“No, we don’t need more sleep. It’s our souls that are tired, not our bodies. We need nature. We need magic. We need adventure. We need freedom. We need truth. We need stillness. We don’t need more sleep. We need to wake up, and live.”
-Brooke Hampton-
-Brooke Hampton-
Morning, friends! How are you on this lovely June Monday?
Our corner of the world has turned into a wet, humid corner this past week. It rained buckets nearly the entire week long, and with it came summer's humidity. When I lift the shade on my window each morning, they are almost always fogged up and I can't see a thing outside. It's in the nineties here now, too, with the heat index nearing 110 already. Not my kind of weather!
On those rainy days last week, I finally got myself in the kitchen to try a recipe I've been wanting to try for a couple of years. And in the evenings, I enjoyed curling up with a bowl of popcorn and the Harry Potter movies, as well as finishing up one of the novels on my stack.
Japanese milk bread was quite popular on the internet a few years ago and it certainly caught my attention. It looked fluffy and soft, almost cloud-like. But it also looked intimidating and complicated, so I just sort of forgot about it. A few weeks ago, though, on Instagram, I saw a lovely gal making a loaf and she said both how tasty it was and how easy it was to make. I decided to give it a go!
In our home, we've tried probably at least a dozen different bread recipes over the years. While we've come across several that have made their way into our recipe box of favorites, we continued on the search for a good, soft, not too dense bread, especially for sandwiches. One that didn't crumble to bits when sliced thinly and had a crust that wasn't too crusty. If only I had known about this bread twelve years ago, I wouldn't have wasted so much time on recipes we didn't like.
This bread is seriously the best! No kidding.
One thing that makes this bread different is that you cook a mixture of flour, milk, and water on the stove until it thickens. Then you let it cool a bit before you prepare the dough in the mixer. And it has to knead for a long time, which is another reason why I'm thankful for our old stand mixer and dough hook.
As I was working with the dough after it had risen, I could tell immediately that it was a good recipe. The dough was so soft and smooth and I kind of just wanted to play with it. Once the dough rises, you have to separate it into four smaller balls. Then you make little love letter envelopes before you gently roll it out again and make a snail-like roly-poly dough log to tuck into a bread pan. Then it rises again and you brush it with milk and bake it.
Patiently, you wait and wait as you begin to smell its goodness coming from the oven. You may want to take a little peek...I did...and you'll love what you see. A loaf of puffy, soft, cloud-like goodness. Seriously, when I pulled it out of the oven, I squealed and did a happy dance. Oh, it was a glorious sight!
The next morning, I pulled the loaf apart in half and I could see just how wonderful it was! When we tasted the slice with soft butter, it was heavenly. No more searching, no more trying this or that recipe. I've found my forever bread, and I shall bake it again and again.
So, I want to know...have you tried Japanese milk bread before?
If you haven't, I highly recommend that you do and very soon! It is the perfect activity for a summer's day or night when it's just too hot to be outside doing anything. And I'm sure you and your family will love the fruit of your labor.
Until next time, dear readers,
may your day be magical in every way!
♥