Pecan Free Classic Milk Bread

Total time3 hr 5 min

Prep time30 min

Cook time35 min

4.6

(8)

Soft, pillowy, and impossibly tender, this Japanese-style milk bread is the kind of loaf that makes you want to bake every weekend. The secret is the tangzhong — a simple cooked paste of flour and milk that gets folded into the dough and keeps every slice cloud-soft for days. Butter is worked in gradually during kneading, giving the crumb a rich, slightly sweet flavor that's somewhere between a dinner roll and a brioche. The whole recipe relies on straightforward pantry staples: bread flour, whole milk, eggs, sugar, and butter — nothing hidden, nothing to second-guess. For anyone navigating tree nut concerns, this loaf is a clean, from-scratch bake with zero ambiguity about what's in it. The four-log shaping method gives you that gorgeous pull-apart top, and the egg wash bakes into a deep, glossy golden crust that looks like it came straight from a bakery window. Let it cool before slicing if you can — the crumb sets beautifully and rewards your patience with every soft, buttery bite.

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Ingredients

10 servings

For the tangzhong

3 tbsp bread flour
½ cup whole milk

For the dough

2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast (1 packet)
¼ cup warm whole milk (about 110°f / 43°c)
2 ½ cups bread flour
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp fine salt
1 large egg
3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces

For the egg wash

1 large egg yolk
1 tbsp whole milk

Instructions

1
Make the tangzhong: whisk together the 3 tbsp bread flour and 1/2 cup milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens into a smooth, pudding-like paste and leaves a trail when you drag a spatula across the bottom, about 3–4 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
2
Combine the yeast and 1/4 cup warm milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and let stand until foamy, about 5–10 minutes.

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