Condensed Sweet Milk Bread with mistake バターミルク、コンデンスミルクパン

Over time my wife has made several variations of Japanese milk bread*. Recently we bought some commercial bread from Whole Foods advertised as Japanese milk bread. While it was not bad, it was certainly not as good as the milk bread my wife has made. As a result, I found myself yearning for the taste of the bread she makes. At my request, she agreed to make some. In previous versions of milk bread, she used cream cheese and/or sweet condensed milk. In response of my request, she made the version that uses condenses milk; condensed milk bread. After making it, she realize half a can of condensed milk was left over so she decided rather than letting it go to waste, she would make another version of sweet condensed milk bread.

In her usual fashion she made several substitutions to the recipe such as replacing the plain milk called for in the recipe with buttermilk thinking it might add more flavor. She also adjusted the amount of flour so it made 2 loaves instead of one very large one. In addition, she made a mistake. The recipe called for one large egg. It was supposed to be used as an egg wash (which we usually skip). But not carefully reading the recipe, she added it to the dough mixture instead. Despite this, this bread turned out to be actually better than the original version. The first thing we noticed was an incredibly wonderful smell as it came out of the oven. The texture was very soft and pleasantly moist probably from the added egg. The most outstanding feature was its wonderful flavor from a combination of the rich slightly tart buttermilk and the pleasant sweetness of the condensed milk. Despite the changes my wife made (several intentional and one by mistake), this is a wonderful bread. This will be our “go-to” recipe for milk bread in the future. 

*What constitutes classic Japanese milk bread or “Shoku-pan 食パン” as opposed to just generic milk bread is debatable. For me, classic Japanese bread emulates the texture and taste of the thickly cut and toasted  shoku-pan I ate in Japanese “Kisaten 喫茶店” coffee shops. As far as I can tell classic Japanese milk bread is made with plain milk and tangzong or “Yudane 湯種” .  Since the classic milk bread in Japan is made with milk, a product for which Hokkaido is famous, outside Japan this kind of  bread is often referred to as “Hokkaido Milk Bread”. Where did this style of bread in Japan come from? The origin must have been “English bread” or Pain de mie which was emulated and modified by Japanese bakeries in the early days of Japanese contact with Europeans. The present style of Japanese “shoku-pan” became popular after WWII when wheat flour became ready available. The variations of milk bread my wife makes use ingredients other than just plain milk such as condensed milk or even cream cheese. So they may not be “classic” Japanese milk breads but variations that are enjoyable nonetheless.

Ingredients: (makes two loaves)
3 3/4 cups bread flour (this was a slight increase from the amount called for in the original recipe.)
2 1/4 tsp yeast 
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk (this was the substitute for milk called for in the recipe) 
1 Tbs. butter
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk (up to 1 cup will also work)
1 egg lightly beaten (added to the dough not used as a wash before baking)

Directions
Add 3 cups of flour, the yeast, sugar and salt to the bowl of the stand mixer. Stir in the butter milk followed by the butter, condensed milk and egg. Add the remaining flour a 1/4 cup at a time. Mix until a dough forms. Knead for 7 to 10 minutes then turn out onto a lightly floured board and form into a ball. Place dough in a greased bowel turning to grease all over. Place in the proofing box set for 81 degrees until double in size. Punch down and form 2 loaves and put into greased loaf pans. Put into the proofing box again until the loaves double in size. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.