Milk Bread

The soft and silky oriental style milk bread that stays fresh for days results from cooking (gelatinizing), with water, the starch from a small portion of the total flour before adding to the bread dough. Here are two test recipes. In method A, the par-cooked flour resembles mash potato while in method B, the par-cooked flour behaves like a thick custard sauce.




Method A





Adapted from recipe at "All Recipes" for Asian bread
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/asian-water-roux-white-bread/Detail.aspx

Bread Dough
190 g flour (12% protein)
120 g hot water dough (1:1), see below
10 g sugar (2 t)
4 g salt (1 t)
4 g instant dried yeast (1 t)
1 g (1/2 t) lecithin granules
4 g (1 t) Lecimax improver
115 mL warm milk
10 g butter

Hot water dough (1:1)
(aka Japanese "Yukone" starter dough, or gelatinized dough)
60 g flour
60 mL boiling water

Method B





Adapted from recipe at "Cafe Corner" for Japanese bread
http://cornercafe.wordpress.com/2009/03/14/japanese-style-white-bread-loaf/

Bread Dough
235 g flour (12% protein)
90 g starch gel (1:5), see below
10 g sugar (2 t)
4 g salt (1 t)
4 g instant dried yeast (1 t)
1 g (1/2 t) lecithin granules
4 g (1 t) Lecimax improver
100 mL warm milk
10 g butter

Starch Gel (1:5)
(aka "65 degrees water roux starter", known in Chinese as "tangzhong")
15 g flour
75 mL boiling water

To make the bread using either method:

While stirring, par-cook the flour with boiling water. For home production, do not worry about lumps. It is also not necessary for precision 65 degrees Celsius cooking. Cool and rest for 2 hours or overnight.

Combine the par-cooked flour starter with everything else to form a soft dough. Rest 10 minutes.

Knead until very smooth and stretchy. By hand, it takes about 20 minutes to develop a translucent stretch. In comparison, it takes 8-10 minutes using electric dough hooks. A pasta machine can help develop this stretch after 20 runs.

Proof until double. Punch down. Knead well. Divide into 4 portions.

Roll each portion into a 5 cm wide strip using a rolling pin or a pasta machine at the widest setting. Roll each strip into a cylinder while pushing the sides in to avoid spindle shape.



Place the 4 rolled cylinders in a greased and floured bread tin (20cm x 10 cm x10 cm). Let rise until a finger leaves an imprint. Method A took 4 hours compared to 1 hour for method B. The finished loaf measures about 12 cm high.

Bake 30 minutes at 185 degrees Celsius. The test loaves were baked in a bench top convection oven for 10 minutes on the top, and then turned on the sides and baked 10 minutes on each side.



Conclusion:
The starch gel method (1:5 flour to water), shown on the right, produces a faster rising and loftier bread with a soft, moist, fluffy, silky texture. The hot water dough method (1:1 flour to water), shown on the left, also gives a soft, but somewhat coarser, texture.

Notes:

• The lecithin in these recipes reduces the butter, as well as replaces egg in the original recipe. One tablespoon of egg (half of one) may be added in place of the lecithin and 15 mL of the milk.
• The original recipes use milk powder and water instead of milk. Scald fresh milk first or use UHT for a better rise.
  
• The flour used here is unbleached Wallaby Bakers Flour by Laucke. Plain flour can also be used.
• Lecimax improver is amylase (enzyme) with emulsifiers, and can be omitted. The use here is twofold: to ensure the bread is edible should the tests fail, and to show that texture improves through the use of gelatinized starch when compared to standard loaf.
  
• Instant yeast is used without activating. If using other yeast, activate in warm water/milk and sugar for 10 minutes before adding to dry ingredients. Use quantity of yeast to suit your yeast type and/or application according to manufacturer's recommendation.