Hokkaido Milk Bread

Method

1. Warm 250g unsweetened oat milk to about 35 to 40 degrees C, stir in 5g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and all 10g instant yeast, and wait 5 to 10 minutes until the yeast foams.
2. Put 540g bread flour, 60g cake flour, 30g milk powder, the remaining 67g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and 8g salt in a mixing bowl and combine with a whisk.
3. In another bowl, whisk 1 chicken egg with 150g whipping cream, then stir in the yeasted milk.
4. Pour the egg and milk mixture slowly into the flour and mix until everything comes together.
5. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic and springs back when pressed with a finger. By hand this takes about 30 to 40 minutes, and in a mixer start on low speed and move up to medium.
6. Brush a bowl with a thin film of oil, add the dough and turn it to coat, cover tightly and let it rise at a room temperature of 25 to 32 degrees C until doubled.
7. Press out the air, knead again for 1 to 2 minutes, then weigh and divide the dough into equal pieces. Roll each piece into a thin rectangle, roll it up, flatten it and roll it up again, then arrange the pieces in a greased tin.
8. Let it rise a second time somewhere warm and humid at about 33 to 38 degrees C until doubled. Heat the oven for 15 minutes at 170 degrees C with both elements on.
9. Bake at 170 to 175 degrees C for about 30 to 40 minutes until the top is golden, covering with foil if it colors early.
10. Turn the loaf out of the tin and brush the top with melted butter or cream for shine and fragrance.

Tips

• Hokkaido dough runs wet, so kneading takes patience, and only a little dusting flour keeps the loaf from drying out and losing its lift.
• For neat sandwich slices, the loaf has to cool completely before it is cut.
• Knead until the dough stretches into a thin membrane you can see a fingerprint through, which is what gives the crumb its pull apart strands.
• Warm the milk only to 35 to 40 degrees C, because anything hotter kills the yeast and the dough will not rise.