Leopard Milk Bread Recipe By French Baker (2024)

FAQs

Why did my milk bread come out dense? ›

Why is my milk bread dense? If your milk bread is dense, mostly likely, the dough is under-kneaded. The dough needs to develop enough gluten to expand and become soft and fluffy. A sure way to ensure that the dough is kneaded enough is using the window pane test.

It has a milky-sweet flavor and a feathery soft texture that tears into wispy strands and melts in your mouth. It has none of the naturally leavened holes or sourdough tang that's prized these days among bread nerds.

The Difference Between Milk Bread and Other Breads

What is milk bread's main difference from traditional bread? The only liquid used in milk bread is milk. In most yeast bread recipes, the liquid is usually water. There are also no eggs in most yeast breads.

Potato Flakes or Potato Water

Starch helps the dough by trapping the gas from the yeast in the dough and makes the bubbles stronger. This helps the bread to rise and be lighter and fluffier. If you are boiling potatoes, you can use the unsalted water in place of the water in your bread recipe to help out the yeast.

Strong flour has more protein and gluten and gives an overall heavier feel to the bread, both in weight and texture/taste. If you are already using strong flour consider using less yeast, this will cause the bread to rise less and be heavier, but this may make the taste and texture less pleasant.

Instead, the range of which a dough can be properly kneaded is quite broad. It's possible to under-knead the mixture by a small amount, or over-knead it and still yield a delicious loaf of bread. Doughs usually flop when they are severely under or over-kneaded. That being said, it is quite easy to over-knead dough.

Probing the temperature.

If you are just starting off, then you can use one tool that will never let you down – a temperature probe. Most breads will be fully baked once the internal temperature reaches above 94C (200F). Enriched rolls and loaves that must be soft and fluffy can be baked to about 92C (198F).

Taste wise the milk bread was slightly sweeter than a regular loaf made with water would be. Buttermilk and yogurt loaves had a slightly more intense flavour with hints of acidity but also sweetness. The sour cream bread had the richest taste and mouthfeel.

Bread recipes requiring dry milk powder in The Bread Bible, The Baking Bible, and Rose's Baking Basics have King Arthur dry milk powder as their preferred dry milk powder.

The added sweetness and protein helps bread dough rise—particularly enriched dough like brioche. It lends a more tender crumb, and actually helps these breads last longer. High-heat milk powder might be a little trickier to find, but it's certainly worth the search for its impact on baking breads.

What is another name for milk bread? ›

The other name for milk bread is 'D pain au lait', a French term translating to 'milk bread'. Although, these types of breads can have different names in varying cultural contexts, and thus may not be completely identical. Challah, pita, and Pullman are distinctly different types of bread.

Storing Milk Bread

I've read that the tangzhong method keeps bread moist for longer, giving it a longer shelf life. But I've found that this bread begins to lose its softness after about 3 days. If you aren't going to eat it all within a few days, I recommend freezing one of the loaves.

There may be several reasons for a dense, cake like texture in bread. It may indicate the kneading wasn't enough for the gluten to develop properly, or the dough was proved for too short a time or the dough may have been too dry. It is also worth checking the flour you used.

Don't Over-Mix

That trapped air expands then deflates in the oven. A deflated cake is a dense cake! Only mix the wet and dry ingredients together JUST until combined. I usually run a whisk or spatula through the batter a couple times at the very end to ensure there are no large lumps at the bottom of the bowl.

The gummy line at the bottom of a sandwich bread or pan loaf is fundamentally about gravity — the crumb structure sinks downward. This can be avoided with a quicker heat-set of the structure, different shaping, and fermentation timing.

Too much heat or humidity might lead to a too-quick rise and a crevice near the center of your bread. Conditions that are too cold might delay proofing or rising, resulting in a super-dense loaf. The bread machine works on a timer and hums along at its regular pace.