• I use small size Pullman pan without the lid, which measures 9 x 4 x 4 inches. You can also use 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. It makes a very tall loaf

Prepare tang zhong:

• 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 cool down, but I highly suggest using this the next day. It improves the taste of the bread. Store this in the fridge
  

Make the dough:

• If you use active dry yeast, mix the yeast with 2 tablespoons of warm milk you are going to use in the recipe to bloom the yeast. Let it sit for 10 minutes until it is foamy and bubbly.
• Mix all the dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the wet ingredients and the tang zhong you made earlier. Use a dough hook attachment to knead the dough on speed 2 until all the crumbly dough starts to come together into one mass, it may take about 2-3 minutes for this to happen. Don't be tempted to add any liquid. You may need to stop halfway and scrape the dough off the hook and the sides of the bowl and knead again several times
  
• Once it comes into a rough dough, stop the machine. The dough will not be smooth, don't worry. Cover the dough and let it rest for 20 minutes. This is an important rest that bakers refer to as an autolyse
  
• After the rest, turn on and knead the dough again on speed 2 and knead for 1-2 minutes until it is a bit smoother. Then add the salt and sugar into the dough. Continue to knead until the dough is relatively smooth. You need to stop and scrape the dough off the hook and the bowl several times during this process. I promise it's worth the effort!
  
• Once you have a smooth dough, turn the machine back on again to knead and increase speed to 4. Gradually add in the softened butter a bit by a bit. The dough will turn into a REAL sticky mess again because of the butter, just keep kneading and stop halfway and scrape the dough off the hook and bowl again and continue to knead until the butter is absorbed by the dough. IT WILL HAPPEN, don't worry! DO NOT be tempted to add any extra flour.
  
• You will get a shiny smooth dough that is very elastic. This may take about 10-15 minutes. The dough must pass a windowpane test, meaning, when you stretch a small amount of dough thinly, it won't break and a light can pass through
  

1st 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
  

To bake the next day:

• If you don't plan to bake on the same day, deflate the dough and then round it up into a dough ball and keep in an air-tight container and put it in the coldest part of your fridge (not freezer) for up to 12 hours. I don't recommend any longer than that. Proceed to shaping

Shaping:

• Oil your loaf pan all over the bottom and the sides. If the dough is cold from the fridge, let it sit at room temperature for about 15-20 minutes and the proceed to shaping
• Deflate the dough and separate it into 3 equal-weight dough. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let them rest for 10 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
  
• Then roll it tightly from the top to bottom
  
• 
• Place the seam side down in the loaf pan and repeat with the other 2 doughs. Place them next to each other. 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%.
  
• 15 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.

Prepare the rice flour paste:

• 30 minutes before the end of the final proofing, prepare the rice paste. Combine all ingredients for the rice paste. The consistency should be thick but spreadable. You don't want it to be too thin that it runs all over the place when you apply it on the dough later. If it's too thick you can add a bit more water, one teaspoon at a time. If it's too runny, you can add a bit more rice flour, one teaspoon at a time too. Cover and let it proof for about 20-30 minutes until you are done with the dough proofing
  

Apply the rice paste on the dough:

• I transfer the paste into a plastic bag and cut the tip of the bag to pipe the paste on top of the dough. I feel like it's easier this way. You can also use a spoon. Spoon some of the rice paste on the dough and then gently use a pastry brush or the back of the spoon to spread the paste to cover the dough. Take care not to deflate the dough. It doesn't have to be neat. This paste will crack during baking, creating the beautiful tiger/giraffe pattern. Use all the paste if possible, don't be shy with it
  

Baking:

• Put the pan on the middle rack and let it bake for the next 40-45 minutes depending on the oven, mine took about 40 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. Let the bread cool down completely on the cooling rack.

Storage:

• For short-term storage: If the loaf is unsliced, I would keep it in the loaf pan, uncovered, to preserve the crunchy top. Once sliced, you can keep the loaf cut-side down on a wooden cutting board to protect the interior while exposing the crunchy top to air.
• For longer storage: Freezer is the best place to store them. Slice into individual serving size. I like to wrap 4 slices in one batch with a cling wrap and then put inside a freezer bag.

How to reheat:

• You can use a toaster on a medium setting. If it's frozen, you can use the frozen setting or add another minute to the toasting time if needed
• You can reheat in an air-fryer at 375 F for 2-3 minutes or until they are warm and the top is crisp again