When deciding on the recipe for V, I made up my mind, that I wanted to bake something. I have not baked any bread for this Mega BM. I was struggling to find a recipe to fit my theme and that is when this Victorian Milk Bread popped into my head. A few weeks ago, one of my very dear friends who is the Director of the Public library of my town in NY, posted a bread she baked. I loved how beautiful the loaf looked. She had also baked the bread in a Pullman Bread pan which immediately caught my attention. I bought a Pullman pan to make loaves of square bread that would resemble the store bread. The first recipe I tried totally flopped and the bread did not hold its shape. I stopped using the pan ever since and it is still sitting on my shelf, untouched for over a year now. I asked my dear friend Gloria for the recipe and she sent a picture of the recipe from the book that she uses. The name of the bread is Victorian Milk Bread and it perfectly fits my need for the alphabet V. She said that she almost doubles the bread to make it in the Pullman loaf. I did not want to try it on the first attempt and hence used the recipe to make the standard loaf. I also managed to shape the bread into the traditional ‘S’ shape that was mentioned in the book. The book she sent the recipe from was called ‘Bread by Eric Treuille’. This British bread uses milk instead of water. Being from India, I love milk bread, as that is what is very common there. I have baked Milk bread before using the Tangzhong method. This bread is much simpler than that and does not include making a roux or anything. We just substitute Milk instead of water in a regular bread recipe and proceed. The result is this amazingly flavorful bread with a beautiful crust and a great crumb. Egg wash is highly recommended for the beautiful golden color of the crust. I have almost always used a butter and milk mixture to attain that same golden color. I have used the same here instead of egg wash and the bread has a beautiful color. The recipe also has a 3 rise instead of 2. The dough is punched down once in between the initial rise and then allowed to rise again. It does not take long though. My dough had risen in 45 minutes and I punched it down and let it rise again for 45 minutes or so to allow it to double in volume. It was fun to shape the ‘S’ shape of the bread. The bread can however be shaped into a traditional loaf. Preparation time - 10 minutes plus 2 ½ hours of resting timeBaking time - 30 to 40 minutesDifficulty level - Easy B for Baghrir with Orange Butter Sauce C for Chickpeas Shawarma D for Double Ka Meetha E for Esquites F for Farro Salad G for Gur Papdi H for Hayagreeva Maddi I for Idli J for Jau Ki Papdi K for Karthigai Pori L for Lemon Chia Seeds Muffin M for Mysore Pak N for Narali Bhath O for Oatmeal Payasam P for Pav Bhaji Q for Quinoa Brown Rice Adai R for Rajgira Aloo Poori S for Samosa T for Thinai Sweet Paniyaram U for Uppittu
Ingredients to make Victorian Milk Bread - Makes one standard 8 x 5 loaf
Bread flour (All Purpose flour can be used as a substitute) - 3 ¼ - 3 ½ cups Milk (lukewarm) - 1 ¼ cup (might need a little more) Active dry yeast - 2 tsp Sugar - 1 tbsp Salt - 1 ½ tsp Butter + milk - 1 teaspoon + 2 tablespoon (for brushing on top)
Procedure to make Victorian Milk Bread -
Making the dough -
I used a kitchen aid stand mixer to knead my dough. You can also knead it by hand. In a large bowl or the bowl of your mixer, measure the flour and salt and combine.
In a measuring cup, heat the milk. Use half of the warm milk to add the sugar and the yeast and mix. Let the yeast proof for about 5 minutes. You will see that the yeast mixture becomes frothy and bubbly. If the yeast does not activate by around 10 minutes, then the yeast is old and is not active. Discard this yeast and start with a new batch.
Once the yeast mixture has been proofed, add it to the flour and mix. Add the remaining warm milk and start kneading. If kneading using the stand mixer use the hook attachment and knead for 8 to 10 minutes. Adjust the consistency of the dough by using a little bit more milk or flour.
The dough should be very soft, but not sticky. I kneaded for a bit in the stand mixer and then kneaded by hand until I reached the desired texture.
Grease a large bowl (I used my mixer bowl), and place the kneaded dough in the bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise until doubled (about 45 minutes).
Punch down the dough and let it rise again until doubled in volume (about 45 minutes).
Shaping and Baking the Bread -
Once the dough rises for the second time, place it on the work surface.
Spread it into a rough rectangle and roll it to a tight log about 14 inches long.
Twist both the edges of the log to form an ‘S’ shape and tuck in the edges. (refer to the picture for the S shape)
Prepare a standard loaf pan by lightly greasing it. Place the shaped bread into the prepared tin and cover it with a kitchen towel.
Let the shaped bread rise until it reaches above the tin. It took me about 45 minutes.
At the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 400 F.
In a small bowl, melt 1 teaspoon of butter and add 2 tablespoon of milk to it. Brush this mixture over the bread liberally.
Bake the bread for about 30 to 35 minutes or until the top of the bread is golden brown.
Keep an eye out for about 25 minutes. If the top starts to become brown too quickly, tent the tin with aluminum foil and let it bake further.
The bread would sound hollow when completely done. Remove the bread and let it completely cool on a wire rack before slicing.
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