How to make Milk Bread?

Something we toast every morning...

This is the most basic and commonly used bread in every household. Once you master this, you can play with different version of bread with much ease and confidence and try some exotic breads.

Ingredients: 500 gm flour, 2 tsp dry yeast, 1.5 tsp salt, 1 tsp granulated sugar, 350ml milk, loads of love and patience

Glaze: Milk
Time taken: 10 mins to make the dough

Rising: 1.5 hrs

Proving: 1 hr

Baking: 40-45 mins at 200c preheated oven

Mix yeast and sugar in 100ml tepid milk for 5 mins. Add 1/2 of remaining milk too and mix. Mix flour and salt and make a well and add milk yeast mixture. Slowly keep adding the remaining milk to make a sticky dough and move to the slightly floured surface.

Knead for 10 mins and make into a ball and put in a glass bowl for 45 mins to rise.


Knock back the dough and keep it for rising again for 45 mins till it doubles in size.

Remove the ball from the bowl and move to a lightly floured surface and roll length wise. Tuck the ends and place the dough in a greased tin for 1 hr with ends downward. Cover with tea towel. Let the dough rise 1 inch above the top of tin.

a

a

Proved

a

Brush the top of the loaf with milk glaze and place in the preheated oven for 35-40 mins until the top is golden brown and hollow sounding when tappen at the bottom.

Once done, keep the bread on a wire rack. Cut the slices when its completely cool.

a

aaaaa

Important tips: Never refrigerate freshly baked bread as it dehydrated the bread and makes it hard. Always keep in a bread cloth or tea towel and it will remain fresh for 3-4 days. I did this mistake the first time I baked bread and it made my bread stale too quickly. Also avoid microvawing as this also evaporates the moisture from the bread.

Suggested Reading: Bread by Eric Treuille & Ursula Ferrigno

shaded pics are from this book