Hokkaido Milk Toast (Japanese style) 北海道牛奶面包

12.7.13 (Fri)

Today  I baked bread again..but this round, am using a different method of baking bread and it turned out beautifully..thks to Christine for her useful tips. Plz click here for info.

 

I was introduced to Christine's facebook by a friend..She has her own blog too..and I found this Hokkaido milk toast recipe..Christine liked to bake her bread using the "tangzhong" method, which could help to make the bread more fluffy and soft..Though I have been baking bread for own consumption, but I faced a problem - the bread will turn hard on the second day and I have to heat up in the microwave for 10-15 seconds..so, I decided to follow her method and woohoo...it worked..the bread was soft and fluffy..and the texture was good..best thing of all, no chemical added..loved it!

 

 

 

Ingredients

540g bread flour
86g caster sugar
8g salt
9g full cream milk powder (I used my kids' milk powder..haha)
11g instant dried yeast
1 egg
59g whipping cream (ran out of whipping cream, so I used 100g of fresh milk)
54g milk
184g tangzhong (method of making tangzhong)
49g unsalted butter, melted

 

Methods

1. Add all ingredients (except butter) into a breadmaker, first the wet ingredients (milk, cream, egg, tangzhong), then followed by the dry ingredients (salt, sugar, milk powder, bread flour, yeast). (Note: I used to make a small well in the bread flour, then add the yeast into it.) Select the “dough” mode (refer to the menu of your breadmaker to select the kneading dough programme). When all ingredients come together, pour in the melted butter, continue kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic. The time of kneading in the breadmaker is about 30 minutes. Then let the dough complete the 1st round of proofing, about 40 minutes, best temperature for proofing is 28C, humidity 75%, until double in size.

**Since I do not have a bread maker, I used the usual method, knead by hand. Sift flour, salt, sugar, yeast, milk powder. Make a well in the centre, add in egg, milk, melted butter & tangzhong..knead into a dough, and continue for about 10mins til elastic and smooth.

2. Transfer the dough to a clean floured surface. Deflate and divide into 3 equal portions (see picture 1). Cover with cling wrap, let rest for 15 minutes at room temperature.

3. Roll out each portion of the dough with a rolling pin into an oval shape (See picture 2). Fold 1/3 from top edge to the middle and press (see picture 3). Then fold 1/3 from bottom to the middle and press (see picture 4). Turn seal downward. Roll flat and stretch to about 30cm in length (see picture 5). With seal upward, roll into a cylinder (see picture 6). With seal facing down (see picture 7), place in the loaf tins to have the 2nd round of proofing (see picture 8), until double in size. The best temperature for 2nd round proofing is 38C, humidity 85%.

4. Brush whisked egg on surface. Bake in a pre-heated 180C (356F) oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until turns brown. Remove from the oven and transfer onto a wire rack. Let cool completely.

**adapted from Christine's recipe.