Pregnancy Friendly Classic Milk Bread

Total time3 hr 5 min

Prep time30 min

Cook time35 min

4.6

(8)

Soft, pillowy, and impossibly tender, this milk bread is the kind of loaf that makes you want to tear off a piece before it even finishes cooling. The secret is the tangzhong — a simple cooked paste of flour and milk that gets folded into the dough and keeps every slice moist and cloud-like for days. During pregnancy, knowing exactly what's going into your food matters, and baking from scratch with straightforward ingredients like whole milk, egg, butter, and bread flour means no mystery additives or preservatives to second-guess. The egg is fully cooked through during baking, and the loaf reaches an internal temperature of 190–195°F, so you can feel confident about food safety without sacrificing anything on flavor. The dough comes together in a stand mixer, rises twice for that gorgeous domed top, and gets finished with a golden egg wash that makes it look like it came straight from a bakery. It's wonderful plain, toasted with butter, or used as the base for a really good sandwich — and honestly, the smell alone while it bakes is worth every minute.

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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
Ingredient note
Eggs are safe during pregnancy as long as they are cooked all the way through.
3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces

For the egg wash

1 large egg yolk
Ingredient note
Eggs are safe during pregnancy as long as they are cooked all the way through.
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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