Milk Bread

Ingredients:

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, tap measuring cup to avoid air pockets
3 1/2 cups bread flour, tap measuring cut to avoid air pockets
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

method:

In the bowl of a stand 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. If you’re in a humid climate and the dough is too sticky, feel free to add a little more bread flour 1/4 cup at a time until it comes together. If you don’t have a mixer and would like to knead by hand, extend the kneading time by 5-10 minutes.

If you ever find yourself deciding whether you need a mixer or if you are thinking about a good stand mixer, then by all means, you should go for it and get the last stand mixer you’ll ever buy! Trust us on this one and you’ll be glad you bought it to make all of these delicious Chinatown bakery style milk bread recipes! While you’re at it, take a look at our Cooking tools page to see what else we use in our kitchen.

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.

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.

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 rolled them with my hands into 8-inch long pieces. Then I folded each “rope” in half and twisted it 3-4 times.

Then, I twisted the entire piece in on itself to make a knot. There’s no strictly right or wrong way to achieve the knot. Just make sure that the dough gets twisted in on itself and the you’re not pulling ends through the knot. It’s should be round in shape with nothing poking out when you’re done.

Once shaped, let the dough proof for another hour.

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 to a cooling rack and brush the buns with sugar water to give them a really great shine, sweetness, and color.