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Home hand made semi-sweet milk bread with egg using organic all-purpose flour is fluffy, rich, and delicious. Perfect for breakfast, a side dish, or snacks. My all-time favorite.
Making this tasty milk bread is easy, as long as if you learn a few essential tips and tricks. The active working time is about 30 minutes, the rest is just waiting. Wait for the gluten to activate, about 2-4 hours; wait for the dough to rise, about 1-2 hours. A perfect example that magic happens when you are patient.
By the way, the waiting time highly depends on the temperature of the environment. It takes much less time during humid scorching summer and way more time during dry cold winter.
What do you need to make this yummy milk bread?
Ingredients required for Milk Bread:
Organic All-purpose Flour – Correct, you do not have to use special bread flour. Instead, you can use your everyday organic all-purpose flour. As long as you know how to work the flour to maximize the gluten activation effect, organic all-purpose flour works fine for bread.
Egg, Whole Milk, and Organic Butter – Egg, whole milk, and butter together give the bread a rich creamy, buttery taste and flavor.
Organic cane sugar – Organic unrefined cane sugar is my go-to sugar besides “sugar in the raw“.
Himalayan Pink Salt – It is my go-to salt besides sea salt. Here comes the ancient Chinese saying, “Wanna it tastes sweeter? Add a pinch of salt.”
Active Yeast – I use this commonly available active yeast. I typically get a large 1-pound package and store them in a glass bottle in the freezer for ongoing use.
Organic Coconut Oil – This is for brushing the baking pan. Organic coconut oil is a healthy & nutritious oil with a higher smoking point and a pleasant aroma. I frequently use them to grease the baking wares for baking.
Useful Kitchen Utensils:
Mixing bowl – either glass ones or plastic ones will work well.
Egg whisk – A regular egg whisk will do. I use mini whisk more often as they are so versatile to work inside a regular bowl or saucepan.
Bread Glass Loaf Dish – You will need two glass loaf pans. This recipe makes 2 loaves of bread.
How to Make Milk Bread Perfect Every Time?
See the Recipe for detailed step-by-step tutorial. A few things to highlight here:
Form a sticky dough
This will ensure gluten within the flour has plenty of water to maximize the gluten activation process.
Do Not add yeast yet when you make the dough
The first thing we want to accomplish is to activate the gluten, this the one key secret of soft bread.
Allow time for the dough to rest in order to activate the gluten properly
The activated gluten is the essence of soft bread. They make a stretchy dough. Bread flour has a higher content of gluten, the reason the Chinese name for bread flour is “high gluten flour”. Therefore, if you use bread flour, you have a better chance to activate the gluten.
But time shall work out its magic, gluten will be activated with the help of water, if we allow time for them to do so.
So how much time do we need to activate the gluten inside the flour properly? It depends on the environment and temperature plays a significant role. Usually it takes about 2 hours. However, during the dry winter time in Chicago, I usually have to wait for 4 hours. I may only need 1 hour during humid, scorching hot summer.
How do we know when the dough’s gluten is activated sufficiently? When the dough becomes very stretchy and can form a thin film to wrap around your hand like a glove, you know the dough is ready.
Make a yeast paste and allow it to bubble before adding into the dough
While waiting for the dough, mix the dry yeast with 45 g, or about 3 TBSP room temperature water from the measuring cup, mix well into a thin paste, and set aside.
Work on the dough vigorously to smooth the dough
When you initially add the yeast paste and butter to the dough, you may feel the dough is sticky. But don’t worry, the dough will become smooth as you continue to work on the dough. DO NOT add any dry flour, not even to dust the countertop.
Spread and stretch out the dough as much as you can, and add butter and active dry yeast.
Fold and knead into one piece and then chop down into chunks using a dough cutter. Then Knead together into one piece again. Repeat this a few times will help stretch and smooth the dough, which is the key to the ultimate fluffiness of the Milk Bread,
Slap the dough really hard against the countertop is another technique to help streth and smooth the dough.
As you slap, the dough becomes smooth and soft, and very stretchy.
Allow time for the rolls to rise and double its size
I usually leave the rolls in the microwave to rise. The time required depends on the temperature of surrounding environment. During the winter, this may take about 2 hours; in the summer, 1 hour might be sufficient.
Set a timer for 1 hour and check. Do not over proof the dough.
Before Rising After Rising
Preheat the oven and bake 38 minutes at 350-degree Fahrenheit
350-degree Fahrenheit is about 176.7-degree Celsius. Let it cool down on a wire rack for 1 hour.
All don! Enjoy a super yummy and healthy homemade milk bread.
Pair with homemade Cherry Jam and a cup of tea for my kind of breakfast.
Homemade Milk Egg Bread Recipe 牛奶土司 {All-Purpose Flour Easy Way}
Semi-sweet milk egg bread made of simple ingredients using all-purpose flour is so soft, yummy and healthy. Perfect for breakfast, side dish, or snack.
Ingredients
- 660 g all-purpose flour, organic preferred, about 4 cups
- 4 tsp active dry yeast
- 45 g room temperature water, about 3 tbsp
- 2 large eggs
- 50 g cane sugar, organic unrefined preferred, about 4 tbsp
- 1/2 tsp salt, Himalayan Pink Salt, or sea salt
- 300 g whole milk, about 1 1/4 cups, up to, see notes
- 25 g unsalted butter, organic preferred, about 2 tbsp, softened
- 1/2 tsp organic coconut oil, for brushing the cooking pan
Instructions
- Gather ingredients. Crack eggs into a mixing bowl and whisk well. Place the mixing bowl on a kitchen scale, measure out and add sugar and salt per the recipe by using the "TARE" function. See notes. Measure milk and set it aside in the measuring cup. Same for water and active dry yeast.
- Whisk vigorously using an egg whisk till egg, sugar, and salt are fully blended in the mixing bowl.
- Mix the active dry yeast with the water, and patiently mix using chopsticks until the whole thing turns into a smooth paste.
- Place the mixing bowl back on the kitchen scale and add 660 g of flour.
- Make a well in the middle. Gradually add milk from the measuring cup while folding and kneading, until forming a slightly sticky dough. Go extra slow when you have little milk left in the cup, a few drops at a time. Depending on your environment humidity level, you may not need the entire 300 g of milk.
- Cover the mixing bowl with a damp kitchen towel, and let it rest at room temperature until the dough becomes extremely stretchy, about 1 hour during summer and 2 hours during winter. See notes.
- You know the gluten in the flour is fully activated when you can stretch out the dough into a thin film and wrap it around your hand like a glove. This means the dough is ready for the next step.
- Spread out the dough on the countertop, and add active yeast paste and butter.
- Fold the dough to contain all the active yeast paste and butter, and press down aiming to distribute the active yeast paste and butter across the dough.
- Spread and stretch out as much as you can and then chop down the dough into chunks using a dough cutter. It is OK if still visibly see chunks of butter and over-spilled active yeast paste.
- Press all dough chunks together and knead them into one piece.
- Repeat step 10 and 11 a few times until you do not see chunks of butter and over-spilled active yeast paste anymore. Don't worry about the sticky layer of butter/dough mixture on the countertop, which will get absorbed into the dough in the next step.
- Hold one end of the dough, and slap the dough hard on the countertop. Purposely slap into the area where there is a layer of butter/dough mixture. As you slap, the dough picks up the mixture along the way.
- The dough was initially sticky, but as you keep slapping, it becomes stretchy and smooth.
- Note the dough is very smooth and stretchy at this point.
- Grease two bread loaf glassware with coconut oil using a small kitchen brush.
- Knead the dough into a loaf shape, and cut it into 6 equal portions. For each portion, gently knead and then roll out as a long narrow strip using a rolling pin. Use your hands to stretch out the dough to facilitate. See notes.
- Roll up the long strip and place it into the baking ware. Place three rolls into one baking ware.
- Place them into an enclosed area (microwave or un-heated oven) at room temperature. Let them rest until it doubles their size. This may take 2 hours when the surrounding temperature is about 65° F - 70° F. It takes less time when it is warmer and more time when it is colder.
- Pre-heat the oven to 375-degree Fahrenheit (about 190.6-degree Celsius). Once it reaches 375 F, reduce it to 350 F and bake for 35 minutes.
- Turn off the oven, remove the bread from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack.
- The bread may either separate from the baking ware by itself or you can use a knife to gently slice through the edge and easily pull them from the baking wares.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- For resting the dough to activate the gluten inside the flour, if the temperature is way above 70 degrees Fahrenheit (21 degrees Celsius), such as close to or above 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26 degrees Celsius), the dough may only need 30 minutes. On the other hand, if the temperature is way below 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius), the dough may need as much as 3-4 hours.
- You may need about 300 grams or {1 1/4 cups} of milk depending on the weather humidity level. Add the last 1/4 cup of milk slowly while mixing and kneading until you form a sticky dough. Keep in mind we want to form a sticky dough first.
- The width of the dough strip should be about the width of the bread loaf baking ware you use.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 8 servings Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 326Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 58mgSodium 156mgCarbohydrates 57gFiber 2gSugar 8gProtein 10g
Nutrition calculation is provided by Nutritionix to the best knowledge per ingredients description and isn't always accurate.