Monday, November 17, 2014

japanese soft rich bread

I have really caught the bread making bug. The smell of bread baking in the oven is simply unbeatable.

Best of all, when the bread is done, you get to eat it.

What can possibly be better? :)
I really admire my friend, Victoria's bread making skills. She really is one talented baker.

The other day, she posted a recipe for a super soft Japanese soft rich bread. I was mesmerized. It really looked so soft!

So I read the recipe, and I was really pleased over the moon because I understood her instructions perfectly. That was a big deal to me because I only started making bread not too long ago.

So today, I made the bread. And it was everything I wanted it to be.

Here are the instructions on how to make this bread.

In a large bowl, add the flours, sugar, salt and yeast.
Slowly add the milk+egg mixture and stir until combined.
Once combined, add the butter and knead until a dough is formed. Be patient - keep kneading and it will come together.
Knead until you have reached the windowpane stage. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl.

Spray with a little water, cover with a piece of damp cloth and place the dough in a warm place until it has doubled in size.

Note: I turn on my oven to the lowest temperature (35°C) for 1 minute, turn it off and place my dough in the oven to rise. In this way, it does not matter if the weather is cool (especially now that monsoon season has arrived).
Punch the dough to allow the air to escape.
Divide the dough into 4 equal portions.
Rest the dough for 15 minutes. (I covered them with a piece of damp cloth and put them back into the oven).
Roll each ball into a rough rectangle, roll it up and pinch to seal.
Place the dough in a lightly oiled baking pan.
Place the dough in an oven set to 35°C for about 40 minutes, or until the dough has reached the top of the pan.
Make a cut on the top of the bread with a sharp knife.
Stuff the gap with butter.
Bake at 180°C for 30 minutes.

When baked, drop the pan from a height of about 30 cm to release the steam before unmolding the bread and cooling it on a wire rack.
I cannot describe how much I love this bread.

It is buttery and so so soft.

You can eat it with jam or ham or cheese or whatever you like, but it is really good even on its own!!

RECIPE
Japanese Soft Rich Bread (Makes one 600-700g loaf)
Adapted from Victoria Bakes

Ingredients:
350 bread flour
45g rice flour
1 egg
milk - milk + egg should come up to 270ml
30g sugar
45g unsalted butter, at room temperature
5g salt
5g instant yeast
extra butter for topping the bread

Note: If using instant yeast, the milk can be at room temperature. If using active or rapid rise yeast, the milk should be slightly warm.
Also Note: I hand kneaded the dough. If you wish you can also knead using the dough hook of a mixer or a bread maker.

Method:
1. In a large bowl, add the flours, sugar, salt and yeast.
2. Slowly add the milk+egg mixture and stir until combined.
3. Once combined, add the butter and knead until a dough is formed. Be patient - keep kneading and it will come together.
4. Knead until you have reached the windowpane stage. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl.
5. Spray with a little water, cover with a piece of damp cloth and place the dough in a warm place until it has doubled in size.

Note: I turn on my oven to the lowest temperature (35°C) for 1 minute, turn it off and place my dough in the oven to rise. In this way, it does not matter if the weather is cool (especially now that monsoon season has arrived).

6. Punch the dough to allow the air to escape. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions.
7. Rest the dough for 15 minutes. (I covered them with a piece of damp cloth and put them back into the oven).
8. Roll each ball into a rough rectangle, roll it up and pinch to seal. Place the dough in a lightly oiled baking pan.
9. Place the dough in an oven set to 35°C for about 40 minutes, or until the dough has reached the top of the pan.
10. Make a cut on the top of the bread with a sharp knife. Stuff the gap with butter.
11. Bake at 180°C for 30 minutes.
12. When baked, drop the pan from a height of about 30 cm to release the steam before unmolding the bread and cooling it on a wire rack.
Note: Store in an airt tight container. Bread will keep for up to 3 days. Place in the microwave oven and zap for 10 seconds to soften bread.

8 comments:

  1. wow.. goddess, this is a lovely loaf... u were being too humble when you said you understood all the instructions... :) of course you will! you are our goddess yea?

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  2. I knead using a bread kneader for 40 mins and its very wet, the dough didnt form. Can advise what went wrong?

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    Replies
    1. Hi just today someone made it using the BM and it worked - she posed her bread in one of the groups. I am not sure which BM you are using, but I set mine to just make the dough and it was ok too.

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  3. Diana, I love this type of soft bread! I used to buy it from the bakery but it cost quite a bit and sometimes it is sold out. Must learn to bake this!

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    Replies
    1. Phong Hong this is not hard at all. If Diana can you do can Phong Hong!

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  4. Hi, can I use all bread/cake flour instead of 45g rice flour?

    ReplyDelete