Hokkaido Milk Loaf （北海道面包）

I often asked myself, why have I not attempt to bake one of the top favourite bread loafs around. If you are wondering which one I am referring to...well, it is none other then the Hokkaido Milk Loaf itself. Perhaps I have been waiting for the right Hokkaido milk to come by? ~Excuses Or maybe I needed to explore more in this dairy product. Or perhaps I just didn't quite come up with the right recipe as yet. 

I was perfectly happy with the usual brands on the dairy aisle. It just never occurred to me to try Hokkaido fresh milk. Well, until I got to taste Yotsuba's Hokkaido Fresh Milk. Yup, it was my maiden "encounter" with Hokkaido fresh milk. 

Yotsuba Milk Product Co., Ltd. has been in this dairy business for more then 5 decades which they were established in 1967. Yotsuba seeks safety and top quality milk for their consumer by pledging to value nature status, delivery safety and high-quality goodness. And in order to harvest top quality milk, the company raise their milk cows in a no-stress environment where the animals roam freely in the vast green pasture in Hokkaido. And with the care and attention from the dedicated farmers from Yotsuba, those happy cows produces quality milk. From raw fresh milk, to processing, to packaging and right to the consumers' door steps, every glass of creamy goodness is ensured at it's best quality.

I can understand why the pricing is fairly higher ($6.45 each liter) then the usual milk brands. It having a more superior taste and that unwavering dedication from the company to deliver the best to the consumer. And we all know Hokkaido's magnificent natural environment has always allowed the milk cows to produce one of the finest dairies around the world. Like the Chinese always say, "一分钱，一分货“.

My take after tasting the Hokkaido Milk? Creamier, slight tone of sweetness and still having that clean finishing taste that doesn't leave that sticky mouth feel. 
Yup, I do like it very much. And it goes without saying, I was so gonna to bake with this awesome ingredient.

And so, may I present to you, my very first Hokkaido Milk Loaf using Hokkaido Fresh Milk.

This was actually my 2nd experimental bake using the Hokkaido milk. The latter was a much more successful one and thus I shall be sharing the recipe with everyone. 

I was thrilled the moment I received the fresh milk. Who doesn't? 3 litres of fresh Hokkaido milk right at my doorstep haha!

Wanted to use the milk when they are still fresh, I got to work immediately to bake that Hokkaido bread loaf. And no, don't even think about it. You cannot substitute this recipe with normal milk. Totally defeats the purpose of baking this Hokkaido Milk Loaf recipe in my opinion. 

Did some read up online and found that almost all of the Hokkaido bread recipe uses the "TangZhong" (汤种）method. Never really liked the "TangZhong" method because somehow the bread does not stay soft the following day. So I went ahead and came up with a straight  forward, straight dough method. The result was perfect if I dare say so myself. Comparing the 2 attempts, the latter actually yielded a fluffier and tastier bread loaf.

Ingredients for Hokkaido Milk Loaf (Makes a 9"x5"x4" loaf)

350 g bread flour

40 g caster sugar

5 g instant active yeast

3 g salt

210 ml Hokkaido fresh milk from Yotsuba

30 ml heavy cream

30 g unsalted butter at room temperature

• In a large mixing bowl, add in all the ingredients except the butter.
• Knead it well using the hook attachment, the dough will slowly come together.  
• Knead everything together at medium low speed. Dough will be sticky at first but continue to knead for 5 minutes and break 3 minutes until the dough pulls away from the side of the mixing bowl.

• Add in the butter and continue to knead till it is very elastic and reaches the window panel.

• This is how you can check whether you have reached the window stage, stretch the dough really thin without breaking it and you can literally see through it. 
• Leave the rolled dough in the greased bowl and let proof for 1.5hr or till it is doubled in size.
• Once done proofing, stick a finger in and if the dough doesn't "bounce" back, it is ready. 

• Divide the dough into 4 portions of 150 g. You will be left with about 40-45g of extra dough. You can fill it with Nutella or just wrap it around a hotdog. 
• For the loaf, take one of the 150 g dough portion and roll it out flat into a square shape. 

• Then fold in both the left and right side as shown below:

• Then roll it up from one end (the shorter side) into a swiss roll, then seal up the edge by pinching the dough.

• Repeat with the remaining 3 portions and place it in a greased loaf tin to proof.

• Preheat the oven to 175C while waiting for the bread to rise. When ready, bake in the oven for 28-30 minutes till golden brown.

Remove from the oven and immediately remove the loaf from the baking tin. Else moisture will build up in the tin and the base of the loaf might get all soggy. Slice the loaf only when it has been completely cooled.

Well, I did not exactly slice the loaf this time. Wanted to show the fluffy and fine texture of the bread. And seems like tearing a chunk off does the trick....oops I did it again.

The picture pretty much speaks for itself. In terms of taste, it is richer and milkier then the other plain milk loafs I have made. Since I did add 3 kinds of dairy into the recipe ( Hokkaido milk, unsalted butter and heavy cream), which really boost that milky rich flavour. And I do believe the Hokkaido milk from Yotsuba's Hokkaido Fresh Milk does makes a difference in this recipe verses using a normal milk. 

Hope I have not only persuade you enough to try baking this Hokkaido bread, but also to give Yotsuba Hokkaido Fresh milk a try as well. As I strongly believe the quality speaks for itself. This Hokkaido fresh milk will be available in Fair Price Finest or Xtra at 1 Sept and soon in Cold Storage. I love the fact that it is available in NTUC and not in some Japanese grocer. So go grab yourself some! 

In the meantime, do what you love and stay happy guys