter)

Part 1

43g water

43g whole milk

14g white bread Flour

Part 2

57g butter

113g whole milk

1 medium egg

2 x 7g fast acting yeast

Dough

298g white Bread Flour

14g dried milk powder

50g sugar

1 level teaspoon salt

Egg wash

1 medium egg

Pinch salt

To make the tangzhong: Part 1 - Combine all of the ingredients in a small saucepan, and whisk until no lumps remain, Place the saucepan over a low heat, and cook the mixture, whisking constantly, until thick about 1 - 2 minutes.

Part 2 - add the butter to the saucepan , whisking well, followed by the whole milk and then the egg. Sprinkle over the yeast and give a final whisk ( don’t worry if there are some lumps, they will disappear in the kneading process.

To make the dough: Combine the tangzhong with the remaining dough ingredients, then mix and knead —

by hand - this method is not recommended as it’s a very wet dough

Stand mixer - 2 minutes on the lowest speed, scrape the bowl down, then 6 minutes on medium speed

or bread machine — follow manufacturers instructions

until a smooth, elastic dough forms ( don’t worry it is a very wet dough, this is what makes it so soft and utterly delicious)�***Top Baking tip*** Now place a shallow metal bowl of boiling water into the bottom of your oven and preheat on the lowest setting for 5 minutes - now TURN the OVEN OFF!!! (But dont open the door until your dough is ready for proving) - you want to create a lovely warm but not hot steamy environment to help your bread rise quicker and better ❤️�Scrape the dough out into a lightly oiled bowl then place into the preheated oven and shut the door, keeping all the lovely warmth and steam in, leave for 30 minutes with the door closed, until puffy but not necessarily doubled in size

divide it into 8 equal pieces. Flatten each piece into a rectangle the width of the tin, then starting with a short end, roll them each into a log. Place the logs in a row of four — seam side down and side by side — in 2 lightly greased 2lb loaf pans, pop the tins back into the steamy warm oven and rest/rise for a further 30 minutes, until puffy.

Brush the loaf with the prepared egg wash and bake at 180c for a regular oven, 160c for a fan assisted 350°F for about 25 minutes, until golden brown on top and a digital thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf reads at least 190°F. Remove the loaf from the oven, and cool it on a wire rack.