Thursday, February 24, 2011

Pain au lait (Milk Bread)


It had been a while since I last made bread. I can't remember when was the last time I used my bread machine but there was once I used it to knead my pizza dough, I heard strange noises. It sounded like something came loose. The dough was kneaded, nothing unordinary and we had pizza.

Several months back, I decided to try out this Pain au lait recipe that I've shortlisted in Pook's blog. After weighing out the ingredients, they went into the bread machine and I went on my usual routine. The bread machine started to knead and I heard the noise again, then the machine stopped. Took a peek and what I saw was the ingredients were in it's original state. Darn!  I didn't want to waste the ingredients so I hand-kneaded.  It was a mess pouring out the ingredients.

Actually, I enjoy hand-kneading as I find it very therapeutic.  A great workout and a good time to destress.  But due to time constraint, I am very dependant on my breadmachine.  Oh well, now that it's dead, do I think I'll make more bread?  I guess not.  I just can't spare the time.  If you've been reading my blog, you'll know I don't blog as much as I used to now.

(Sis E passed me her breadmachine upon knowing my machine died on me, but it had been on the shelf since Aug 2010 and I've not baked a single loaf of bread :P)

I like how these bread turned out, soft and fluffy.  And an additional note, buttery too!

Pain au lait (Milk Bread)
Ingredients
(A)
230g All purpose flour
60g Bread flour
38g Sugar
4g Instant yeast

(B)
125g Whole milk
1 Egg (approx 50g)

(C)
5g Salt
63g Unsalted butter
Some sugar, for sprinkle

Method
  1. Mix (A) till well blended. Add (B) to form a dough. Add in (C) and knead until dough is elastic and smooth (the dough should not stick to your hand now).
  2. Gather dough to form a ball and cover dough with cling wrap and let it rest for abt 50-60 mins or double in size.
  3. Divide dough into 10 equal portions. Shape into balls and leave it to rest for 10 - 15 mins.  Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a circle, about 8 cm. Fold the dough and roll into a small batard.
  4. Let it proof on lined or greased baking tray for another 50-60 mins or until dough is double in size.
  5. Before baking, brush the dough with egg wash and use a scissor to cut the top of the dough .  Sprinkle the pearl sugar (I used fine sugar) on top.
  6. Bake dough in preheated oven of 210ºC for abt 10 - 12 mins, or until the bread is golden.

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20 comments:

  1. NEL, the batter bakerFebruary 24, 2011 at 9:51 AM

    Very very nice! Especially the golden brown colour. Texture looks so light and fluffy too. Hope to see more breads from you.

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  2. The SweetyliciousFebruary 24, 2011 at 9:52 AM

    indeed, the bread look so soft and fluffy! (: (: im sure it taste yummy too!

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  3. busygranFebruary 24, 2011 at 10:23 AM

    Nothing like good old home-made bread. Yours look really soft and fluffy!

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  4. CaThYFebruary 24, 2011 at 10:33 AM

    I love your bread! very soft & fluffy! ;)

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  5. Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak LoverFebruary 24, 2011 at 2:45 PM

    i prefer au lait bread too, soft and good.

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  6. WendyinKK February 24, 2011 at 3:22 PM

    Oh... this is second fabulous hand kneaded bread I see today!!!
    But I'm too tired today to knead any bread. Maybe next few days I hope.

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  7. AnonymousFebruary 24, 2011 at 3:46 PM

    wow!! The bread look so nice and fresh! Must be yummy!! Ya lor.....u not so on on blogging nowadays. Busy huh? Me too! Tiring. :( .............MH

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  8. Ren- Lady Of The ArtsFebruary 25, 2011 at 8:22 AM

    I make three loaves of bread every other night- I wrote a post and made a vlog- It is so easy to make! No bread maker needed.
    here is the link:

    http://ladyofthearts.blogspot.com/2011/02/no-knead-bread.html

    ReplyDelete
  9. Joyce @ Chunky CookyFebruary 25, 2011 at 9:38 AM

    Wow the bread looks really soft and fluffy ! Must be very delicious !

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  10. sherlynFebruary 25, 2011 at 9:44 AM

    So, how do i use the bread machine if I want to try this recipe? Just as usual? wet ingredients after wet? I thinking of using machine. Like you, the bread machine is collecting dust under the table :(

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  11. AnonymousFebruary 25, 2011 at 11:15 AM

    Hi,

    What is whole milk??

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  12. JennyFebruary 25, 2011 at 11:17 AM

    what is whole milk?

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  13. JennyFebruary 25, 2011 at 3:05 PM

    Hi,

    May i know what is full milk?

    ReplyDelete
  14. DGFebruary 26, 2011 at 12:32 AM

    Beautiful bread! I love the texture of it, they're soft and fluffy!

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  15. hanushiFebruary 26, 2011 at 12:54 PM

    The spikes on the bread is so classic and pretty!!! Well done!!! I still do not have the courage to make bread yet... Wonder when will I muster the courage.

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  16. Shirley @ Kokken69February 26, 2011 at 4:44 PM

    Eh, this looks very manageable for me :) I want to try!

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  17. My Little SpaceFebruary 26, 2011 at 10:53 PM

    Oh boy, this looks awesome. Absolutely beautiful... so soft!Love it. Thanks for sharing it. Hope you're having a great weekend.
    Best Regards,
    Kristy

    ReplyDelete
  18. Aunty LiewFebruary 28, 2011 at 3:39 PM

    Actually all the while i was hand knead the bread ingredients, for me it is really time consume especially housewife like us.
    Like the pattern of your milk bread,next time i also try to make this kind of pattern,so beautiful!

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  19. PeteMarch 1, 2011 at 9:49 AM

    Lovely patterns on the bread, looks yummy too!

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  20. dailydeliciousMarch 24, 2011 at 11:23 AM

    Very good, the inside of the bread looks great, so puffy ^^.

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