milking it

We were all set to have a nice dinner at the local and recently country-renowned restaurant Kindred when Mother Nature stepped in and unloaded a heap of ice and snow.

Given its new-found and widespread popularity, it might be awhile before we actually make it there, but in the meantime, I found a recipe for their popular milk bread and decided it was definitely doable and definitely worth a try.

I'm definitely more comfortable making bread, and what would've been an incredibly daunting recipe in the past now seemed like a fun challenge. The recipe wasn't hard to follow, but it was definitely different from any other breads I've made. It makes use of an Asian baking technique called the tangzhong method, which refers to adding a roux of flour and water (or milk) to your yeast bread mixture, which helps make it lighter and fluffier when it’s baked.

So why does this method work? Basically, you are making a gel (or a roux) out of a portion of the flour and liquid that goes into the bread, and this gel essentially locks in in the liquid throughout the entire rest of the mixing and baking process so it doesn’t evaporate. The flour in the roux is also sealed away and will not develop gluten during the kneading process. As a result, the baked bread has a higher moisture content and lower gluten development, which means it’s softer and lighter and stays that way for longer.

This bread is enriched with butter, milk, and egg, and all that added moisture and fat make it easier to work it and more forgiving than your leaner breads. I will say that I regret not having a stand mixer for this process--I don't think I kneaded the dough long enough, but the bread still turned out delicious and with a wonderful texture. I'll be using this technique again, and soon!

Milk Bread
(printable recipe)
Makes 2 9x5-inch loaves

Barely adapted from this recipe, with tips from this recipe
Ingredients:

• 5-1/3 cups bread flour, divided, plus more for surface
• 1 cup heavy cream or milk
• 1/3 cup mild honey
• 3 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder
• 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 3 large eggs, divided
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature
• Coarse salt

Directions:
Cook 1/3 cup flour and 1 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly, until a thick paste forms (almost like a roux but looser), about 5 minutes. One site I found said that it's ready when it reaches about 149 degrees F, the temperature when the starches in the flour gelatinize and the tangzhong comes together into a pudding-like roux.
Add cream or milk and honey and cook, whisking to blend, until honey dissolves. Make sure the mixture isn't above 120 degrees F, lest you kill your yeast.
Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or a large mixing bowl and add milk powder, yeast, salt, 2 eggs, and 5 remaining cups flour.
Knead on medium speed until dough is smooth, about 5 minutes, or knead by hand for about 10 minutes.
Add butter, a piece at a time, fully incorporating into dough before adding the next piece, until dough is smooth, shiny, and elastic.

Coat a large bowl with nonstick spray and transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat.
When the dough looks like it has doubled in size and is puffy to the touch (if you poke the dough it should hold the indent and slowly fill back in), take the dough and split into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.
Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 15 minutes.
Grease two 9x5-inch loaf pans and set aside.
Roll one piece out on a lightly floured surface into a long oval. Fold the right third of the oval over the middle, then fold the left third of the oval over the middle to make a long, narrow packet. Lightly roll over the seam to flatten and seal.
Roll the packet up from the bottom to make a fat roll. Repeat with other seven balls of dough.
Arrange four rolls of dough, seam side down, in each prepared loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap. Let proof for another 40 minutes until the dough reaches just below the rim of the loaf pan.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Beat remaining egg with 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl to blend.
Brush top of dough with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse salt, if desired.
Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until bread is deep golden brown, starting to pull away from the sides of the pan, and is baked through, about 30 minutes.
Let milk bread cool slightly in pan on a wire rack before turning out; let cool completely.