Hokkaido Milk Bread

Summary

This is a Hokkaido-style milk bread. It's soft and a bit sweet. Tears into 9 chunks for easy sharing!

Inspiration: https://omnivorescookbook.com/milk-bread-rolls/

Ingredients

- 1/2 cup (+ a little bit extra) milk
- 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 4 tbsp butter, melted
- 1 large egg
- 2 1/2 tbsp brown sugar 
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups bread flour
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast

Substitutions & Details

Regular sugar is fine too.

I use La Lechera sweetened condensed milk.

Vanilla extract is optional. I use the one from Safeway's white label brand.

See Bread Ingredients page for other details.

Recipe

Total time: Around 3 hours 30 minutes

1. Making the dough

(~2 hours total: ~30 min prep; ~1.5 hr wait)

We'll use our bread machine to make the dough. Just set the bread machine to your dough mode. Preparation takes me about 30 minutes, from the moment I start putting stuff onto my workspace to the moment I've finished washing everything and head back upstairs. My bread machine takes 1.5 hours for its dough cycle - yours may differ.

  1. Measure out [1/2 cup] milk in a measuring cup, then pour the milk into a small bowl and warm for 30s in a microwave

  2. Pour the milk into the bread machine.

  3. Melt the [4 tbsp] butter in a small bowl (can use the same bowl). 1.5 minutes on 30% power followed by 30 seconds on 50% works for me. Add the butter to the bread machine when it's melted. While you wait...

  4. Measure out [1/4 cup] condensed milk (can use same measuring cup). This step can be tedious because that stuff is super sticky and does not flow well. I use a spoon to help scrape it. Once you're done, scrape it out into the bread machine.

  5. Whisk the egg a bit in a small bowl so that it's a uniform color (can use the same bowl).

  6. Add sugar, salt, and vanilla extract. At this point you should've added the following things to the bread machine:

  • 2 1/2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup condensed milk
  • 4 tbsp melted butter
  • 1 whisked egg

  1. Measure out [2 1/2 cups] flour and put in the bread machine. You can use the same measuring cup but wash it out first. The flour should almost entirely cover everything underneath.

  2. Put [2 teaspoons] yeast in the bread machine. Sprinkle it evenly over the top of the flour.

  3. Turn your bread machine on, with the Dough setting. Wait until it's done.

  4. Wait 1.5 hours or however long your bread machine takes.

  5. Wash up! It takes me ~7 minutes to wash everything (which I included in prep time). The measuring cup and buttery stuff take the longest to clean.

Finished earlier than expected? You can just leave the dough in the machine longer if you want (after the cycle is done). This is the best step to wait at.

From the moment you start the dough cycle, the bread will be ready in about 3 hours.

2. Shape and rest

(~1 hour total: ~15 min prep; 45 min wait)

  1. Line a 9x9 baking pan (or any size pan, really) with parchment paper. TIP: tear the parchment paper in the corners so that it sits nicely in the container.

  2. Sprinkle a bit of flour on a bread board or other workspace.

  3. Take out the dough and put it on your workspace. The dough should be kinda poofy with a slightly oily glisten on the outside (from the egg I think).

  4. Smack the dough to get the air out. It should be kinda flat but not completely flat, like an inch in height or so.

  5. Cut the dough into 9 even pieces (cut into 3 strips and then cut each into another 3 rectangles). Remember the corners you cut will likely be smaller because of their rounded edges so make them a bit longer/wider than the middles to compensate.

  6. Shape the dough pieces into balls. You can roll them around in your hands to do this.

  7. Put the balls into the pan as you make them. 3x3 grid.

  8. Cover pretty tightly with plastic wrap. Let it rest for 45 min - they should poof up to be about double the original size, mostly filling up your container.

  9. Wash up! Not much to wash this time.

After about 35 minutes you may want to pre-heat your oven for the next step. Preheat to 350F (175C).

3. Bake

(~30 min total: ~5 min prep; ~25 min bake)

  1. Remove the plastic wrap from your container.

  2. Pour a small bit of milk into a bowl and brush it onto the top of the dough. This'll create a nice texture on top.

  3. Bake in the middle rack of your oven for 20-25 min, until the top turns golden brown.

  4. Let bread rest in pan for 5 min then move it to a cooling rack. Or just leave it in the pan, not a big deal.

TIME TO EAT

Dip the bread in your leftover condensed milk for extra deliciousness! Very unhealthy though, it is SUPER sweet...

Storage

It lasts pretty long in the fridge. Reheats well too, just toss it in the microwave.

Healthiness

There's quite a lot of sugar and salt in this, so probably not very healthy. Yummy, though!

Results


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