Japanese Milk Bread Yeast Version Food

JAPANESE MILK BREAD (YEAST VERSION)

Steps:

• Tangzhong
• Whisk the milk and flour in a small saucepan until blended. Cook on med-low heat for several minutes until thickened, stirring or whisking frequently.
• Remove from the heat, and see the instructions below for melting the butter in the hot tangzhong.
• Dough Mixing and First Rise
• These instructions are for using a stand mixer. Scroll to the end of the recipe for hand-kneading instructions if you don't 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 your stand mixer, whisk the flour, sugar, salt and yeast; and then pour in the prepped wet ingredients.
• With the dough hook attachment, mix the dough on low speed for about 1 minute.
• Scrape down the sides of your mixer, and 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.
• Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough into it. Form it into a ball, flip it smooth-side up, and cover.
• Let the dough rise until it has doubled, about 1-3 hours, depending on your room temperature and if you used instant vs. active yeast.
• Dough Shaping and Second Rise
• Prepare your pans by greasing them. You can use one large pullman pan, two loaf pans, or make rolls (16 rolls in two 9" round pans, 18 rolls in two 8" square pans, 24 rolls in two 9" square pans, 18 rolls in a 9x13" rectangular pan).
• 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. Your total dough weight is about 1400g. I divided the dough for my large Pullman pan in six 230g pieces.
• Place the balls in your pan(s) and cover. To be able to squeeze the dough balls into the large Pullman pan in an even manner, I placed the end pieces in first and worked my way toward the middle.
• Cover and let the dough proof for 1-2 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 first rise.
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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.)

JAPANESE MILK BREAD OR ROLLS WITH SOURDOUGH

Steps:

• Refresh your sourdough starter with a cup of flour and 1/2 cup of water to make a thick starter and let double in volume.
• To make roux, mix flour and water and heat slowly until it begins to thicken and trails can be seen as it's stirred. Take off heat and continue to stir for about a minute.
• Drop the cold butter pats onto the roux to keep the roux from forming a film.
• When the roux is lukewarm, mix it with the sourdough starter and the rest of the ingredients in a mixer. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes.
• Knead well, for about 8 to 10 minutes and tip out onto a floured counter.
• Stretch the dough into a rectangle and fold letter-style, top to bottom and side to side. Place in an oiled, clear straight sided container and cover. after 15 minutes, stretch and fold again. Put back into container.
• Let rise until doubled in volume from the original volume.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• After the rise, shape a loaf and place in an 8 inch by 4.5 inch pan that's well oiled. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rise until 1 inch above the walls of the pan. Brush the loaves lightly with an egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon of water and bake for 30 minutes, turning after 15 minutes for even baking.
• If making rolls, divide risen dough into 12 pieces (56 to 57g each). Shape as desired and place on parchment paper, cover and let rise until puffed and about 50% larger in size. A piece of dough in a straight sided juice glass to judge when the dough is 1.5 times its original volume.
• Brush the loaves lightly with an egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon of water and bake in 350F oven for 6 minutes, turn and bake for 7 minutes until browned and 200F internally.
• Cool on rack before serving.

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.