Japanese Condensed Milk Bread

This bread recipe went viral on Facebook a few weeks ago and the moment I saw the lovely pictures of this bread, I knew I had to try this. I took me a while before I had all the ingredients, especially condensed milk as I don't keep any at home normally.

I am so pleasantly surprised that the bread turned out so soft and cottony! The bread is not too sweet and had the buttery and creamy aroma of condensed milk. Wow... And the bread looks so beautiful, just like those artisan bread. Thumbs up from my family and friends too! :) 

Anyway, this was another midnight baking session and it was satisfying as usual. :) I had a good feeling that it would turn out good right after the dough was kneaded. This dough was easy to manage and doesn't stick to the hands at all. 

After letting the dough double in size, I punched it down to release all the air and rolled the dough into a 8" by 12" rectangle (Picture 1). This recipe is half the amount of the normal bread recipes so the proofing time was quick too. I took a shortcut by putting the dough in the oven at 45 deg C for a quick rise.

Then, cut the rectangle into 4 strips (Picture 2). After that, brush the condensed milk + butter mixture on each of the strips and stack them on top of each other (Picture 3 & 4). 

Next, cut the stacked dough into 8 portions. So, now you will have 8 sets of 4 layers of stacked dough (Picture 5). I then placed the cut dough stacks in a 6" square baking pan. 

The dough stacks can be messy to handle, so just quickly put all the dough stacks in as straight up as you can. Relax, it was not supposed to be too neat (Picture 6). Allow to rise for another 20-30 minutes until the dough fills up to about 80% of the height of the pan (Picture 7).

Then, sprinkle some almond flakes and sunflower seeds plus any dried fruits of choice. 

Baked in a preheated oven at 165 deg C for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with icing sugar liberally. 

Recipe is adapted from one of my favorite-st blogger, Sonia

Japanese Condensed Milk bread 日式炼奶面包  

Ingredients

200g Unbleached bread flour 

15g Condensed milk (I used sweetened creamer)

120g milk

20g caster sugar

3g instant yeast (1/2 teaspoon + 1/4 teaspoon)

20g unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon salt

Filling

20g Condensed milk (I used sweetened creamer)

20g unsalted butter, room temperature

Topping

Almond flakes, dried fruits or your choice

Icing sugar 

Directions: 

1. Add all ingredients (except butter) in a mixing bowl, mix until you get a smooth dough.

2. Add in butter, continue to knead till smooth and elastic, keep aside to rise to double in size.

3. Mix the filling ingredients (condensed milk and butter) until a paste form. Set aside.

4. Roll the dough into a rectangular shape of 8”x12”. 

5. Slice into four elongated equal portions.

6. With a silicone brush, brush the filling on top of a dough strip and stack another dough strip on top, brush the filling on the dough and repeat until all the dough strips are stacked up.

7. Cut the dough stack into 8 equal portions.

8. Arrange each portion into a greased 6" baking pan, keep it in a warm place to rise for another 20-30 minutes.

9. Sprinkle almond flakes or your choice of dried fruits.

10. Bake at a pre-heated oven at 165 C for 25 minutes at the middle rack. 

11. Remove bread from the baking pan and once cooled, sprinkle with icing sugar.

Happy trying!