Mmm... Let me think. We had a super long weekend due to the National Day of Mourning for Queen Elizabeth II and the Grand Final Day public holiday. Then, I took a day off on the second week of school holidays and we went to You Yangs Regional Park to do some hiking. And I completed my 10th marathon on last Sunday. My timing was 04:01:22 despite that I had some problem on my left feet. I'm just happy and relieved that I finished the run.
Apart from the marathon, I felt like that I had not been doing anything much lately but I really enjoy the joy of doing nothing!!! LOL! In fact, this is my 10th and last marathon as I won't be running a full marathon again.
You wonder why? I ask myself the same question too... What's wrong with me? Am I lazy? Or am I tired or something? Where is my mojo?
To be honest, I have not been doing much baking lately too. I really don't know what is my problem but the least now is I can share with you one of the best rated recipes that I have tried and tested months before...
Now, proudly presenting my Super Soft and Moist Milo Swirl Bread Buns with no cane sugar added!
My Perfect Super Soft and Moist Milo Swirl Bread Buns
Yummy with lots of Milo!
I completed my 10th marathon on last Sunday.And this will be my last.
Ok. Enough of me. Let's talk more about this recipe.Milo?
For those who don't know, Milo is a chocolate flavoured malted powder product produced by Nestlé. It is typically dissolved in milk, hot water, or both to be consumed as a beverage.
Throughout all these years of baking, I have learnt that Milo is an interesting baking ingredient. It makes baked food extra moist. Yet, it can weigh the breads and cakes down, causing them to be wet, sticky, dense and not well-risen.
Furthermore, there is 44g sugar in every 100g Milo so this means that any food that is loaded with Milo is loaded with sugar as well!
Due to these observations, I have not been successful baking a Milo chiffon cake with the least amount of sugar. And I will not add Milo directly into any bread recipes, knowing that the Milo-loaded breads won't be well-risen and fluffy soft.
Then, I had an idea! Instead of adding Milo directly into any bread recipes, I'm baking a super soft bread recipe with numerous thin swirls of Milo embedded inside. In another words, the breads are kind of the Milo version of croissants but without layers of butter, just Milo instead. So first, I tried baking a Milo marble swirl bread by modifying the Super Soft Chocolate Marble Swirl Bread Loaf recipe at HERE.
Testing testing...My Milo Marble Swirl Bread Loaf!
Wow! I'm impressed!!!This Milo bread is super soft and moist...but it shrinks!!!
Simply because the extra moist Milo layers are dense and heavy...resulting the super soft bread to collapse in the middle eventually.
What's next? I used the same recipe to shape the bread into 12 medium buns. Instead of shaping the buns into wassant or croissant shapes, I have shaped them into Kaiser rolls and they look very pretty and nice too.
My super soft Milo buns... Nice!!!
These buns have less weight and structure to support and so they won't shrink!THEY ARE PERFECT!!!
PERFECTLY YUMMY TOO!!!Super soft with lots of moist sticky fudgy Milo layers... taste just like the marble swirl loafyet perfectly shaped and nice ^-^
Watch my video to see how I baked these perfect yummy Milo bread buns.
Have you noticed that I didn't add any cane sugar to bake these delicious bread?
All of these twelve medium buns are sweetened with 12g sugar from 15g honey added plus 35g "hidden sugar" in 80g Milo added. This means that twelve buns contain a total of 47g added sugar and each buns contains 4g added sugar. And the best thing is these low sugar Milo buns are delicious!!!Clearly, this is why I would highly highly highly recommended this recipe...I hope that you will like this recipe as much we do. If you do, please LIKE, SHARE and FOLLOW me at either my Facebook at here or here or my Instagram @zoebakeforhappykids or SUBSCRIBE my YouTube channel at here.Unfortunately, I know that Facebook and Instagram have lost its popularity recently. Hence, it will be nice if you can show your support by subscribing to my YouTube channel at here so that you will be informed of my latest video / recipe promptly whenever it is published.I would like to say again that every LIKE, SHARE and FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE from you means a lot to me. I will know that I'm in the right track and continue to bake and share more in the future. Thank you so much for your support!Before proceeding to the recipe, I would like to clarify that I'm not paid by Milo and not promoting this product. I just like Milo and love creating nice recipes with it.Here's the recipe.
Makes twelve perfect medium swirl bread buns
For the bread dough:180g water at room temperature about 25°C / 75°F15g honey30g neutral-tasting vegetable oil50g egg (from 1 large egg but please use the exact weight)300g bread flour with 12% protein15g milk powder - please do not replace this ingredient and water with milk.2g salt1 tsp instant dry yeast
For the Milo layer mixture:60g milk, at room temperature25g unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled35g egg white (about 1 large egg white), at room temperature20g all purpose / plain flour5g cornflour10g cocoa powder - Mine is Valrhona, Dutch-processed80g Milo powder or any chocolate malted milk powder
For the egg wash:1 egg yolk1 tsp milk
extra bread flour for dusting and shaping but please use the minimal amount
For the bread dough:Place all the ingredients in a breadmaker according to the order of the above list. Use the dough setting to knead the dough for 30 mins or until it is smooth and elastic and allow the dough to prove for 1 hr or until doubled in size.
If you are using an electric mixer with an hook attachment to knead, combine all ingredients in the mixing bowl and mix at the lowest speed until a soft dough forms. Continue to knead at second lowest speed for at least 25 mins or until the dough is smooth and elastic. It is important that the dough has to be elastic and stretchy. Cover the dough and allow the dough to prove in a warm and humid place for about 1 hr or until doubled in size.
Important note: This bread dough is sticky and I do not recommend hand-kneading. You should NOT add more flour into the dough while kneading but you can dust your hand, working surfaces and rolling pin with more flour while shaping the bread.
While the bread is proving, prepare and cook the Milo layer mixture.
For the Milo layer mixture:Combine milk, butter and egg white in a medium saucepan and use a hand whisk to mix until the mixture is well-combined.
Sift flour, cornflour and cocoa powder into the milk mixture. Add Milo and whisk to combine.
Cook mixture with medium low heat with constant whisking. Remove from heat when mixture forms thick firm paste. Set aside to cool at room temperature for about 5 mins or longer. If you are living in a warm place, you will need to chill mixture for about 10-15 mins in a fridge or until the mixture is cool enough to handle. Do not chill the mixture for too long.
To shape the dough:
Divide dough into 3 equal portions, about 190g each. Shape both portions dough into smooth balls. Allow them to rest at room temperature for about 10 mins.
Divide Milo mixture into 3 equal portions, 70g each. Place each portion onto a sheet of baking paper and place another sheet of baking paper on top of the milo mixture. Use a rolling pin to roll the mixture into flat rectangular oblong shape with 10cm length. Use the rolling pin to flatten and roll one portion of the dough into a flat long rectangle with 10cm width. Place rolled Milo mixture on the rolled dough in the middle, aligning the 10cm length of the Milo mixture on the 10cm width of the rolled dough. Fold both ends of the dough and seal the dough the joining ends at the middle.
Fold one: Use a rolling pin to roll and stretch dough along the folded side into a large rectangle (meaning the longer rolled sides should be folded). Fold one-third of the dough towards its middle and the other one-third from the other end towards its middle. You should get one longish square.
Fold two: Repeat the same roll and fold step that is similar to fold one.
Fold three: Repeat the same roll and fold step that is similar to fold one.
Use a rolling pin to roll and stretch dough into a long rectangle. Cut rectangle length-wise into 4 long strips. To shape each bun, first flatten each strip slightly with its cut side facing up. Tie into a simple knot. Pull one end up and over and tuck it at the bottom. Pull another end through the center of the knot, tuck it at the bottom. Still don't understand? LOL! Please watch my video.
Repeat the same shaping step with remaining dough strips to make the remaining 3 buns.
Repeat the same shaping step with the other two portions of dough and the remaining two portions of Milo mixture. Then, repeat the same shaping step with the dough strips.
Line two baking trays with baking papers. Arrange the shaped dough on the prepared with sufficient space (about 10 cm) in between. Allow the dough to prove in a warm and humid place for another 60 mins or until doubled in size.
For the egg wash, combine egg yolk and milk. Brush bread buns with egg wash and bake in a preheated 180°C (350°F) oven for 15 mins, one tray at a time or until the breads are thoroughly baked and golden.
Remove breads from the baking trays immediately and transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely before serving.
Store any leftover in an airtight container at room temperature when they are completely cooled so that they will remain soft and moist even on the next day. Alternatively, you can store the buns in zip-lock bags, then in a freezer for up to 2 weeks.
If you are consuming the buns on the next day or so, I suggest that you should warm them using a microwave with high power for 20 secs. If the buns are frozen, thaw them in a fridge overnight then microwave with high power for 20 secs for each bun just before consumption. I promise. These buns will be super soft, moist and nice just like they have been freshly baked.
Happy Baking
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