Hokkaido Milk Bread | Joyce of Cooking

Since we haven’t been allowed to travel, The Joyce of Cooking Blog has supplied us with a recipe from Japan!

If you haven’t heard about Hokkaido Milk Bread, get ready to be satisfied! Hokkaido is an island in Japan and is this island is actually known for its dairy products. Hokkaido produces more than 50% of Japan’s dairy products.

What is Hokkaido Milk Bread?

So you might be wondering, why is Hokkaido milk bread so special? It looks like any other loaf of bread! The main difference between a regular loaf of bread to Hokkaido milk bread is that there is a secret ingredient: the Tang Zhong Roux. When you make this roux and incorporate it into the recipe, it creates a beautiful fluffy, light and moist bread. Regular bread dries out pretty quickly when you make it yourself but since the Hokkaido Milk Bread has the roux, it actually keeps the bread from drying out. The roux is made out of flour, water and milk which thickens and gelatinised. This gelatinised starch keeps the moisture trapped inside the bread instead of escaping out. Science!

Ingredients:

For the Tang Zhong Roux

2 TBSP all purpose flour
1/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup water

For the Dough

Tang Zhong Roux
1/2 cup warmed whole milk
1 package of active dry yeast (8 gram)
1 TBSP white sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp salt
3 TBSP milk powder
2 1/2 cups Daily Grind flour
4 TBSP soften unsalted butter

Buy 1847 Stone Milling Daily Grind flour

Instructions:

For the Tang Zhong Roux

In a small sauce pan, add water, milk and flour on medium heat
Whisk mixture until thicken, immediately turn off heat to avoid burning
Set aside to cool

For the Dough

In a large bowl or mixer, add warmed milk, yeast, and sugar
Let sit for 10 minutes for the yeast to start bubbling
Add tang zhong roux, egg, salt, milk powder, flour and mix thoroughly
Add butter and knead dough until dough ball forms (Knead for about 5 minutes)
Let proof in a warm place for an hour, covered
After an hour of proofing, take dough ball and divide it into 4 equal pieces
Roll each piece out to a square, approx 5×5 inches
Fold two corners to touch in the middle, then roll from end to end (refer to picture for this step)
Place inside bread pan
Repeat for the rest of the 3 dough balls
Let rise again covered in a warm place for another hour
Preheat oven to 350F
Brush the top of the bread dough with milk
Bake uncovered for 30 minutes