Asian Milk Bread

You’ve likely spotted these golden bundles of joy at Asian bakeries, beckoning you with promises of the most light and fluffy bread you’ll ever taste. Here’s the secret: you can make it at home, and it’s easier than you think. Judy Leung of The Woks of Life came up with this amazing recipe that’s no more complicated than a typical yeast bread recipe, and you don’t even need a bread machine!

Left to our own devices, we’d devour the entire loaf by itself! Exercise a little restraint, and try it in a sandwich or slathered with butter, sugar and sweetened condensed milk à la milk toast, a popular treat in Asia!

• 2/3 cup heavy cream (at room temperature)
• 1 cup, plus 1 tablespoon milk (at room temperature)
• 1 large egg (at room temperature)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup cake flour
• 3 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• Egg wash: whisk together 1 egg with 1 teaspoon water
• Simple syrup (optional): 2 teaspoons of sugar dissolved in 2 teaspoons hot water

1. In the bowl of a mixer, add the heavy cream, milk, egg, sugar, cake flour, bread flour, yeast, and salt. Use the dough hook attachment, and turn on the mixer to “stir.” Let it go for 15 minutes, occasionally stopping the mixer to push the dough together.
2. After 15 minutes of mixing, the dough is ready for proofing. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and place in a warm spot for 1 hour. I proofed the dough in my oven (I had the oven on rapid proof for 5 minutes, turned the oven off, and then closed the oven door). The dough will grow to 1.5X its original size.
3. In the meantime, grease two baking vessels on all sides with butter. I used a standard loaf pan and a 9-inch round cake pan.
4. After the hour of proofing, put the dough back in the mixer and stir for another 5 minutes to get rid of air bubbles. Dump the dough on a lightly floured surface, and cut it in half. I made a loaf with one half of the dough by cutting it into 3 pieces and placing them in the loaf pan. With the other half of the dough, I cut it into eight equal pieces and made buns. Once shaped, let the dough proof for another hour.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush the risen dough with egg wash. Bake the loaves for 23-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush the buns with sugar water to give them a really great shine, sweetness, and color.

Recipe & Photography: The Woks Of Life

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