I grew up on this type of soft and fluffy white bread in Japan. These days I much prefer heavy crusty bread, but I sometimes miss Japanese soft milk bread. I am now writing down how I make this buttery ‘Extra Soft Milk Bread’. You might be interested in making it.

Loaf Tin

Standard Loaf Tin

Ingredients

Roux
2 tablespoons Bread Four *1 tablespoon is 15ml
1/4 cup Water
1/4 cup Milk

Dough
2 & 1/4 cups Bread Flour *plus extra
2 tablespoons Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
1 to 2 teaspoons Dry Yeast *1 teaspoon takes longer time to proof
1/2 cup Milk *slightly warmed
1 medium Egg *whisked, save 1 tablespoonful for glazing
Roux *see Method 1
30g Butter *softened, plus extra to grease the loaf tin

Method
  1. Make Roux first. Place Bread Flour, Water and Milk in a small frying pan or saucepan, and mix well. Heat over medium low heat and stir constantly until thick. Set aside.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine Bread Flour, Sugar, Salt and Dry Yeast. Make a well in centre, add Milk, Egg (not all of it) and the Roux that you made, and mix well. Knead until form a soft dough, adding extra Flour as required.
  3. Wrap softened Butter with the dough, and knead for 5 minutes or until Butter is well combined and the dough is smooth and elastic.
  4. Place the dough in a bowl, cover with a plate or plastic wrap, and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
  5. Divide the dough in half. Roll out each portion into an oblong and fold in three. Repeat the process, then place the dough in a lightly buttered loaf tin, and set aside in a warm place for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Preheat oven to 180℃.

  6. Mix the saved Egg with a little bit of Water, and gently brush it over the top of the dough. Bake for about 30 minutes or until nicely browned. When the top gets too dark, cover with a sheet of foil.
  7. Remove from loaf tin to wire rack and cool.