Milk bread: How to make the addictive, iconic bread

It's making people weak at the knees

Kindred's milk bread (Instagram/eatnlondon)

Bread: it’s one of life’s most simple but greatest pleasures. Bread is always there for you, whether sandwiching together delicious fillings or just as on its own (preferably slathered with plenty of butter).

We eat so many different types of bread these days - tiger bread, sourdough, spelt - that picking your favourite can be a challenge.

But it could be that the best bread in the world is in fact a less well-known concoction called milk bread, and specifically the milk bread at a restaurant called Kindred in Davidson, North Carolina.

The bread has made the restaurant famous, with people making pilgrimages from afar to sample the “iconic” loaves.

But what exactly is milk bread?

With a brioche-like texture and a salty golden muffin-top-style crust, the bread is served warm and people say it’s completely addictive.

“Manna from Heaven!” one person wrote on Instagram about the milk bread.

“This bread makes me weak in the knees,” added another.

“So freaking good!” said a further milk bread addict.

Luckily for those of us who can’t afford to go all the way to Davidson, however, Food52 have shared a recipe so you can have a go at making the milk bread yourself.

How to make milk bread:

Makes six rolls, two 9- by 5-inch loaves, or 12 split-top buns

Ingredients

• 5 1/3 cups bread flour, divided, plus more for surface (Kindred uses King Arthur)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup mild honey (such as wildflower or alfalfa)
• 3 tablespoons nonfat dry milk powder (such as Alba)
• 2 tablespoons active dry yeast (from about 3 envelopes)
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 3 large eggs, divided
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature
• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• Flaky sea salt (optional, but shouldn't be) 

Method

1. Cook 1/3 cup flour and 1 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly, until a thick paste forms (almost like a roux but looser), about 5 minutes. Add cream and honey and cook, whisking to blend, until honey dissolves.

2. Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and add milk powder, yeast, kosher salt, 2 eggs, and 5 remaining cups flour. Knead on medium speed until dough is smooth, about 5 minutes. Add butter, a piece at a time, fully incorporating into dough before adding the next piece, until dough is smooth, shiny, and elastic, about 4 minutes.

3. Coat a large bowl with nonstick spray and transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. If making rolls, lightly coat a 6-cup jumbo muffin pan with nonstick spray. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and divide into 6 pieces. Divide each piece into 4 smaller pieces (you should have 24 total). They don’t need to be exact; just eyeball it. Place 4 pieces of dough side-by-side in each muffin cup.

4. If making loaves, lightly coat two 9- by 5-inch loaf pans with nonstick spray. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and divide into 12 pieces. Nestle pieces side-by-side to create 2 rows down length of each pan. If making split-top buns, lightly coat two 9- by 13-inch baking dishes with nonstick spray. Divide dough into 12 pieces and shape each into a 4-inch long log. Place 6 logs in a row down length of each dish.

5. Let shaped dough rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size (dough should be just puffing over top of pan), about 1 hour.

6. Preheat oven to 375° F. Beat remaining egg with 1 teaspoon. water in a small bowl to blend. Brush top of dough with egg wash and sprinkle with sea salt, if desired. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until bread is deep golden brown, starting to pull away from the sides of the pan, and is baked through, 25 to 35 minutes for rolls, 50 to 60 minutes for loaf, or 30 to 40 minutes for buns. If making buns, slice each bun down the middle deep enough to create a split-top. Let milk bread cool slightly in pan on a wire rack before turning out; let cool completely.