Proof the dough twice:: 2 hourshours30 minutesminutes
Total Time: 3 hourshours30 minutesminutes
Servings: 12slices
Calories: 223kcal
Author: Marvellina
Pillowy soft and fluffy shokupan/milk bread enriched with cocoa powder, Nutella, and chocolate chips is hard to resist. If you make tangzhong bread before, you know the softness stays for days.
I use this Pullman loaf pan that measures 8.3x 4.8 x 4.5 inch on the exterior and the interior measures 7.5 x 4x 4.4 inch. It's a tall loaf pan. You can also a standard regular 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.4 inch loaf pan (The bread will be shorter)
Prepare Tangzhong:
Place milk and the bread flour in a small saucepan. Whisk until there is no more lumps. Cook this mixture over low-medium heat until it reaches 65 C (149 F). Remove from the heat and cover with a plastic wrap, touching the tangzhong so the skin won't form. You can use it on the same day once it has cooled down, but I highly suggest using this the next day. It improves the taste of the bread. Store this in the fridge
Prepare the dough:
I highly recommend using instant yeast that has a high tolerance for enriched dough. It just works better IMHO
I don't recommend kneading by hand. This is a very sticky dough and tangzhong also made the dough stickier and difficult to knead by hands
Place all the ingredients and tangzhong, except for butter and chocolate chip, in the bowl of a stand mixer. Use a dough hook attachment to knead the dough on speed 2 (with Kitchen Aid) for 5 minutes. You may need to scrape the side of the bowl halfway through kneading.
The dough should feel soft but not elastic yet and may still be a bit sticky to the side of the bowl. If the dough feels dry and stiff, you can add a bit more milk, one teaspoon at a time just until you get a soft dough. The key to a soft fluffy bread is enough hydration to get a soft dough
Add half of the softened butter and continue to knead on speed 2 for about 1-2 minutes, then add the other half and knead on speed 2 for another 2 minutes, then increase the speed by one notch and knead for another 5-8 minutes or until the dough is elastic and shiny. You need to stop several times to scrape the side of the bowl throughout the kneading process. If you gently stretch a small piece of the dough slowly and thinly, it shouldn't tear easily and light can pass through. It's a window pane stage. You can stop kneading once you reach this stage
Add the chocolate chips and knead at the lowest speed just to incorporate the chocolate chips.
First proofing:
Place this dough in a lightly oiled large bowl, cover it with a clean and damp tea cloth or plastic wrap and let it rise at a warm place for about 1 hour until the dough doubles in volume
Shaping:
Lightly oil your loaf pan all over. You can also use a non-stick spray
Deflate the dough and separate it into 3 or 4 equal-weight dough (it's up to you how many you want to divide it to). Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let them rest for 5 minutes to relax the gluten
Roll each ball out into a rectangle shape (don’t have to be exact). Fold the two long sides up and then roll it from the bottom to top. Place the seam side down in the loaf pan and repeat with the other doughs. Place them next to each other inside the pan. Cover with a plastic wrap
2nd proofing:
Let the dough proof again for another 45 minutes to one hour (or longer depending on the temperature and the yeast you use) or until they fill up the loaf pan, about 90%. If you gently poke the dough with your finger, it should bounce back slowly and leave some indentation. The dough is done proofing
10 minutes before the end of proofing, preheat oven to 375 F (190 C) for conventional oven. If you use a convection oven, lower the temperature by 20 F or 15 C
Glaze the dough with some milk wash and add the chocolate sprinkles if you choose to use
Bake:
Put the pan on the middle rack and let it bake for the next 25-30 minutes depending on the oven, mine took about 25 minutes. The internal temperature on the center of the bread is at least 190 F (88 C). I highly recommend a digital thermometer to take out the guess work!
Remove from the oven and remove the bread from the pan and cool down completely on the cooling rack.
Storing:
Once it has cooled down completely, wrap it up with plastic wrap and it stays soft for at least 3 days at room temperature
Do not store the bread in the refrigerator. This will speed up the staling process and dry out the bread quickly
For longer storage, keep them in a freezer bag and they can be kept frozen for one month. Simply thaw at room temperature before serving