If you are getting into milling your own flour, and you’re not happy with the thick, heavy bread it’s making, this recipe is your dream come true! You have GOT to give this bread a try! It’s extremely soft bread, perfect for sandwiches, French toast, or soft rolls.
This recipe uses whatever home-milled wheat you are working with that has a higher wheat protein content. I prefer the taste of Hard Red Wheat in most of my breads, and this one is no exception. I currently have 80 pounds of the grain on hand for my baking. I order them from Azure Standard, you can click on the picture, or here to go see the product. I highly recommend using their local ‘drop’ shipping option to save a LOT of money when buying bulk grains.
This recipe is adapted from The Woks of Life, Milk Bread recipe to accommodate fresh-milled flour. If you’d like Imperial measurements (cups and tablespoons only), head over there to grab that recipe. When working with fresh milled wheat, it’s always a good idea to use a weighted recipe since the home-milled grain weighs more and always soaks up more moisture while baking.
Japanese Milk Bread Using Home-milled Flour
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer This recipe has a 15 minute knead requirement, you will want help for that
Ingredients
Bread Dough
- 160 ml heavy cream, room temperature
- 250 ml milk, room temperature
- 1 large egg
- 75 g sugar
- 70 g cake flour
- 300 g home-milled, whole grain flour I used hard red wheat berries
- 200 g All Purpose flour
- 11 g active dry yeast
- 7 g salt
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp water
Simple Syrup
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp water, hot
Instructions
Recipe Prep
- Morning of, or night before baking, weigh your heavy cream and milk, and grab an egg to set out to come to room temperature.
Making Dough
- In your stand mixer bowl measure and add ingredients in order: heavy cream, milk, egg, sugar, cake flour, home-milled flour, AP flour, yeast, and salt.160 ml heavy cream, room temperature, 250 ml milk, room temperature, 75 g sugar, 70 g cake flour, 300 g home-milled, whole grain flour, 200 g All Purpose flour, 11 g active dry yeast, 1 large egg, 7 g salt
- Using the dough hook attachment on "stir" (or the lowest setting available), allow your dough to come together. This will take a little bit of time and is included in the 15m total knead time. You may need to stop the mixer and push the ingredients down off the sides of the bowl to moisten all the dry parts.
- Once the dry bits are incorporated, increase speed 2 notches to almost medium, and mix for a total of 15m (including the initial coming together time). Around minute 8-10, if the dough is still sticking to the bottom like a wet batter, add AP flour 1 tablespoon at a time until it starts to pull away more.
- By the end of 15 minutes, your dough will cling to the hook, not be sticking to the bottom in a mass, and will be 'slapping' the side of your bowl. This dough is smooth and not tacky to touch.
- Remove dough hook, form a light ball, and cover with a damp towel for 1 hour. Your dough will more than double.
- Gently punch air out of dough ball, and scoop onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 2 equal parts to form 2 loaves. Grease 2 loaf pans.
Traditional Japanese Milk Bread Loaf
- Using a bench scraper, cut dough into 3 portions. Gently flatten a section with your hand. Grab a side and fold it into the center, repeating all the way around to make petal shapes. Next, roll the dough into a cylinder, keeping the tension created with your petal folding. Place at the end of the bread pan. Repeat the petal fold and roll with the other dough portions and lay them beside each other in the pan.
- Cover with the moist towel and allow to rise another hour. Preheat oven to 350°
Regular Loaf Shaping
- Gently flatten your dough with your hand. Begin on one side and grab the edge, folding into the center of the dough. Repeat all the way around the dough creating petals. Gently roll the dough, keeping the tension, and place into bread pan, seem side down.
- Cover with moist towel and allow to rise another hour. Preheat oven to 350°
Baking
- Brush dough with egg wash (whisk egg and water together till foamy), and bake for 25 minutes. Watch for over browning!1 large egg, 1 tsp water
- Once bread is cooked, brush tops with simple syrup (dissolve sugar in hot water),allow to cool.1 Tbsp sugar, 1 Tbsp water, hot