Korean milk bread 우유식빵

Update: This recipe has 3 proves which can take very long especially in winter (approx 90 mins per prove). This recipe comparison looks at milk bread recipes that only require 2 proving.

First time I've seen this Korean food blogger but looks interesting as an alternative to Maangchi. Problem is however, her site is not searchable so it's much harder to navigate, and it's picture heavy. Anyway, her videos and descriptions are really good, very detailed and careful. I came across her while looking at other bread recipes and hey, I know the Japanese milk bread recipe is difficult so let's try this one! This recipe involves 3 rises so it will take a whole day!

Modern Pepper's Korean milk bread

Ingredients

4 cups of bread flour (or all purpose - comes out denser)

3 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp cold butter

2 ¼ tsp instant yeast

Pinch of salt

1 cup milk, warmed to between 37 to 46 deg

½ cup water, warmed to same temp. I prefer to separate out the milk and water

1 egg beaten (for egg wash if using, see note below)

1 tbsp butter, softened

Size of loaf tin: 11x6"

Size of dinner roll (makes 8 rolls) 12x8"

Method

1. Add all the dry ingredients except the yeast. Mix well with a dough whisk.

2. Add the butter. Use a small butter knife, fork, or pastry cutter to cut the cold butter into the dough, or just use your fingers.

3. Create a well in the centre. Add the yeast and all the milk. Allow to active for 60 seconds (I don't bother). Slowly draw a bit of flour at a time into the well. Once you're done, start adding the water. You may not end up using all the water. You're looking for a claggy dough without dry spots of flour but the dough should not be so wet that it sticks to the sides of the bowl.

4. Put the bowl onto the Kitchen Aid and start to mix with the dough hook at Speed 1. Stop intermittently to use the dough whisk to scrape the dough off the hook. Once the dough stops climbing the hook, turn up to Speed 2. 

5. Beat until the surface of the dough is shiny and smooth. I didn't time from start to finish but I estimate also 8 to 10 minutes due to the constant stopping and scraping. Remove from the bowl and oil the bowl with a thin layer of oil. Round the dough into a ball and sit back in the bowl. Cover the bowl with cling film and a tea towel, and set aside to rest. It should double in size, approx 45 mins to 1.5 hours depending on room temps.

6. Punch the dough and proceed to second proofing.  Cut into 3 equal parts. Flatten with hands to remove any excess air. Knead. Create three balls (see video). Cover with wrap and kitchen towel. Let rest until doubled in size.

7. Meanwhile, butter the loaf tin and set aside.

8. Third proofing and shaping. Punch the dough. Flatten each dough into a rectangular shape. Roll with rolling pin. The width of the dough sld be the double width of your loaf tin. The length sld be slightly longer on both sides. (Watch the video) Fold into thirds. Roll up from the shorter end. 

9. Place the first roll in the centre of the buttered pan. Place the second and third roll at the corresponding ends. Cover and proof. Wait until the loaf has risen to approx 1 inch above the top. Because I'm using the Pullman (pain de mie) pan, I close the lid when the dough has risen to 1 inch below the top.

10. If not covering the loaf with the top, egg wash the top with beaten egg.

11. Place a rack in so that the pan when going in will be in the centre of the oven. Bake in pre-heated oven 30 minutes (for closed lid) or 25-28 minutes (for open top) at 175 deg C until the top is rich golden brown (if not closing the lid). You may need to rotate the bread halfway.

12. Once done, (remove the lid) and turn upside down onto a cooling rack. Remove the tin and turn right side up again. Allow to cool completely.

13. Best eaten when cool, perhaps even overnight. Store in plastic back to keep the moisture locked in.

Tips I learnt:

1. Unfortunately there's a hole because I learnt that I didn't seal seams well and roll it tightly enough.

2. I had opened the lid to peak inside to see how far up the bread had risen and when I closed it back, I couldn't close it fully and this bit expanded and grew outside the tin through the gap. Oops. This lip made it really bard to remove the bread from the tin afterwards.

Next time I might not close the lid. The bread is slightly undercooked and also the bread seemed to grow beyond the tin. Second, I might not be so generous with buttering the tin. The oil bubbled and dripped everywhere over my oven grates. Alternatively, I might the tin on a baking dish but that would cut off circulation and make the bottom soggy (hence why my pan has holes at the bottom!) In another video I saw, the baker merely thinly oiled with veg oil.

Feedback: Bread is a bit sweet so maybe reduce to 2 tbsp of sugar next time if I don't want a sweet bread.