HOMEMADE JAPANESE MILK BREAD USING PDJW'S CYAN BAKING MOLD

Disclosure: I received the cyan baking mold for free from PDJW in order to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own. I may collect a share of sales from the link on this page if you decide to shop from them.

          One of my hobbies is baking. In particular, I enjoy trying to recreate my favorite Japanese foods at home. Since I have never made bread before, I thought it was best to find an easy recipe with simple instructions for Japanese milk bread buns. This is one of  my favorite types of bread to eat with my dinner or as a grab and go snack. Typically this type of bread is thick and square shaped, but mine are thinner ovals. I recommend eating it with a bit of butter as it makes the bread more flavorful and soft. But, you can use  your favorite spread. I'm sure whatever you choose will be really delicious, as the plain bread by itself makes a good base for a variety of flavored toppings.

          Using the Baking mold to make this recipe for Japanese milk bread was an easy process. After mixing all the ingredients together to make a big dough ball, I placed it in a covered bowl and let it rise in my oven that has not yet been heated for 2 hours. Since, the dough needs to rise in a warm dry place. Knead it again. Cut it into 8 balls and repeat the rising process. I had to be patient while waiting for the dough to rise twice for an additional hour. When the dough was finally ready to be added to the mold, I found it to be a simple task because I was able to gage the size of the dough needed to fill each individual section by eye balling if the dough ball would fit. I then shaped and pressed it into ovals until it filled the entire space. I correctly assumed it would hold the shape if I spread it out evenly. The bread dough rose and spread out to fill the space making little loaves. As an added bonus, it made my house smell like a bakery when I opened the oven to remove the pan.

          The silicone material made this a light weight and flexible mold to work with. I made sure to use two oven mitts to handle it, keep it steady. This way I did not burn my hands and I had a good grip on the edges. Also, silicone is supposed to be nonstick. However, I decided to grease it using a little vegetable oil. But, it probably would have been fine without. I was able to cleanly pop out the 8 mini loaves of milk bread using the pink spatula from PDJW. Lastly, I like that the color is bright enough to easily spot in a dark cupboard. Besides, bright cheerful colors make me feel happy & excited to bake.

Mold

https://amzn.to/3vtKgZa

Utensils used

https://amzn.to/2Pw69ru

Bread indoor slippers

https://amzn.to/3aPaLjR

Additionally, I am wearing my own design, The Queenie4ever Ice Cream Panda. If you are interested in the t-shirt please send us an e-mail at info@Queenie4ever.com

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The recipe is from YouTube user HowTasty. I think the measurements may vary slightly in the video, which is what I followed.

Ingredients: Makes 12 medium size milk rolls

70 g (1/3 cup - 70 ml)

Milk, lukewarm 30 g (2 tablespoons - 35 ml)

Water, lukewarm 3-4 g (about 1 teaspoon)

Active Dry Yeast 30 g (2 tablespoons)

Unsalted Butter, melted 30 g (about 1/2)

Egg, beaten: set aside the leftover egg for brushing the top. 220-230 g (1 3/4 cups)

All Purpose Flour 3 g (1/2 teaspoon)

Salt 20 g (1 1/2 tablespoons) Sugar

For topping: Egg, beaten (the leftover of the egg that you use for the dough) 20 g (about 1 tablespoon)

unsalted butter, cubed

Directions: In a small size bowl, pour water and milk and add the dry yeast: mix until dissolves. In a big size bowl mix the dry ingredients: flour, salt and sugar. In the yeast mix add beaten egg and melted butter and mix. Add the yeast mix to the flour mix and combine with a spatula until well combined and get a little sticky dough (not too wet)* *NOTE: The consistency of your dough may vary depending of your flour. If your dough seems too wet, you can add up to 1-3 tbsp more flour until the dough comes together; if it seems too dry, you can add up to 1-2 tablespoons of milk. Sprinkle with a little flour (not use too much flour!) a surface and knead the dough for 10 minutes and make it round. You'll get a soft, smooth, elastic and not sticky dough. Put the dough in a greased big size bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place** until double in size (about 1 1/2 - 2 hours). **You can heat your oven at the lowest temperature for about 3-5 minutes, then turn it off and place the dough into the slightly warm oven to rise it. Divide the dough into 12 pieces and make them round. Cover the balls with plastic wrap, with a kitchen towel and let them rest for 15 minutes. After resting, flat the balls, round and smooth the surface until get a round smooth ball. Place them in a pan 11x7 inch (28x18 cm)*** lined with parchment paper and greased. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until double in size (about 1 1/2 hour). *** You can also use 9 inch (24 cm) round pan. Brush with beaten egg, add the cubed butter on top and bake in preheated oven at 390° F (200° C) for about 15 minutes or until browned.