I Stopped Buying Bread After Making This No-Knead Japanese Milk Bread, by Yoshi Kitchen on YouTube. 5 min 6 s.
- Video length
- 5 min 6 s
- Time to do it
- 3 hours 30 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 10
What you need
Steps
Warm the 180 ml water until just lukewarm, then stir in the instant yeast and sugar. Let it sit a few minutes until it looks slightly foamy.
Add the skim milk powder, melted butter, bread flour and salt to the bowl. Mix with a spatula until no dry flour is left. The dough will be sticky.
Cover the bowl and let the dough rest for about 20 minutes. This rest makes the dough easier to handle without kneading.
Do a set of folds: wet your hand, lift one side of the dough, stretch it up and fold it over the middle. Turn the bowl and repeat around the edge.
Cover and rest again for 20 to 30 minutes, then repeat the folds. Do three or four fold-and-rest rounds in total.
Cover the bowl and let the dough rise until roughly doubled, about 60 to 90 minutes in a warm spot.
Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface, press out big air bubbles, then roll it into a log the length of your pan.
Grease the loaf pan and place the dough inside. Cover and let it rise until the dough reaches near the top of the pan, about 45 to 60 minutes.
Heat the oven to 180 C (350 F). Bake the loaf for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is deep golden and the base sounds hollow when tapped.
Take the loaf out of the pan and cool it on a rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing.
Tips and common mistakes
Keep the salt away from the yeast when you first mix, since direct contact can slow the rise.
For breakfast bread, mix the dough the night before, let it rise slowly in the fridge, then shape and bake in the morning.
If the dough feels too sticky to fold, wet your hand instead of adding more flour.
Let the loaf cool fully before slicing, or the crumb will squash and turn gummy.
Questions
Can I make this without skim milk powder?
You can leave it out, but the loaf will be a little less soft and milky. Whole milk swapped for some of the water is a common substitute.
Why is my milk bread dense?
Usually the dough was under-proofed or the yeast was old. Wait until the dough clearly doubles and reaches near the top of the pan before baking.
Can I bake it the night before and eat it in the morning?
Yes. Let the shaped dough do its final rise in the fridge overnight, then bake it fresh in the morning.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
