Short and sweet: I found this milk bread (more on milk bread here [1]) recipe online, and I love it. It is easy to make and super delicious (don’t be alarmed by the salt content, it is an important part of the pleasure). The recipe makes two loaves, but they freeze like a dream, so you should make both. Simply slice the loaf and wrap well, you can take out a slice or two when you want them and toast from frozen. Breakfast is sorted.
Milk Bread (from Kindred [2] via Food52 [3])
- 5 1/3 cups bread flour, divided, plus more for surface
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/3 cup mild honey
- 3 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder
- 2 tablespoons active dry yeast (from about 3 envelopes)
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt (Diamond Crystal, I might use 1.5 tablespoons of Mortons)
- 3 large eggs, divided
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature
- Nonstick vegetable oil spray
- Flaky sea salt
Cook 1/3 cup flour and 1 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly, until a thick paste forms (almost like a roux but looser), about 5 minutes. Add cream and honey and cook, whisking to blend, until honey dissolves.
Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and add milk powder, yeast, kosher salt, 2 eggs, and 5 remaining cups flour. Knead on medium speed until dough is smooth, about 5 minutes. Add butter, a piece at a time, fully incorporating into dough before adding the next piece, until dough is smooth, shiny, and elastic, about 4 minutes.
Coat a large bowl with nonstick spray and transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour (maybe longer if it is cold where you are).
To make loaves, lightly coat two 9- by 5-inch (or 8×4—I used one of each) loaf pans with nonstick spray. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and divide into 12 pieces. Nestle pieces side-by-side to create 2 rows down length of each pan.
Let shaped dough rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size (dough should be just puffing over top of pan), about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375° F. Beat remaining egg with 1 teaspoon. water in a small bowl to blend. Brush top of dough with egg wash and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until bread is deep golden brown, starting to pull away from the sides of the pan, and is baked through, 50 to 60 minutes. Let milk bread cool slightly in pan on a wire rack before turning out; let cool completely.