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Incredibly soft and fluffy pull-apart milk bread filled with layers of sweet, buttery, and fragrant osmanthus flower and poppy seeds and glazed with white chocolate osmanthus icing makes a perfect breakfast treat or afternoon snack.
I love baking with osmanthus flowers. The flowers have a sweet and fruity fragrance that is reminiscent of apricots or peaches. A while ago, I got a big bag of dried osmanthus flowers after using them for osmanthus syrup, Chinese steamed osmanthus rice cake, osmanthus tang yuan, and osmanthus sugar cookies. I thought, I haven’t made any bread using osmanthus flowers and so here it is.
This osmanthus pull-apart milk bread is fun to make and it’s definitely a sweet treat! It’s like a cinnamon roll with icing, only this is not in spiral form, but in a vertical pull-apart layer. The bread loaf is then glazed with white chocolate. My family absolutely love this bread! I hope you will too if you have a chance to try it out.
Osmanthus Pull-Apart Milk Bread Loaf
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 275 g bread flour (12.7% protein content)
- 75 g all-purpose flour
- 12 g milk powder
- 4 g salt
- 20 g sugar
- 5 g instant yeast
- 160 g whole milk
- 35 g egg
- 40 g unsalted butter softened
For the filling:
- 30 g unsalted butter melted, for brushing
- 30 g poppy seeds
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 50 g granulated sugar
- 4 g dried osmanthus flower about 2 Tbsp
White chocolate glaze:
- 70 g white chocolate
- 30 g heavy cream
- 15 g sour cream or plain greek yogurt
- 2 g dried osmanthus flower about 1 Tbsp
Instructions
- You can use 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch- loaf pan or 9 x 5 inch-loaf pan (loaf will be short)
- Lightly oil the pan and then line the pan with parchment paper sling (overlapping vertically and horizontally) for easier release later
Prepare the dough:
- Add all ingredients for the dough except for the butter. Use the dough hook to stir the mixture a bit so the flour won't fly around when you start the mixer. Knead on the lowest speed for 2-3 minutes and then increase to speed 2 and knead for 3 minutes and then speed 4 for another 3 minutes or until it forms a dough that clears the side of the bowl, but not smooth yet
- Add the softened butter and knead on speed 2 for about 2-3 minutes and then increase speed to 4 and knead for 5 minutes or until the dough is soft, smooth, elastic, and slightly sticky to the touch. If you stretch a small portion of the dough thinly and gently, it shouldn't break. This is a windowpane stage
- It is important that the dough is soft, meaning, enough hydration. This will ensure you get a soft fluffy bread texture for more than 24 hours. If the dough feels firm, don't be afraid to add a bit more milk, one teaspoon at a time and knead until you get a soft smooth dough.
First proofing:
- Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until double in volume. if it's colder, it may take longer to proof the dough
Prepare the filling:
- Combine all ingredients for the filling, except for the melted butter and poppy seeds, in a food processor and give it a few blitzes to break up the lower into smaller pieces. Then add the poppy seeds and stir to combine. Set aside
Shaping:
- Knock out all the gas by giving the dough some kneading. Round it up into a dough ball. Cover and let them rest for 5 minutes to relax the gluten
- Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a rectangle, roughly about 12 x 14 inches. Use a pastry brush to brush the melted butter all over. Sprinkle the osmanthus flower and sugar mixture evenly on the surface
- Cut into 5 equal portions and then stack on top of each other. Then cut into 6 portions
- Arrange the stacks, with cut-side facing up inside the pan. It may seem tight, but just push the dough a bit to fit the dough in there
Final proof:
- Let the dough proof until it is doubled in volume, about 1-inch below the rim of the pan. Start preheating the oven to 350 F (180 C) for conventional oven, 330 F (165 C) for convection oven, 10 minutes before the end of final proofing
Baking:
- Place the loaf pan in the middle rack and bake for 40 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into the middle is at least 195 F (90 C)
Prepare the glaze:
- About 30 minutes before the bread is done baking, put white chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. Place heavy cream and sour cream in another heat-proof bowl and microwave for about 10 seconds or until almost boiling, but not quite. Pour this over the white chocolate and let it sit for about 30 seconds and then stir until all the chocolate melts. Add the dried osmanthus flower. Let this sit for about 20 minutes before using
Glaze the bread:
- Remove the bread from the oven and place the pan on top of a cooling rack, with a piece of parchment paper underneath the cooling rack to catch any drip later. Pour the glaze on top of the bread and let the bread sit in the pan for 20 minutes
Remove from the pan:
- Grab the parchment paper sling and carefully remove the bread from the pan and place on a cooling rack. The glaze may not be all set solid yet. Let it cool down this way without pulling the parchment paper off the bread loaf just yet
Serve warm on the same day:
- When ready to serve, gently peel off the parchment paper off the bread. This bread is best served warm on the same day
Storage:
- Leftover can be kept in an air-tight container at room temperature for 2-3 days
*Nutrition facts are just estimates and calculated using online tools*
How to bake osmanthus pull-apart milk bread loaf
1. You can use 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch- loaf pan or 9 x 5 inch-loaf pan (loaf will be short). Lightly oil the pan and then line the pan with parchment paper sling (overlapping vertically and horizontally) for easier release later
2. Add all ingredients for the dough except for the butter. Use the dough hook to stir the mixture a bit so the flour won’t fly around when you start the mixer. Knead on the lowest speed for 2-3 minutes and then increase to speed 2 and knead for 3 minutes and then speed 4 for another 3 minutes or until it forms a dough that clears the side of the bowl, but not smooth yet
3. Add the softened butter and knead on speed 2 for about 2-3 minutes and then increase speed to 4 and knead for 5 minutes or until the dough is soft, smooth, elastic, and slightly sticky to the touch. It is important that the dough is soft, meaning, enough hydration. This will ensure you get a soft fluffy bread texture for more than 24 hours. If the dough feels firm, don’t be afraid to add a bit more milk, one teaspoon at a time and knead until you get a soft smooth dough.
4. If you stretch a small portion of the dough thinly and gently, it shouldn’t break. This is a windowpane stage. 
5. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until double in volume. if it’s colder, it may take longer to proof the dough
6. Combine all ingredients for the filling, except for the melted butter and poppy seeds, in a food processor and give it a few blitzes to break up the flower into smaller pieces. Then add the poppy seeds and stir to combine. Set aside
7. Knock out all the gas. Round it up into a dough ball. Cover and let them rest for 5 minutes to relax the gluten
8. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a rectangle, roughly about 12 x 14 inches. 
9. Use a pastry brush to brush the melted butter all over. Sprinkle the osmanthus flower and sugar mixture evenly on the surface
9. Cut into 5 equal portions and then stack on top of each other. 
10. Then cut into 6 portions
11. Arrange the stacks, with the surface facing sideways. It may seem tight, but just push the dough a bit to fit all the dough in there
12. Let the dough proof until it is doubled in volume, about 1-inch below the rim of the pan. Start preheating the oven to 350 F (180 C) for conventional oven, 330 F (165 C) for convection oven, 10 minutes before the end of final proofing
13. Place the loaf pan in the middle rack and bake for 40 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into the middle is at least 195 F (90 C)
14. About 30 minutes before the bread is done baking, put white chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. Place heavy cream and sour cream in another heat-proof bowl and microwave for about 10 seconds or until almost boiling, but not quite. Pour this over the white chocolate and let it sit for about 30 seconds and then stir until all the chocolate melts. Add the dried osmanthus flower. Let this sit for about 20 minutes before using
15. Remove the bread from the oven and place the pan on top of a cooling rack, with a piece of parchment paper underneath the cooling rack to catch any drip later. Pour the glaze on top of the bread and let the bread sit in the pan for 20 minutes
16. Grab the parchment paper sling and carefully remove the bread from the pan and place on a cooling rack. The glaze may not be all set solid yet. Let it cool down this way without pulling the parchment paper off the bread loaf just yet. When ready to serve, gently peel off the parchment paper off the bread. This bread is best served warm on the same day
Did you make this osmanthus pull-apart milk bread loaf recipe?
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2 comments
Where can I find Osmanthus Flower. I looked on Amazon and it is $15. Is it sold at asian stores? Is there a substitute. I don’t want to spend $15 for 6g of something I may never use again if I don’t like the recipe.
Hi Julie, unfortunately it is that pricey! I got it last year from Amazon because that’s the only place I could get it. I couldn’t find it at any Asian stores where I am. You can totally skip the flowers though if you don’t think you may never use it again. It’s a waste of money I understand! The flowers does add nice aroma to the bread, but the bread without it still turn out really good!