This milk bread is incredibly soft and fluffy. A light white bread made with milk that’s perfect for toast, sandwiches, or simple to enjoy by itself. You can bake this bread in a regular loaf pan to get a golden brown crust or alternatively in a pullman loaf pan to get a rectangular shape perfect for sandwiches. A sign of a perfectly baked milk bread is a soft, stretchy texture that pulls apart easily with your hands.
There are many recipes for milk bread and most of them involve a traditional Chinese (tangzhong) or Japanese (yudane) method of adding a cooked flour-liquid mixture to the dough. Other recipes use dough enhancers, also known as dough improvers or dough conditioners. This recipe does not use any of these and will turn out great anyway.
Tools & Equipment
- 20,5×10,5cm/8×4-inch pullman loaf pan with lid or 22,9×12,7cm/9×5-inch loaf pan
- Digital thermometer
- Fine mesh strainer
- Large bowl
- Pastry brush
- Plastic wrap
- Stand mixer fitted with the dough hook
- Wire rack
Recipe Tips
T55 Flour: I used T55 flour for this recipe. It is a French flour and you should be able to buy it online if you want to use this flour. It has a protein content of 13%. In case you do not have this flour available, you can replace it with regular bread flour.
Proofing: The time depends on the temperature in your environment. The best temperature for the dough is 25-27°C/77-80°F. You should plan more time for proofing if it is much colder in your kitchen. Alternatively, you can turn on the oven until it reaches a temperature of about 50°C/122°F. Then turn it off and wait for the oven to cool down to the proper temperature. Place the dough in the oven until it has doubled in size.
Baking Pan: If you do not own a Pullman baking pan with a lid, you can bake your bread in a standard loaf pan. Your bread will then have a round top instead of the square shape. When using a baking pan with a lid, please keep in mind to grease the lid as well, otherwise it might stick to the bread and you risk the top of the bread tearing when removing the lid.
Ingredients for Milk Bread
Directions – How to Make Milk Bread
Grease the loaf pan and the lid. Sift the flour with a fine mesh strainer into the bowl of a stand mixer.
Add sugar, salt and yeast and mix gently. Add milk and water and mix with the dough hook on low speed until a ball forms. Increase to medium speed and knead for about 4 minutes. Add cubed butter and knead on low speed until butter is well combined, for about 2 minutes.
Increase to medium-high speed and knead for about 5 minutes. Increase speed to high and knead until the dough pulls away easily from bottom of bowl and looks smooth, for about 4 minutes. Check the consistency with the window pane test. Remove the dough from the bowl and pull the edges of the dough from all sides, creating a smooth surface, hiding the edges at the bottom. Lightly grease a bowl and place the dough in it.
Initial Proofing
Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, for 45-90 minutes. Lightly flour the work surface and place the dough on it. Press down the dough lightly and shape into a smooth ball. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball, cover and let sit for another 10-15 minutes. Grab one ball of dough, press down lightly and roll out into a rectangle, then roll up the dough from the bottom to the top, with the seam side facing down. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Spray tops with water, cover with plastic and let rest for 10 minutes.
Final Proofing
Roll out the dough balls into a long rectangle of 20-30cm/8-12-inch each, then roll up the dough from the bottom to the top and place seam side down in the loaf pan. Cover and let rest for 30-90 minutes or until the dough is 80% risen in the pan and the lid is difficult to pull back.
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F. Spray the top with water, put the lid on and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the internal temperature is 88-96°C/190-205°F. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove and let cool completely on a wire rack.
Storing and Freezing Instructions
Storage: You can store this milk bread in a ziploc bag at room temperature for up to 4 days. Only slice off whatever you’re planning to eat to keep the moisture within the loaf.
Freezing Instructions: Slice the bread and store it in an airtight container or a ziploc bag for up to 3 months.
My Summary for Milk Bread
Difficulty: Simple/intermediate.
Taste & Texture: This milk bread tastes a little sweet, but not too overpowering and the texture is so fluffy. It tastes best the day it is baked, when it comes out of the oven and has cooled. The next day it still tastes good, although I like to toast it then.
Time: Making the dough takes about 25 minutes. For the initial proofing you should plan 45-90 minutes. Shaping the dough with 2 rest periods in between takes about 50 minutes. Final proofing time is about 30-90 minutes. Proofing time depends on the temperature in your environment. Baking time is between 30-40 minutes. Let the bread cool for at least 1-2 hours.
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