Asian milk bread uses the tangzhong method: you make a roux from a small percentage of the flour and liquid from the dough and mix it back in the final dough. The addition of these pregelatinized starches in your bread will help the dough absorb more moisture and yield a really tender, moist loaf that doesn’t stale as quickly! It can be made in a normal loaf pan (as pictured) with the iconic humps on top, or it can be made in a Pullman loaf pan for square slices. You commonly see the square loaves in the Asian bakeries, and they're perfect for sandwiches!

In the end, it's really down to preference (just know the dough texture will change if you use the Pullman loaf pan. With the lid, any excess dough that would have risen above the pan may spill out the sides).

 

This recipe is scaled down to fit in a 9x4x4-inch Pullman loaf pan without the lid on. The original recipe is larger, but it makes two loaves.

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Tangzhong
 

• 20 g bread flour

• 100 g water
   

Final Dough
 

• 290 g bread flour

• 30 g sugar

• 5 g dry yeast

• 5 g milk powder

• 130 g whole milk (lukewarm)

• 25 g egg, beaten (about 1/2 of a whole egg. Add water to the remainder for egg wash)

• Tangzhong mixture

• 5 g salt

• 25 g unsalted butter, soft

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1. Make the tangzhong with the first flour and water by cooking together in a small pot over low heat. Stir constantly with a rubber spatula until a thickened paste forms. Set aside and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

2. Make final bread dough by mixing flour, sugar, yeast, and milk powder together in a bowl.

3. Add the milk, egg, and tangzhong to the dry ingredients and mix until it comes together in a dough. Add the softened butter and knead until the dough becomes elastic and smooth. You should be able to stretch a piece into a windowpane.

   • Alternatively you can use a stand mixer with a dough hook, making this process much faster and more efficient. However, I find the paddle attachment works best with this small amount of dough.

4. Put the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and put in a mildly warm place until doubled in size, about an hour.

5. Punch the gas out of the risen dough. Cut the dough into 2-4 equal-sized pieces (depending on desired final appearance). Flatten each piece of dough and roll out into a flat rectangle, then roll up from the short edge and pinch seam closed. Place all pieces in the Pullman loaf pan, with the spiral part along the long sides of the pans.

   • Alternatively, you​ can shape the entire dough into 1 log for a basic sandwich bread shape.

6. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise until you can poke the bread and it bounces back halfway. Depending on the ambient temperature, this can take anywhere from 30 minutes to over 1 hour. For me, the tops of the bread dough just reached the top lip of the bread pan.

7. ​Brush the entire top with egg wash. Bake at 350°F/180°C for 25-30 minutes, or until top is completely golden-brown and internal temperature measures 200°F/94°C. Let sit in pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to completely cool.

8. Bread should be completely cooled before slicing. Enjoy!

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