Poolish Hokkaido Milk Loaf❤️: Pulls Apart Soft as Cotton

A while ago I put together a Hokkaido milk loaf collection, and a fellow baker reminded me that I left out the poolish version. She was completely right! I scrolled through my phone and saw I baked one back in February without taking step-by-step photos, so I made a fresh batch today to share with you.

🍞Ingredients:

🎈Poolish: Bread flour 50g, instant dry yeast 1g, water 50g.

🎈Main Dough: Bread flour 210g, egg 30g, heavy whipping cream 70g, milk 55g (hold back 10g to add gradually), milk powder 15g, salt 3g, sugar 35g, instant dry yeast 2g, butter 20g.

🍞Method:

1️⃣Make the poolish the night before. Mix all poolish ingredients until evenly combined, cover tightly, and refrigerate overnight. (Photo 6)

2️⃣The next day, take the poolish out of the fridge; you will see plenty of bubbles across the surface. Add the poolish and all main dough ingredients except the butter into the mixer bowl. Mix on low speed until combined, then switch to medium speed and back to low speed until the dough stretches into a thick membrane. Add the softened butter and mix on low speed until incorporated, then switch to medium speed and back to low speed until the dough reaches the full windowpane stage. Scrape down the sides of the mixer bowl if the dough sticks early on. Gradually the dough will tighten up and pull cleanly away from the bowl. Tear off a small piece to test: it should stretch into a thin, translucent membrane.

3️⃣Shape the dough into a tight ball, cover, and let it complete the first proof until doubled in size. Dip your finger in flour and poke the center of the dough; the indentation should not spring back.

4️⃣Lightly flour your work surface and gently degas the dough to press out large air pockets. Divide into 3 equal pieces, shape into tight balls, and give them a 10-minute bench rest before rolling out, coiling, and placing into the loaf pan.

5️⃣Place the pan in a warm, humid spot for the second proof until 90% full.

6️⃣Bake at 190°C for about 6 minutes until the top browns nicely as shown in Photo 5. Tent with foil and bake for another 5 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 180°C and continue baking for 20 minutes. (Adjust the time and temperature according to how your oven runs; today I followed the step-down temperature method used by the creator of the 65°C Tangzhong Hokkaido loaf, starting higher and then lowering the heat.)

7️⃣Tap the pan firmly on the counter right out of the oven, turn the loaf out onto its side, and immediately set it upright on a wire rack to cool.

🔆Friendly Tips:

Now that the weather is warming up, pay close attention to dough temperature. Wrap an ice pack around the mixer bowl if you have one. Otherwise, mix all the ingredients (before adding butter) and chill the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes before continuing to knead.