People in Asian countries love soft and fluffy bread.
China is changing so fast. Back to 20 years when I was still a girl, bakery seems quite far except the traditional egg cake. Bread, hamburger, cheese, even yogurt are all luxury food for us. KFC have been considered as high-level restaurants in China for years. But we can easily from food, wines and milk product from all over the world at the import food store several miles away. Lots of Chinese family kitchens have build-in ovens. So bread, baked buns, toast, cheese become more and more popular on our table along with our traditional Chinese dishes. We are enjoying free style meals everyday.
The milk bread introduced here is a very basic recipe I use daily if I do not have Tangzhong by hand. Japanese bakers influence Chinese baking a lot. In generally we love sweet, soft and golden brown bread and buns. In the past one year, I have failed lots of time at my own kitchen and I feel that pillow soft buns are so far from me. But in the new year of 2016, I made great progress and never failed again.
Ingredients
- 300g (2 and 1/3 cup,without shifting the flour) bread flour
- 50g (scant 4 tbsp.)sugar
- 2g salt
- 1 smaller egg
- 160g milk (3.5% fat)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoon yeast
- 30g (2 tbsp.) unsalted butter at room temperature
Egg wash
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tablespoon water
Steps
In a stand mixer, add all the ingredients of the dough except butter, knead on low speed for 5-7 minutes.
Then add butter in; continue kneading for another 7 to 10 minutes until you get a smooth, elastic and soft dough.
But my favorite way is to transfer the dough out to a slightly floured board after 5 minutes and smash it against the operating board, grab it up and smash again. Repeat this process for 2-3 minutes and shape into a round ball. This can help to strong the gluten.
Place in a large bowl and cover with a plastic wrapper and set aside for the first rise.
Until it is doubled in size.
Transfer the dough out and divide it into two halves. Press each halves to remove the inner bubbles and then shape into a round ball. Then divide one half of the dough into 8 portions and place them one by one in a cake mould.
My favorite method to set up proofing process is in the oven. I place a large bowl of warm water in the oven to ensure a qualified humidity.
When the buns are almost doubled in size, pre-heat the oven to 170 degree C (350 degree F) and brush egg wash and garnish toasted sesame seeds.
We love golden brown not dark browned buns, so I top the buns with silver papers when they are well colored.
- 300 g bread flour , 2 and 1/3 cup, without shifting the flour
- 50 g sugar
- 2 g salt
- 1 smaller egg
- 160 g milk , 3.5% fat
- 1.5 tsp. yeast
- 30 g unsalted butter , at room temperature
- 1 egg well beaten + 1 tbsp. water
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In a stand mixer, add all the ingredients of the dough except butter, knead on low speed for 5-7 minutes. And then add butter in; continue kneading for another 5 minutes until you get a smooth, elastic and soft dough.
-
Transfer the dough out to a slightly floured board after 5 minutes and smash it against the operating board, grab it up and smash again. Repeat this process for 2-3 minutes and shape into a round ball. This can help to strong the gluten.
-
Place in a large bowl and cover with a plastic wrapper and set aside for the first rise until it is doubled in size.
-
Transfer the dough out and divide it into two halves. Press each halves to remove the inner bubbles and then shape into a round ball. Then divide one half of the dough into 8 portions and place them one by one in a cake mould. You can make the other half the same or maker larger stuffed buns like me.
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Place the moulds in the oven along with a large bowl of warm water. Set aside for the proofing.
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When the buns are almost doubled in size, pre-heat the oven to 170 degree C (340 degree F) and brush egg wash and garnish toasted sesame seeds. Top with buns with sliver paper when the buns are well colored (optional). Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove out and cool down.
The Nutrition Facts is based on each single bread.
Your buns look very nice indead. Your practising definitely was worth it. When I learned at school many, many years ago that in China ovens were uncommon, I was horrified. What were those poor people eating? Well, I got wiser. 🙂 🙂 I would have guessed you had earth ovens like people have across the world to bake flat bread, but I haven’t found anything in my literature.
I bake buns iike these myself once in a while and learned from my grandmother to fill them with som fruit. Cherries or plums, or finely sliced apples with a bit of sugar and cinnamon are great
Haha, I love your comment so much Susanne, as it provides me another totally different point of view. Can you guess that most of Chinese people think how poor westerner are, as they do not use wok to stir fry. Salad? Can that be delicious?
Yes, we add dried fruit like red dates, dried grapes and sweetened red beans into our baked buns too, sometimes even a meat filling such as baked Char siu bao.
Well, now many of you have ovens and many western households have a wok. Crosscultural exchange is great 🙂
Agree
I would love to make these but, could you put the measurements in U.S, please?
Updated!
No measurements for the milk
Looks great. Can you let me know what kind of yeast (dry active, instant or fresh)? Thanks
I use instant yeast.
Is it 50 grams of sugar? Or 5? Because i couldnt understand if it was an O or a zero after the 5.
It is 50 grams.
Thank you so much! Can’t wait to make the recipe, they look so spongy and fluffy.
Wonderful and very easy your recipe.We all are very happy witth this bread.Thanks very much.I say “hello” from Colombia,
Thanks for the feedback, Maria! I am so glad that you love it. Happy cooking.
For yeast do we need to soak it with milk or water for few munutes?
It actually depending on your type of yeast. Please read the name and instructions on the package. For instant yeast, soaking step is not necessary. However for dry yeast, soaking is a must. I use instant yeast in the recipe.
Thank you for a great recipe. Can you please confirm for the second rise or proofing is the oven off and just warm water inside or have you heated the oven? Sorry I’m a new cook so just learning. Can’t wait to make these!
Hi Mara,
Just warm water to guarantee enough humidness. No need to turn on the oven.
Thank you, I’ll be making these over Christmas. Happy holidays if you celebrate.
Thank you Mara, may you have a good time of Christmas!
Can you tell me what is 160g of milk in CUPS or ML? Thank you!
Hi Julie,
It should be around scant 2/3 cup.
we don’t have bread flour here. Can we use all purpose flour instead.
All purpose flour is not the best option for bread, Sana. Or you can skip those three ones.
Hello Elaine,
When I was reading your blog i was feeling like its me i was trying my best to make a fluffy bread or buns but not succeed yet i will defiantly try your recipe , one question i have , when you baking did you leave the water in the oven?
No, I took it out. The water used here is mainly for increasing humidity.
Hi
Hi did you have to grease the tray?
Thanks
Yes.
I have actually made these. OMG they are wonderful! Even 4 days later they are still moist and yummy. They make more than 8 small rolls, more like 16 regular size rolls. I weighed all my ingredients as the recipe gave. They were perfect! Foolproof
Thanks Cindy! That’s really a good news for me. I am always trying to tell people from me that soft milk bread can be made only with those simple ingredients. But lots of them insist to use Tangzong roux. It is so good to hear your feedback.
Hi! How many whater? Thanks from Venezuela, free land in the near future.
Sorry, How many?
It should be around 145ml to 150ml.
Today, I make the milk bread & it is very delicious & super soft. My family love the bread very much. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Thanks Jeannie for this encouraging feedback. This is my most used bread recipe and I am so happy to know it works fine on your side too. Happy cooking.
Elaine, today I used your milk bread recipe to make coconut buns. Each bun the dough is 60 gm. I bake for 20 mins for each batch of 10 individual buns but the bread is not soft like my first try. Could you kindly tell me what exactly I went wrong. I doubled the recipe. Thk you.
I forgotten to tell u, I wrapped the dough with fillings then I put it into fridge until the next morning. I took the dough fr the fridge & leave it at room temperature before I start to bake. Pls let me know why the bread is not soft like the first time I made it.
Your gluten may have over developed. The magic of most no knead bread is that the long overnight rest is actually developing the gluten strands that would normally develop from the kneading process. Since this bread is manually kneaded, leaving the bread for too long may have overdelveloped your gluten which leads to a less than desirable texture. If you must leave overnight, reduce your kneading time until just before the dough reaches windowpane test. I would let the shaped rolls proof for 30 minutes before wrapping and refrigeration. Then the next morning, heat your oven, take your rolls from refrigeration and bake immediately.
Elaine, I don’t know how to thank you enough for this recipe. These were the fluffiest, softest and tastiest milk buns I’ve ever eaten!
Thanks Rain for this wonderful feedback. This is a basic recipe I use for most of my homemade breads. I am so glad to know it comes out good for you too.
How long would you need to proof the dough in the oven with a bowl of warm water for?
Is the oven off when proofing in oven?
Usually it takes 40 minutes for me.
Hi Elaine,
I was wondering if it’s possible to knead the dough by hand?
Thank you!
Sure, hand-kneading is a good body exercise.
Is the egg for in the dough while kneading or just for the egg wash brushing on top the buns?
Hi Florence,
We need one egg in the dough. The egg wash should be prepared separately.
Thank you, Elaine!
Hi Elaine, pls advise if the milk should be lukewarm. Thanks.
Room temperature milk can work fine for most of the seasons, Monica. There is no need to add one step to warm up the milk. But if you want to slightly speed up the proof process in winter, lukewarm milk can help.
Thanks ?
Hi Elaine!
Have you tried making this kneading by hand? Ive tried hand kneading recipes that usually use a machine to knead, and usually it gets quite difficult.
Thanks!
Hi Kirsty,
I usually hand knead my bread in winter and cooler days. But I prefer to use a machine in summer. There are lots of skills when hand-kneading the dough, usually I use a method by folding up the dough and pull it longer. When the kneading skills are well mastered, it should be the same even better than stand mixer.
Hi
the 160g milk is in liquid form or milk powder?
Liquid milk.
These look amazing! I will be trying your recipe today and filling them with char siu filling. I have two questions, though:
1) You mention that you cover the tops with “Silver paper” to prevent them getting too dark. What is “silver paper”? Parchment paper or aluminum foil?
2) What’s the difference in texture and flavor of using this recipe for char siu baos versus using your actual char siu bao bread recipe with the Tangzhong starter?
thanks! I can’t wait to try it tonight!
Hi Melissa,
For your questions:
1. It is aluminum foil.
2. It is 100% good if you use this milk bread dough with a char siu filling. The main reason why I use Tangzhong starter in the dough is to slow down the aging process. Tangzhong dough can have a longer soft period.
If I were to knead the dough by hand, how long would I have to knead it? Is it better to knead less or more to make a soft bread?
Longer kneading can help to strong the gluten network and make the bread soft. You can test it by making a thin glove with the dough.If it is not breaking, the dough is well kneaded.
Hi Elaine, first of all I am amazed with your patience and dedication to actually reply all the queries for this recipe for almost 2 years now! You posted this in July 2016! It’s very kind of you. I have recently start baking and use a bread maker to knead my dough. I will definitely try your milk bun recipe. Happy baking and stay happy 😊
When you get your bread maker, you will on a journey of making all types of fluffy and soft buns from now on. Happy baking!
Hi Elaine
I agree that u r indeed a v kind blogger with great patience! Thank you!
I m also thinking of making own bread n buns for my family as it is definitely healthier n I m thinking of starting my bread making with your recipe. 🙂
As I hv not made bread before so my question may sound silly – for the 2nd part of kneading after adding butter, is there a need to check if dough has reached window-pane stage before we stop the mixer please?
Thanks in advance!
Grace
Hi Grace,
Thanks for your lovely comment. You raised a good question for checking the stage of the dough. For regular buns like this, window-pane stage is not a must. But it would be better if your dough is reached window-pane stage.
Hi Elaine,
can you explaine to me about to cover the bun with silver paper when the buns are well coloured, does it mean to cover the buns before we put it in the oven (still raw), or we cover it with silver paper after we check that the buns in the middle of baking when we see those buns already brown? Thank you
Hi Lidwina,
When the buns are well colored (brown),cover the silver paper can prevent the buns turn dark brown.
Elaine, this recipe is perfect. I followed the recipe and divided the dough into 16 smaller pieces so that every individual portion is proportional for my 8 y.o., baked them in a cast iron pan, with a bowl of warm water as you prefer, 170 degrees C, 25 minutes, and they came out perfect. Nice and fluffy, with soft crust instead of hard. I’ve always wanted to make this type of bread but hadn’t been successful until I thought “Maybe Elaine has one”, and you do! Once again you made my day, just as you did it when I did your other buns (steamed buns, pork buns, etc) and your Chinese recipes. I wish I could upload my photo of these sweet buns here, I wanted to show you, unfortunately I don’t see any button to do that. Anyway, thank you so much! Love from Canada.
Ika,
That’s really a great comment. I have not make the buns for a while since I am on a summer journey in a mountain and there is no oven here. But I miss the soft texture reading your comment. You can upload the picture to Ins and tag me #chinasichuanfood. Thanks again for your wonderful feedback, made my day too.