A slightly sweet, deliciously fluffy white bread. Light and delicious, this bread is definitely worth making!
I bake a lot of no-knead bread. I grew up making my mom’s brioche and cinnamon rolls. Most recipes with yeast don’t really scare me like they do for a lot of people.
I’ve heard about Japanese milk bread for about a year or two. I read that it is delicious, but a little tricky to make. I’ve seen recipes for it, but never actually looked at what made this bread different. Well, I saw a recipe for it again this week and decided to try it.
As far as making bread goes, this one is really pretty simple if you have a stand mixer. I would recommend this recipe for anyone who is beginning bread making. The easiness of the recipe to produce such a delicious loaf of bread is pretty amazing. It’s definitely worth the time. Plus, is there anything better than warm bread, fresh from the oven?
Starter
½ cup whole milk
½ cup warm water
1/3 cup bread flour
Whisk together the ingredients for the starter in a small sauce pan. Heat on medium while stirring. Continue to heat and stir until thickened. The spoon should leave a trail on the bottom of the pot when it is ready. It takes about 5 minutes to thicken to this stage.
Move starter to a small bowl and cool to room temperature. You may want to put plastic wrap the top of the bowl so it won’t form a skin on top.
Dough
5 cups bread flour
½ cup sugar
4 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, slightly beaten and at room temperature.
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
¼ cup butter, at room temperature
2-3 tablespoons heavy cream or extra milk.
Whisk together flour, sugar, yeast and salt in bowl of stand mixer. While on low, slowly add egg, milk and starter. You will want to use the dough hook attachment for this. Let mix for about 5 minutes, scrapping down the sides occasionally.
Add butter, and continue to mix on low for 5 more minutes or until butter is completely incorporated. Increase speed to medium and knead or another 6-7 minutes, until dough is completely smooth and slightly springy.
Shape dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl. cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap, and let rise until double in size, or about one hour.
Line 2 bread pans with parchment. Spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
Lightly flour the surface you will be using. Divide dough into 8 equal sections, and roll into balls. Carefully roll out each ball into a 10x6 rectangle. Fold in about one inch on each of the sides of the rectangle. Roll rectangle into a log and place in pans seam side down. There should be 4 logs in each pan.
Cover loaves and let rise again for about 45 to 60 minutes. Brush tops of loaves of bread with cream.
Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. A thermometer should read 190 when the bread is done. Let cool in pan for about 10 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool at least 1 hour before eating.
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