Soft milk bun for baby

I've tried this recipe for countless times. Made many variations and many adaptations to it. But I'm never bored of it. I'm sharing it in my blog, again, cos I'm teaching a group of mommies to make these, hands-on, and thus, I'm sharing the pictorial description here for easy referral.



1-3: Kneading 4-5: Window pane test 6:After first rise 7:Punch down 8:Shape 

Note: There's color variation to the dough in these pictures cos this photo collage is formed from two different bakes, one is a pumpkin bread dough, another one is a red bean and wild rice milk dough.

Without the addition of any softener or bread improver, this recipe still yields very fluffy bread and the bread remains soft for at least 24-48 hours if well kept in an air tight container. I’ve also taken out the egg and replaced the liquid of this recipe to milk or baby food puree, making it a perfect snack for kids and toddlers. This recipe is also great with a bread maker.

This recipe involves the preparation of a starter dough (or known as scalded dough). The reason for this is to partially break down the gluten in the bread flour, thus creating more volume and fluffiness to the bread (the soft bread that I wanna bake for my baby).

Recipe adapted from Alex Goh's Magic Bread.

Makes about 10-14 buns

Starter dough / Scalded dough

100g bread flour

70g boiling water

To prepare the starter dough, pour boiling hot water over flour and stir with folk until combined into a slightly tacky dough. Cover and chill in the refrigerator. Keep for 20min before use, can keep up to 12hours in refrigerator.

This is how my starter (or scalded) dough looks like.

Main dough

300g bread flour

50g oat flour/ wholemeal flour (optional, if not just replace with all purpose flour/plain flour)

50g all purpose flour/ plain flour

2tbsp milk powder / soy milk powder

5tbsp brown sugar (adjustable from 1-5tbsp)

Pinch of salt

1tbsp instant dry yeast **(Note: I later on adjusted this amount to  just 1 teaspoon of yeast) 

230ml lukewarm water / milk / combination of milk and puree from vegetable

60g grapeseed oil

For the Main Dough:

1. In a big bowl, mix together bread flour, plain flour, milk powder, brown sugar and salt. Add in oat flour. Add instant dry yeast and mix well. Form the flour mixture into a well. Add liquid (water or milk or puree) and oil.  Mix to combine. Tear the starter dough in little pieces and knead into the main dough. Knead for 10-20 minutes until smooth and elastic. During hand kneading, the dough also needs to be thrown onto the working surface once every few minutes between kneading to improve the dough structure. (I usually just pick up the dough to about head-high and throw it down onto the working surface few  times every few minutes between kneading.)

2. At this stage the dough should be able to be pulled and stretched into a thin membrane (Refer to picture no. 4 and 5. window pane test: Grab a ball of the dough and try stretching the dough until it is as thin as a membrane without tearing), another test to know if it’s ready is the poke-a-hole test. Use your finger to poke a hole in the centre of the dough. The hole should not bounce back. It’s ready if it passes both test. The dough should be slightly tacky but not sticky or moist.

First Proof/ Rise

Form the dough into a round ball and let it rise until double in size in a large greased bowl, cover with cling film (should take about 1 hour in warm weather, longer in winter months). Optimum room temperature for this first prove is 28°C with a humidity of 75%. To test if the dough has risen properly, dip a finger into bread or plain flour and poke down into the centre of the dough as far as your finger will go and pull out again – the hole should remain if it is ready (refer to picture no. 6). If the dough springs back, then it is not ready, continue to proof further.

3. Punch down (picture no. 7), knead and form into a ball shape. Then divide into small portions, about 60-100g each. Form each into balls and let rest for 10 minutes.

4. Shape and fill the buns (optional). Brush top of bun with egg wash/ water or milk.

Second Proof/ Rise

Place all finished buns on a greased baking sheet, lightly cover with cling film, and let rise until double in size (about 1 hour in warm weather). Optimum room temperature for this final prove is 38°C with a humidity of 85%.

5. Bake in preheated 170°C oven for about 16 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Oven temperature may differs according to make of oven.

Here are some of the buns and bread loaves I've made using this recipe:

Fresh blueberry bun

Soft brown bread (bread maker)

Bounce back even when pressed into

Red bean milk loaf

This recipe is also great with bread-maker. I've always knead and first proof the dough using my bread machine and do the second proof and bake in my oven.