Chinese Milk bread

Unlike the recipe for Korean milk bread that had 3 proves and used butter, this recipe has 2 proves and doesn't use any oil but instead uses cream. The problem I've found with recipes that don't have oil is that the dough is usually very sticky and hard to manipulate. I had to add quite a bit extra flour (2 tbsp) so that it would stop sticking to my mixer bowl. I don't know how this dough handles although it is much softer than the dough with bread. 

From Woks of Life

Ingredients (makes 2 loaves)

160ml heavy cream (⅔ C), room temp

1 C milk (250ml), room temp

1 egg, room temp

75g sugar (⅓ C)

½ C cake flour (70g)

3½ C bread flour (500g)

1 tbsp instant yeast (7g)

1 egg whisked with 1 tsp water for egg wash

Syrup (if using, 2 tsp sugar + 2 tsp hot water)

Method

1. Using the Stir function (speed 1) on the KA, add in the following order: heavy cream, egg, sugar, , salt, cake flour. Stir. Add yeast. Stir. Alternate with bread flour and milk and stir. Add just enough milk for the mixture to come together without any dry spots.

2. At this point, the dough is very sticky. Turn up to speed 2 and eventually speed 4 until it reaches window pane stage, approx 15 minutes. Stop periodically to scrape down.

3. Ball it up, oil the bowl and put the dough into the oiled bowl. Cover with cling film and tea towel and set aside to prove for 45 mins to 1 hour until it doubles in size.

4. Meanwhile, oil the pans (I used the small Pullman and the large loaf tin, or use 9" round tin). 

5. Punch down the dough and shape as you wish (i.e., either loaf or buns). Add whatever filling you wish (e.g., cinnamon sugar, sausage, etc)

6. Return to the pans and prove for 1 hour. It should have expanded by about 0.5 times. Brush with egg wash.

7. Position in the middle rack and bake at 175 deg C for 23 to 25 minutes until the top is golden brown.

8. Remove onto wire rack and brush with simple syrup if using.

9. Carve the bread only when completely cool. If possible, best if left overnight and carved the next day.

Needs a bit more de-gassing to get rid of the air bubbles on the surface!

Recipe feedback: The bread is indeed very soft and bouncy! Feels a lot like the HK bread you get in Asian bakeries. But feels a bit denser compared to the recipe with oil and definitely less moist.

Milk bread recipe comparison

After trying a bread recipe with pullman tin that required 3 proves, the bread came out fantastic but I don't have time to wait for bread to prove thrice. Here are several recipes that I will try. My Shokupan/Pullman for reference: L21*W12.5*11Hcm (aka 1.5 jin pan which fits 580g dough).

1. I am food blog

a. Non-pullman tin: https://iamafoodblog.com/milk-bread/

- Bread tin size: 8.5*4.5*2.5" (21.6*11.4*6.3cm)

- 270g bread flour yields 502g dough

b. Pullman tin https://iamafoodblog.com/how-to-make-the-best-japanese-shokupan-milk-bread/

- Pullman tin size: 4.5" (11.4cm)

- 250g bread flour (yields 1 pound aka 453g dough)

: recipe includes % of oil, water, milk, egg, butter, flour to change depending on size of tin

2. Omnivore https://omnivorescookbook.com/milk-bread-rolls/ (tried here)

- 300g bread flour (2.5 C)

- 23cm (9") square baking tin

- Uses condensed milk instead of normal milk

3. Woks of Life https://thewoksoflife.com/milk-bread-2/ (tried here)

- 500g bread flour (3½ C), 70g cake flour (½ C) - makes 2 loaves in standard loaf tin (8.5*4.5*2.5") or 9" (23cm) round cake tin (she later updated the recipe for only plain flour 

- Uses cream and milk

- Also makes cinnabuns

4. Jack's shaping and dough, bread flour and tin sizes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zW9LX9ALSI

- 500g bread flour yields approx 870g dough goes into 2 pound tin aka 907g (13*20*9cm)

- How to shape bread to fit the tin

5. Alternate method to shape a sandwich loaf

https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/videos/baking-skills/how-to-shape-a-sandwich-loaf

- Flattens to seal using the heel of the hand, and tucks to shape

6. How to calculate bread dough to fit the bread tin

Princess Bamboo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGRNqW6JpLY

1.5 jin (aka 600g) sokupan: 20*10*12cm fits 580g dough uses 313g bread flour

2 jin sokupan 26*12*12.5cm fits 975g bread dough uses 527g bread flour

Easy overnight fruity french toast casserole

This is a recipe that takes all of 5 minutes to put together and can be sized up if more people are eating. Spend that 5 minutes of prep and treat yourself the next morning.

Ingredients

4 eggs, beaten

Dash of milk

2 tsp cinnamon powder

2 tsp sugar (can be omitted)

butter to spread

6 slices of brioche bread

¼ C frozen blueberries

2 bananas, sliced

Method

1. Line a baking dish with the side. Tear up the pieces to fit the bottom of the tin.

2. Butter the bread. There is no need to be too careful, you could even dollop on knobs of the butter as well.

3. Whisk up the eggs. Add the dash of milk and pour over the bread. Press down the bread so that it soaks up the eggy milk mixture

4. Sprinkle on the cinnamon powder and sugar

5. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge overnight to soak up.

6. The next morning, take it out of the fridge around 30 mins prior and set it out on the counter top to come to room temperature. Meanwhile, slice up the bananas. Place these on top.

7. Bake for 180 deg C for 20 minutes. Remove and sprinkle on the blueberries. Turn up to 200 deg C and return the baking dish to the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes until the edges of the bread are slightly charred.

8. Serve immediately with maple syrup if desired.