January 26, 2015 / mintcustard

Milk bread

baking, bread, breakfast, chocolate, chocolate chips, Christmas, dough, memory, milk roll, yeast

Milk roll loaf and chocolate chip plait.

My younger daughter loved the round milk roll loaves as a child. It wasn’t just that they made round sandwiches, as perversely she doesn’t like sandwiches at all, it was the slightly sweet softness that she loved. Had we been French I’m sure brioche would have stolen here heart, but as we are not Milk roll loaf it was.

As I baked more and more bread and she got older her desire for Milk roll seemed to lessen. Not so apparently, as we pottered around the shops the other day she spotted some and asked if I could make her one. So today I have. And in an homage to those chocolate chip brioche buns I’ve used the surplus dough to make a dark chocolate plait. Just right to be eaten warm for breakfast with a big mug of milky coffee.

Milk roll ingredients (makes 1 milk roll loaf and 1 chocolate chip plait.

500g strong white bread flour
330 ml warm milk
7g dried yeast or equivalent of fresh yeast
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
25g softened butter
6 squares dark chocolate, chopped
oil for greasing

How to ….

In a jug combine together the milk, sugar and yeast. Allow to activate for 15 minutes.
In a large, roomy bowl, put the flour, salt and butter. Rub the butter into the flour until it is well incorporated.
Using a knife stir in the yeast mixture, once almost combined go in with your hands and begin to kneed the dough.
Kneed for 10 minutes.
Place in an oiled bowl, cover with a shower cap and leave until doubled in size. This will take about an hour and a half.
Knock back the dough and divide into two thirds and one third. Oil a loaf tin. Take the larger piece of dough, divide into four, roll up and place in the loaf tin.