Matcha Hokkaido Milk Bread

I went through my blog and realised majority of the past few posts were all reviews on brunch places, so I thought I'd break it up a little and share this great recipe for Matcha Hokkaido Milk toast. :)

You all know by now how much I adore the Hokkaido Milk Toast recipe which I've made many times before. This time around I wanted to combine both of my two favourite things: Hokkaido milk toast + green tea, so I incorporated matcha and boy, the result was AMAZING!!

The kitchen smelt so so good when I took the bread fresh out of the oven. The bread not only smelt great, its texture was also to-die-for.

It was soft, milky and fluffy!! I was so so happy, I cut myself a thick slice, and enjoyed it plain on its own, with a cuppa homemade green tea latte, whilst beaming from ear to ear.

Bread-making to me, is very satisfying. Sure it is arduous, and yes there are a lot of steps and waiting period, but I can assure you it is all worthwhile in the end.

The Boyfriend came back from work and had 3 slices of bread, even after a heavy dinner and gave me the big thumbs up! I can't explain exactly how I felt, but it was a happy moment. :)

I am crediting the great texture of the bread to the use of tangzhong (water roux) method. I've used the tangzhong method numerous times and it always, always yields a good loaf of bread.

In terms of the matcha strength, it could definitely be a little more distinctive. I used 15 grams of matcha powder and loved that there was a delicate, but not overly subtle green tea flavour. However, as I like my matcha strong, I will try 20 grams of matcha powder next time.

Kindly also note that the original recipe calls for bread flour, but as I ran out of bread flour, I improvised and used Lillian's recipe where she has substituted bread for plain flour instead.

To my surprise though, I did find the bread this round using plain flour to be a little softer than usual. I guess I won't bother going out of my way to get bread flour next time.

I hope you will enjoy this recipe as much as I did! :)

Matcha Hokkaido Milk Bread
Recipe adapted from Sweets by Sillianah & modified by The Bakeanista

Ingredients

• 350 grams all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• ½ cup milk, slightly warmed
• 120 grams tangzhong (see below for recipe)
• 2 teaspoon instant yeast
• 42g butter, room temperature, cut into small pieces
• 15-20g matcha powder (depending on strength you prefer)
• 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)

Method using breadmaker

1. Add all ingredients (except butter) into a breadmaker, first the wet ingredients (egg, milk, tangzhong), then followed by the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, matcha powder, yeast).
2. Select the "dough" mode (refer to the menu of your breadmaker to select the kneading dough programme).
3. When all ingredients come together, add in the butter, continue kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic. The time of kneading in the breadmaker is about 30 minutes.
4. Let the dough complete the 1st round of proofing, about 40 minutes, best temperature for proofing is 28C, humidity 75%, until double in size.
5. Punch and deflate dough, then remove dough from bowl and shape into a ball. As this recipe makes two loafs, divide into six equal portion. Knead into balls and let rest for 15 minutes at room temperature.
6. Roll out each portion of the dough with a rolling pin into an oval shape (see picture 2 below).
7. Fold 1/3 from top edge to the middle and press (see pict 3). Then fold 1/3 from bottom to the middle and press (see pict 4).
8. Turn seal downward. Roll flat and stretch in length (see picture 5). With seal upward, roll into a cylinder (see picture 6).
9. With seal facing down (see picture 7), place in the loaf tins to have the 2nd round of proofing (see picture 8), until double in size. The best temperature for 2nd round proofing is 38C, humidity 85%.
10. Brush whisked egg wash on surface. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees C for 30 to 35 minutes, until top of bread is shiny and golden brown.
11. Remove from the oven and transfer onto a wire rack. Let cool completely.

Photo Credit to Christine's Recipes

How to make tangzhong?

Ingredients of tangzhong (amount enough to make two loaves):

• 47g plain flour
• 1 cup water

Method of making tangzhong:

Photo Credit to Christine's Recipes

1. Mix flour in water well without any lumps. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring consistently to prevent burning and sticking while you cook along the way.
2. The mixture becomes thicker and thicker. Once you notice some “lines” appear in the mixture for every stir you make with the spoon. It’s done. You get the tangzhong.
3. Transfer into a clean bowl. Cover with a cling wrap sticking onto the surface of tangzhong to prevent from drying up. Let cool (I always let it chill in the refrigerator).
4. The tangzhong can be used straight away once it cools down to room temperature.  Just measure out the amount you need.
5. The leftover tangzhong can be stored in fridge up to a few days as long as it doesn't turn grey. If so, you need to discard.
6. Note: The chilled tangzhong should return to room temperature before adding into other ingredients.

There's so much you can do with this Hokkaido Milk toast recipe! I made a milk and chocolate version as well, just by substituting the matcha with either milk powder or cocoa powder.

Then I played around swirling the few flavours together:

• Matcha and chocolate
• Chocolate and milk
• Milk and matcha

The flavours went really well together, and the bread were as usual soft and fluffy. 

I simply love the beautiful mix of colours, particularly this tri-flavoured swirl Hokkaido loaf. It was also ultra delicious! :)

If you love soft bread, and enjoy bread making, I definitely recommend you give this recipe a go.

Good luck, and let me know if you've got any questions!! Whilst I ain't no bread expert, I will try to help you as best as I can. :)

UPDATE: I have since remade the bread many times with 20g of matcha powder and it was the perfect strength for me! The matcha flavour really stood out; it was strong and full-bodied with a lingering sweet aftertaste. So if you're like me and you love your matcha strong, then 20g is the right amount to go with. Otherwise if you prefer a more subtle flavour, go with 15g. :)