Japanese milk bread

I’ve been reading about Japanese milk bread on social media for ages. It’s a bit of a thing at the moment. Intrigued that people seemed prepared to pay $18 a loaf for this stuff in one particular New York bakery, I had to see what all the fuss was about.

And so Dear Reader, armed with a mixing bowl, a recipe and a pan, I set to work this morning to make my first loaf of Japanese milk bread.

To western bread makers, the process of making this bread does seem a bit bizarre.

You start by making what I can only describe as a roux, called the Tangzhong, with flour and water over gentle heat on the hob.

It’s said that this warming starts to activate the gluten in the flour before you mix it with the rest of the ingredients, which helps create the soft texture.

The rest of the ingredients and process are pretty similar to other breads :- flour, yeast, milk, melted butter, sugar, salt and egg, mixed and kneaded to a sticky dough. Very much like a brioche.

The dough is rested, proved for an hour, folded and rolled, then tucked in sections into loaf tins for a second proving before a thirty minute bake in a hot oven.

The taste and texture are lovely. Slightly sweet in taste, white, soft and pillowy in texture. It’s bread that children would love, or that you could use for anyone who doesn’t like their bread too chewy or textured.

I’m not sure that I’d pay $18 a loaf for this, but it’s a nice change from rustic sourdough and focaccia occasionally. And so much fun to add something completely different to the recipe collection.

For those of you who bake and want to give it a try, I used this recipe https://www.carolinescooking.com/japanese-milk-bread/

Definitely recommended.