Oh My Bread! Hokkaido Milk Loaf!

I am totally on cloud nine. I successfully made Hokkaido Milk Loaf using the tangzhong method for the first ever time. Without screwing up. A round of applause for me, pardon the lack of humility but this is just the moment I want to savour, for being able to bake a soft and fluffy loaf!

The recipe yields two loafs of 20cmx10x9cm, so I kept half in the freezer for the next day. I decided to give one of the dough a special treatment with cheese and Japanese Mayo finish.

I rushed out to get the bread knife from Daiso just the night before!
 
This is how the cheese-filled ones lok in the inside. Notice the bread texture so fine, and super yummy.

You can read about the tangzhong method here. Just one extra step, get it cooled down and you are ready to use it. It helps to make in larger batches and store in the fridge for days for subsequent use. The method I used to make the tangzhong is from Christine's Recipes. And here is the Hokkaido Milk Loaf recipe from the same blog.

I found the dough to be a little dry and hard, added some extra butter and milk to make it smoother. I knead like for almost half an hour to achieve best results, and my biceps have got a very good workout while I was at it. Thank God I am ambidextrous so I could alternate between hands kneading and kneading.

And my moment of glory has to be my boys requesting for the bread for supper session with their milk, and the biggest boy (hubby) bringing it to work next day for breakkie (not in picture), priceless!

On day two the bread continued to be soft and fluffy. The miracles of tangzhong method! No wonder they say once you go tangzhong you will never turn back! Its impossible to think bread baking life without it *drama mode*. Bon apetit!