split-loaf milk bread

Late last year, I heard an interview with Kristina Cho on one of my favorite podcasts - the Splendid Table - in which she discussed her new cookbook “Mooncakes and Milk Bread.” So, of course I had to buy it! I was introduced to the wonder of Chinese-style bakeries by Andy while living here in San Francisco and I eat my fill of light, airy, and inexplicably moist milk breads, buns, and cream horns every time we visit family in Taiwan. So the idea of being able to make some of these on my own at home was too enticing to pass up.

We have already made her recipe for scallion pancakes, which we ate so quickly that I didn’t even get a chance to take a photo of them… on two separate occasions! This past weekend, I dove into her milk bread recipe and was so impressed with how it came out. The secret, she writes, is the tangzhong, a mixture of flour and milk cooked until quite thick. This enables the dough to hold onto moisture quite well, resulting in a moist and delicious bread.