Hokkaido milky loaf - 1/3 yeast
I've attempted a cinnamon swirl bread with a little less than 1/2 the amount of yeast called for in the recipe here: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/blog/bnb.
So, I thought I'd push the limit a little more. The hokkaido milky loaf was a recipe I was very interested in. The entire recipe calls for almost 2 pounds of ingredients with the flour contributed more 50% of the weight. I reduced the yeast to a scant 1/3 of the amount called for in the recipe, so probably around 2.5 to 3 oz
I consulted members here about the unusual pan size used in the recipe. Unfortunately the pans were only available online and were pretty expensive. I decided to throw caution to the wind and use a regular 9x5 loaf pan.
Very low yeast content and the wrong pan size seemed like a recipe for failure, but I went against my good judgement and started mixing.
I wanted a pretty moist and soft dough so I held back about 40 g of bread flour. The dough was very sticky and unweildy but after 10 mins of kneading turned into a smooth, supple elastic dough.
I put the dough, covered, in the oven for the first rise. After 2 hours the dough had no discernible activity. So I set a saucepan of hot water in with the dough and turned on the pilot light. After 2 hours, I saw a little bit of rise. I then turned the pilot off and left the hot water in.
5-6 hours later the dough had more than doubled.
I took the dough out of the bowl and did not punch it down. Cut it into 4 pieces. After the 20 mins rest. I spread each quarter with a filling of dark brown sugar, ground walnuts, orange zest and cinnamon and rolled them up. All 4 rolls fit in very snuggly into the 9x5 pan.
The 2nd rise took only 2 hours with a saucepan of water in the oven. The rolls doubled beautifully.
My oven only heats by 25 f increments, I can't set it 340. So I chose a temp of 350F and set the timer to 35 mins with ice cubes in a tray on the bottom rack.
I was very surprised by the amount of oven spring. The bread increased about 1/4 its size in the oven. The resulting loaf is tender, moist, cotton soft. Very very delicious!
Original recipe: http://schneiderchen.de/237Hokkaido-Milky-Loaf.html
BNB.
Comments
Since you use less amount of yeast in this recipe, the taste will be better than the original one. You can also try another recipe of this this kind Hokkaido Milky Loaf 2, using a starter. Or you can modify it to use a biga (I like the latter one, 50% hydration and left it over night).
The loaf 2 can produce much softer crumb. It's a favorite for Japanese people.
Hi wildeny,
Is that your blog? Oh, I am such a fan of Japanese cakes and breads. I definitely like chewy artisan breads but very often I have to break the monotony with some feather light, cotton soft bread. I will definitely give the second loaf a try. Thanks.
bnb.