Best Milk Bread Recipes

MILK-AND-HONEY WHITE BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Add honey, butter, salt and 5 cups flour; beat until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a floured board; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. , Punch dough down and shape into 2 loaves. Place in greased 9x5-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. , Bake at 375° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cover loosely with foil if top browns too quickly. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks.

JAPANESE MILK BREAD

Steps:

• Make the starter: In a small heavy pot, whisk flour, milk and 1/2 cup water (120 milliliters) together until smooth. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat and cook, stirring often, until thickened but still pourable, about 10 minutes (it will thicken more as it cools). When it's ready, the spoon will leave tracks on the bottom of the pot. Scrape into a measuring cup and lightly cover the surface with plastic wrap. Set aside to cool to room temperature. (You will have about 1 cup starter; see note below.)
• Make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour, sugar, yeast and salt and mix for a few seconds, just until evenly combined.
• Add egg, milk and 1/2 cup starter. Turn the mixer on low speed and knead 5 minutes.
• Add soft butter and knead another 10 to 12 minutes (it will take a few minutes for butter to be incorporated), until the dough is smooth and springy and just a bit tacky.
• Lightly butter the inside of a bowl. Use your hands to lift dough out of mixer bowl, shape into a ball and place in prepared bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 40 to 60 minutes.
• Punch the dough down and use your hands to scoop it out onto a surface. Using a bench scraper or a large knife, cut dough in half. Lightly form each half into a ball, cover again and let rise 15 minutes.
• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In the meantime, generously butter a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.
• Using a rolling pin, gently roll out one dough ball into a thick oval. (By this time, the dough should be moist and no longer sticky. You probably will not need to flour the surface, but you may want to flour the pin.) First roll away from your body, then pull in, until the oval is about 12 inches long and 6 inches across.
• Fold the top 3 inches of the oval down, then fold the bottom 3 inches of the oval up, making a rough square. Starting from the right edge of the square, roll up the dough into a fat log, pick it up and smooth the top with your hands. Place the log in the buttered pan, seam side down and crosswise, nestling it near one end of the pan. Repeat with the other dough ball, placing it near the other end of the pan.
• Cover and let rest 30 to 40 minutes more, until the risen dough is peeking over the edge of the pan and the dough logs are meeting in the center. Brush the tops with milk and bake on the bottom shelf of the oven until golden brown and puffed, 35 to 40 minutes.
• Let cool in the pan 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack and let cool at least 1 hour, to let the crust soften and keep the crumb lofty. (If cut too soon, the air bubbles trapped in the bread will deflate.)

BANANA BRIOCHE MONKEY BREAD WITH MOLOKO MILK STOUT BUTTERSCOTCH AND SMOKED ALMOND TOFFEE BRITTLE

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, heat milk until just warmed through. Transfer to a large bowl and add yeast; stir to combine. Let stand 1 minute until yeast is dissolved. Add 2 eggs and whisk to combine. Add 3/4 cups flour and mix until well combined. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup flour over top of mixture; cover with plastic wrap and let dough stand in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• Transfer dough to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Add remaining 5 eggs, granulated sugar, remaining 4 1/3 cups flour, and honey. With the mixer on low, add salt. Mix until dough forms a ball, adding more flour if necessary. Increase speed to medium and mix for about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add butter; mix until fully incorporated.
• Lightly coat a large bowl with nonstick cooking spray and transfer dough to prepared bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until doubled in volume, 1 to 2 hours. Punch dough down and cover again with plastic wrap. Transfer to refrigerator until ready to use, up to 1 week.
• In a large bowl, mix together 2 cups butterscotch and pureed bananas. Lightly coat twelve 1-cup ovenproof dishes or ramekins with melted butter; set dishes on a large rimmed baking sheet. Place one tablespoon butterscotch in the bottom of each baking dish. Sprinkle some of the toffee over the butterscotch; set aside.
• Divide dough into 12 equal pieces (about 5-ounces each). Working with 1 piece at a time, roll into a 6-inch-long rope using your hands. Cut rope into 8 equal pieces; add to bowl with butterscotch mixture and toss to coat. Transfer dough pieces to a prepared baking dish; repeat process with remaining pieces of dough. Sprinkle each baking dish filled with dough with more toffee. Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until spongy, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a small bowl, mix together granulated cane sugar and cinnamon. Brush tops of dough with butterscotch mixture and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar; top with remaining chopped toffee. Transfer to oven and bake, rotating halfway through baking, until golden and firm to the touch, about 30 minutes. Dust with confectioners' sugar and garnish with large toffee pieces. Serve immediately with remaining butterscotch, for dipping.

MILK BREAD

Steps:

• Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select regular white bread cycle; press Start.

JAPANESE MILK BREAD (SHOKUPAN)

Steps:

• Starter:Whisk together milk, 1/2 cup water, and flour in a small saucepan until smooth. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking frequently, until thickened slightly but still pourable (it should have the consistency of loose pudding), 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl; let cool until warm to the touch but no longer hot, about 10 minutes.
• Dough: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, milk powder, sugar, salt, and yeast. Make a well in center of mixture. Add milk, melted butter, and starter to well; stir until a dough forms. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic and springs back when lightly pressed, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl brushed with butter; brush top of dough with more butter. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in volume, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush two standard 9-by-5-inch loaf pans with butter. Punch down dough. Transfer to a clean work surface and divide in half. Roll each half into an approximately 9-inch log; transfer to prepared pans. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise until more than doubled in volume (doughs should rise about 1 1/2 inches above tops of pans), 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Whisk egg white with 1 teaspoon water and gently brush onto tops of dough. Bake until puffed, golden brown, and a thermometer inserted in centers registers 200 degrees, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool in pans on a wire rack 15 minutes. Flip loaves out onto rack; let cool completely before slicing and serving, or store, unsliced and wrapped in parchment-lined foil at room temperature up to 3 days, or sliced and frozen up to 3 months.

POTATO BREAD (USING INSTANT POTATO AND DRY MILK)

Steps:

• Mix potato flakes and water to make 2/3 c.
• mashed potato Place in a large bowl.
• Stir in next four ingredients (hot water, shortening, salt and sugar) Set aside to cool.
• Stir yeast into ½ c.lukewarm water.
• When potato mixture is cooled to lukewarm, add yeast mixture.
• Add dry milk/flour mixture to potato mixture and beat well.
• Add 2 cups of flour beat until smooth.
• Add 2 more c. flour.
• Beat until smooth.
• Place about 1 c. of flour on your bread board.
• Turn out dough on floured board and knead for 5 minutes.
• Add more flour as needed.
• Oil a bowl and place kneaded dough in it.
• Brush top of dough with a bit more oil.
• Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled.
• Punch down and halve dough.
• Knead each half on floured board and form into two (three) loaf shapes.
• Grease two 5x9 loaf pans (or 3- 4x9 pans) Place dough in pans.
• Brush tops with oil.
• Let rise until doubled.
• Preheat oven to 400F Bake for 30-40 minutes.

NO EGGS, NO MILK, NO PROBLEM BANANA BREAD

Steps:

• 1. Mash well ripened bananas in a small bowl and set aside.
• 2. Mix baking powder,baking soda,flour and sugar.
• 3. Add mashed bananas and oil . Stir well. This batter will be very thick.
• 4. Spoon ingredients into a greased (or spray with Pam) a 9x5x3" loaf pan or muffin tins.
• 5. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for approximately 50 minutes for a loaf or 20 to 30 minutes for muffins.
• 6. Insert a tooth pick to check if done.
• 7. Optional: I used 1 cup finely chopped walnuts and used brown sugar in place of white sugar. I also added cinnamon to the second batch. I tried both a loaf and muffins. (note) My loaf had to cook a little longer than specified, but it may have been the oven.

BANANA BREAD WITH COCONUT MILK

Steps:

• Mix wet ingredients, and dry ingredients.
• Mixture will be lumpy.
• Pour mixture into a greased loaf pan, and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean.

HOKKAIDO MILK BREAD

Steps:

• Make the tangzhong by heating up milk in a small pot. Stir in bread flour until a thick paste forms. Pour paste into a medium bowl. Add 1/2 cup milk and beaten egg; mix well.
• Place flour and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Mix with a spatula or by hand. Pour in tangzhong mixture. Stir well with a spatula until no dry spots remain. Gather dough in the middle of the bowl. Cover with a damp towel. Let rest for 20 minutes.
• Add salt to the dough and knead until incorporated. Repeat with sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Knead until dough is smooth, about 10 minutes. Add butter; keep kneading until evenly incorporated and dough is smooth.
• Form dough into a ball and place into a well oiled bowl. Turn dough to grease on all sides. Let proof at room temperature until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Turn dough out onto a clean work surface and deflate it. Press gently into a rectangle; roll up into a cylinder and transfer to a loaf pan. Let loaf proof until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Place loaf pan on the middle rack of the preheated oven and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake until golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before slicing.

BREAD MACHINE CONDENSED MILK SWEET BREAD

Steps:

• Put ingredients in bread machine according to your machine's manufacturing directions and set the dough cycle.
• When done, remove and seperate into 3 sections.
• Roll each section out like snakes and mesh ends together.
• Braid and press ends together.
• Place in baking dish and allow to rise for 25-30 minutes.
• Brush melted butter or egg white on top after rising.
• Bake at 340 degrees for 30-45 minutes, until top is golden brown.
• If a better crust is wanted: Heat some water in an oven proof container in the microwave until near boiling. Then place water in the oven beside the bread.

CHEF JOHN'S MILK BREAD

Steps:

• Whisk bread flour, water, and milk for starter together in a small saucepan until very smooth. Place over medium-low heat and cook, stirring often, until very thick and just about to bubble. If you want to check, it should be at least 150 degrees F (65 degrees C). Pull off the heat and transfer into a measuring cup; you will need exactly 1/2 cup. Let cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
• Prepare dough: Combine bread flour, cooled starter, salt, sugar, yeast, warm milk, and egg in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Beat on low speed until dough begins to form a ball and pull away from the sides of the bowl, scraping down the sides as needed, about 5 minutes.
• Stop the mixer and scrape dough off the hook and into the bowl. Add butter and knead on low speed until dough is slightly tacky but very smooth and elastic, scraping down the sides as needed, 10 to 12 more minutes.
• Remove dough from the bowl and shape into a smooth ball. Transfer into a lightly buttered bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Very generously butter a 9x5-inch loaf pan.
• Transfer dough to a work surface (you don't need flour.) Press and knead out all the air and shape into a 9-inch wide rectangle. Starting at one 9-inch side, roll dough lengthwise into a log. Transfer log into the prepared loaf pan with the seam down. Press on dough a bit to be sure it's evenly distributed. Cover the pan and let dough rise until it comes to just about the top of the pan, 35 to 45 minutes.
• Brush the top of the loaf with just enough milk to lightly coat the surface.
• Bake in the center of the preheated oven until the top is golden brown and the load is beautifully puffed up, about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest in the pan for 10 minutes. Very carefully remove bread and place on a wire rack to cool all the way to room temperature before slicing, about 1 hour.

SOURDOUGH HOKKAIDO MILK BREAD WITH TANGZHONG

Steps:

• See the Photo Gallery below for step-by-step process photos.
• Starter
• Mix the starter ingredients in a straight-walled, transparent container with space for at least 50% growth. (See photo gallery where 150ml grows to approximately 225ml in a Pyrex container.)
• Press down with your knuckles to create a uniform surface and to push out air. This reduces drying and allows you to see actual CO2 aeration over time.
• Let the starter develop at room temperature. It takes 6-12 hours for this sweet stiff levain to peak.
• Tangzhong
• In a small saucepan, whisk the milk and flour until blended. Cook it on med-low heat for several minutes until it's thickened, stirring frequently.
• Remove the pan from the heat and see the instructions below for melting the butter in the tangzhong if you're using a stand mixer.
• Dough Mixing and Bulk Fermentation
• These instructions are for using a stand mixer. Scroll to the end for hand-kneading instructions if you do not have a mixer.
• Add the butter in chunks to the tangzhong to melt it.
• Whisk the two eggs and then the milk into the tangzhong-butter mixture. Set aside briefly.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, briefly whisk together the flour, sugar and salt; and then add the sweet stiff starter, separating it into 5-6 portions as you add it to the bowl.
• Now pour in the prepped wet ingredients.
• With the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed for a minute, scrape down the sides, and then mix on medium speed for about 15 minutes. As you approach the 15-minute mark, the dough will become smooth and should pass the windowpane test.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, form it into a ball, flip it smooth side up, cover and let rise for 6-12 hours depending on room temperature. If you refrigerate the dough, plan for longer rise times. See the photo gallery for approximate dough expansion during the bulk fermentation.
• Shaping and Final Proof
• Prepare your pans by greasing them. You can use two standard loaf pans, or make one loaf and eight rolls in a 9" round pan like I did. Other options include: sixteen rolls in two 9" round pans, eighteen rolls in two 8" square pans, twenty-four rolls in two 9" square pans, and eighteen rolls in a 9x13" rectangular pan. Your total dough weight is about 1470g.
• Scrape the dough out onto a clean countertop. There's no need for flour. Press the dough into a rectangle, divide it and roll the pieces into balls.
• Place the dough balls in your pans, cover and let proof for 2-4 hours (more if you put the dough in the refrigerator).
• Baking*
• Preheat your oven to 350F and brush the dough with the egg-milk wash.
• Bake loaves for 45-55 minutes and rolls for 30-35 minutes. Cover with foil partway through if the bread seems to be browning excessively.
• The internal temperature when ready should be at least 190F.
• Remove the bread from the oven but not the pans, brush the top with butter while its hot, and then let cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pans.
• After the bread is completely cooled, store it in a plastic bag at room temp for a week or longer.
• *Bread baked in a glass loaf pans will need longer than metal pans.
• Instructions for kneading by hand
• Mix all of the ingredients except the softened butter in a bowl with a spatula, dough whisk and/or your hands. Let rest for 10 minutes, then transfer to your countertop and knead by hand, adding 2 Tbsp of butter at a time, kneading between butter additions until the butter is incorporated and the dough stays together. Now follow the instructions above from when you transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and start the bulk fermentation.

JAPANESE MILK BREAD

Steps:

• Whisk water and bread flour together in a saucepan over low heat. Cook roux until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 150 degrees F (65 degrees C). Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
• Place 3 cups plus 3 tablespoons bread flour, sugar, milk powder, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix on low speed. Add cooled roux, egg, cream, and water. Knead dough until it comes together in a shaggy mass, 1 to 2 minutes. Continue to mix on low speed until dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl.
• Increase speed to medium and start adding butter. Mix until completely incorporated and dough is smooth, 10 to 20 minutes. Remove dough from the mixer and place in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.
• Flatten dough and roll into an oblong shape. Place in a greased loaf pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, 45 to 60 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Uncover loaf and bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Cover with foil if top starts to brown too quickly. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a rack to cool completely.

SOUR MILK PEASANT BREAD

Steps:

• 1. In a bowl big enough to make your bread in, get the starter going by sprinkling the yeast over the sour milk & honey {or whatever sweet you use to feed the yeast beasties}. Set aside in a warm place, covered with a bit of plastic wrap & a towel until ready to finish the bread. This process doubles as proofing your yeast, but keeping yeast in your freezer makes it last almost indefinitely {Well, I had yeast in freezer for almost 10 years anyhow!}.
• 2. Preheat the oven to 350-375°F {Glass, preheat to 350°F}. Grease 2 baking vessels well-again, I use lard as nothing works as well for bread as lard does.
• 3. Add the remaining ingredients to your starter and work until you are happy with it. -Can leave it relatively wet & unkneaded {this is for those days where everything hurts & you wanna just cry; results in a more crumbly quick bread}. -Can do a full out workout kneading until nice, smooth & few crevasses in the bread {this holds up well for hearty sandwiches}. This is a great option for teaching new bread bakers how to knead bread; there is an art to it & poking it is - not - kneading it!!
• 4. Divide your dough in 2 & place in greased vessels, turning once to coat dough so it will not dry out or stick. Cover dough ball with plastic wrap-not the vessel itself. Drape a towel over it all {plastic wrap keeps your towel from being incorporated into the dough & getting nasty}. Place in a warm area. Let rest & raise until doubled in size.
• 5. Bake 25 minutes or until golden brown; longer if you want crust to be darker or crunchier.
• 6. Remove from oven to cool. If you wish, you can brush a bit of melted lard on the top of the crust to soften it a bit. If you want hard crusty true peasant bread, leave the lard off the the crust.
• 7. NOTES: -Glass needs to be cooked at a lower temperature because it conducts the heat so well. -I use lard for baking bread as there is no comparison in the end result. Lard is slowly creeping into everyday life for me, while shortening & margarine are becoming curse words in my household; & lard is probably better for you than butter too. Lard is being used in almost everything I make or bake these days. -If you are doing little to no kneading & therefore have a very wet dough, use meat serving forks {they are bigger than a normal eating or a carving fork & work very well for this} to divide dough & move to baking vessel. -I bake the majority of my breads these days in bowls. The bowls I use are 2 ½ quart Anchor Hocking bowls as they are a bit more straight sided and work better for sandwich making. Depending on the thickness you cut it, 1 slice, cut into 2 top to bottom, works for a hearty & filling sandwich. Pyrex bowls work too, but I got the Anchor Hocking bowls at the thrift store dirt cheap!! -If you want a more rustic round of bread, or if you have a well kneaded, smooth ball of dough, just bake on a flat pan lined with parchment paper with a bit of cornmeal thrown on it to keep from sticking.. -If you want a traditional sandwich loaf, by all means, bake in a normal bread pan.

MILK AND HONEY QUICK BREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Butter loaf pan.
• In medium saucepan, combine 1/2 cup honey and milk; Stir over medium heat until honey dissolves.
• Stir in melted butter.
• Set aside to cool.
• Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into large mixer bowl.
• Add pecans and toss to coat.
• Set aside.
• Whisk egg into cooled milk mixture.
• Add to flour mixture.
• Beat at medium speed just until blended.
• Pour into pan and smooth top.
• Bake for 65-75 minutes until toothpick comes clean from center.
• Cool on rack 10 minutes, Remove and cool again on rack.

SIMPLE MILK BREAD

Steps:

• Combine bread flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer using the dough hook on low speed; mix in eggs until fully incorporated. Mix in warm water and milk until fully incorporated. Add butter and mix until fully incorporated.
• Continue mixing until dough holds together. Take a piece of dough between your fingers and pull them apart. If the dough stays connected and becomes translucent, it is ready. Add milk or flour if needed to reach this consistency.
• Allow dough to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Divide dough into 4 or 5 loaves and shape into greased loaf pans. Rise again until edges are roughly 1 inch below the top of the pan, 30 to 60 minutes. Create a 2-inch vertical slit across the top of each loaf using a knife or scissors.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake in the preheated oven until bread reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees F (93 degrees C), about 20 minutes.

MAPLE MILK BREAD

Steps:

• Make the tangzhong: In a medium pot, whisk together the bread flour and milk until relatively smooth. Set over medium-low heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens into a texture not unlike mashed potatoes or grits, 2 to 3 minutes. You may see lumps at first, but as you continue to whisk and the flour cooks, your mixture will smooth out.
• Make the bread: Remove the pot from the heat and whisk in the cream until smooth, which will cool down the mixture and add some necessary fat. To the creamy mixture, add 4 cups/576 grams bread flour, the maple syrup, egg, salt and yeast, and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until you can no longer see any streaks of egg or flour. Cover the pot with a lid and let sit in a warm place to proof and hydrate until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
• To knead by hand, keep ½ cup/72 grams bread flour next to you. Dust a clean work surface with some of the flour and turn the dough out onto the surface. Dust some more flour on top of the dough and on your hands, and knead the dough into a ball using both hands. As you start to feel the dough get sticky, add more of the flour. The goal here is to not use more than that ½ cup of flour to knead the dough and, at the same time, to develop enough gluten in it so that it's no longer sticky, 5 to 7 minutes. Alternatively, knead with a stand mixer: Transfer the dough from the pot to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Knead on medium-low speed for 15 minutes; it will become pretty sticky and cling to the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Dust some more flour on top of the dough and on your hands, and form the dough into a ball using both hands, adding more flour as needed.
• Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Cut the dough in half with a knife, then flatten each piece using your hands, pulling the corners of each piece up and over the center, all around, so that you're creating two tight balls. Twist the pulled-up edges to seal and turn the balls over so their smooth sides are facing up. Nestle the two balls side by side in the pan and let sit, covered with a clean kitchen towel, in a warm place in your kitchen until the dough balls have risen an inch above the rim of the pan, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours.
• Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake the bread until the crust is dark brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center reads 185 to 190 degrees, 40 to 45 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before taking out the bread and slicing into it. (Technically it should cool completely, but come on: There's nothing like the glorious experience of tearing into a fresh, warm loaf of sweet milk bread.) The bread will keep for up to 3 to 4 days in a closed container at room temperature.

FRESH MILLED STONE GROUND FLOUR: WHOLE WHEAT MILK BREAD RECIPE - (3.9/5)

Steps:

• NOTE: This recipe is for fresh milled flour which tends to absorb more liquids. If you are using store bought flour, you will have to adjust the amount of flour (most likely add) or reduce the liquids. If using active dry yeast, warm water and milk until 100F. Otherwise, use cool tap water/room temp. milk. Pour water and milk into bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook. Add yeast and honey, mix around. Let stand 10 minutes if using active dry yeast. Stir in flours (holding back some), oats, butter and salt. Knead on high speed for 1 minute. Let dough rest for 15 minutes in bowl. Continue mixing on med-high speed for another 4-5 minutes. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl. If not, add more flour, 1 tbsp at a time to bring the dough together. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead a few times by hand. You can perform the windowpane test to see if it's been kneaded enough. Place in a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size (if using instant yeast and cool water, this could take longer, which means more time for flavor development). Punch down dough, transfer to a work surface. Press out into a square shape, roughly 8x8. Roll up into a log, pinch seams and ends to shape and place in lightly sprayed 9x5 loaf pan. Preheat oven to 375F. Loosely cover and rise again for 35-45 minutes, until dough reaches just up over edge of pan. You can push a finger into dough to see if it slowly springs back (keep rising if it springs back quickly). Bake 40-50 minutes, or until loaf is hollow when tapped on bottom. Remove from pan immediately and place on a wire cooling rack.

MILK AND HONEY WHOLE WHEAT BREAD

Steps:

• Combine water, sugar and yeast. Mix in salt, honey, milk, and oil (if using).
• In a separate large bowl mix together white and whole wheat flours.
• Slowly pour liquid into 1 C of flour. Add remaining flour 1/2 C at a time, stirring well after each addition. When dough has pulled together turn onto a floured surface. Knead until bread is silky, about 10 minutes if by hand.
• Put into oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel and put in a warm draft-free place. Let rise for approx 45 minutes or until doubled in size.
• Preheat oven to 500 with baking stone on bottom shelf and a pan on top shelf.
• Punch down and form into loaves. Slash tops with sharp knife or put into loaf pans. Let rise again until doubled in size.
• For a shiny crust, brush loaves with beaten egg.
• Slide into oven and pour 1/2 cup warm water into top shelf's pan to create steam.
• Bake at 500 for 5 minutes then turn oven down to 400. Bake until golden brown/loaves sound hollow, approximately 10-15 minutes if in small loaves, 25+ minutes if in loaf pans.

HOKKAIDO MILK BREAD (TANGZHONG ROUX METHOD)

Steps:

• 1. To make tangzhong, combine bread flour, milk and water in a saucepan. Whisk to remove lumps. Place saucepan over medium-low heat on the stove and cook till thicken, whisking constantly. Cook till it thickens into a pudding-like consistency and you can leave lines in the roux. Set aside to cool.
• 2. Cool the tangzhong to ambient temperature before using. Tangzhong can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days and has to be brought to ambient temperature before using.
• 3. To make the bread, weigh out all the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl of the stand mixer.
• 4. Combine all the wet ingredients together (milk, egg and tangzhong) except butter.
• 5. Pour wet ingreidnts into the dry ingredients and mixing till combine, approximately 10 minutes. Add in butter and continue to mix till dough is smooth and elastic, approximately another 15 - 20 minutes. Conduct the windowpane test to determine if dough ready for proofing.
• 6. Place dough in a greased big bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Proof again for qbout 40 minutes till it has doubled its size. Can be proofed in oven at 40 Deg C covered with a towel.
• 7. Split dough into 3 equal pieces. Roll each into a ball. Cover with plastic wrap and rest for 15 minutes.
• 8. Grease a 5" x 9" loaf tin.
• 9. Roll one piece of dough on a lightly floured surface into a long oval. Fold the right edge inward to the middle of the dough. Fold the left side inward overlapping the earlier layer. Seal and flatten the dough with a rolling pin.
• 10. Roll up the dough into little logs. Repeat with the other 2 pieces of dough.
• 11. Arrange the 3 pieces of dough, seam side down, in the loaf tin. Cover with plastic wrap and proof for another 40 minutes.
• 12. Preheat oven to 175 Deg C, while the bread is proofing.
• 13. Brush the top of the bread with a little egg wash. Place in oven and bake for about 30 minutes until top is dark golden brown and bread is firm to the touch and sound hollow when tap on the bottom.
• 14. Turn out bread onto a wire rack and cool before slicing.
• 1. To make bread using a Bread Machine (Panasonic model), place all wet ingredients in the mixing bowl (milk, egg, tangzhong).
• 2. Add in all dry ingredients (salt, sugar, milk powder, bread flour, yeast).
• 3. Select "DOUGH" (9) function which only does mixing and proofing.
• 4. When all ingredients are combined, slowly add in butter and continue mixing till dough is smooth and elastic.
• 5. When the process switched to "RISE", turn off machine and repeat Step 3 again. This is to increase the kneading time to 40 minutes (each kneading cycle is 20 minutes).
• 6. Leave the machine to run its full cycle which also include approx. 40 minutes of proofing.
• 7. When dough has doubled its size, remove from mixing bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Cut into 3 equal pieces. Roll them into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and rest for 15 minutes.
• 8. Refer to previous instruction on shaping the dough prior to second proofing and baking instructions.