This Rohi Parāoa Miraka (Milk Bread Loaf) is such a lovely bread with a few little twists on the way. It is a light Japanese style bread that stays light and fluffy for days. The way the dough is rolled also reveals a beautiful pattern once it is baked. Serve it warm with a lick of butter or toast it and load it with fluffy scrambled eggs and a sprinkle of fresh chives.
The Milk Bread Loaf is such a lovely bread loaf with a few little twists on the way. originates in Japan. This recipe starts by making a tanzhong, which is a roux of miraka (milk), wai (water) and puehu parāoa (flour). This helps the bread stay soft for a little longer. We also roll up the dough like we would a scroll. This gives a subtle pattern to the baked parāoa (bread). The loaf is also pre-cut in to slices before the second rise. Once it it cooked pull the dough apart or cut it in to perfect pieces of bread. It is such a beautiful loaf.
If you want to make this bread but with a little pop of tiakarete (chocolate), wonderful. You must try my chocolate swirl bread loaf, it is just beautiful and uses the same technique.
The Milk Bread Loaf turned in to a Chocolate Swirl Loaf:
This recipe starts by making a simple tanzhong as well. Add the tanzhong to the other ingredients and knead the dough until stretchy. Then split the dough in half and keep one plain and mix a ranunga kōkō (cocoa mixture) in to the other one. Once the dough has risen, roll them out and then place them on top of each other. Then roll them both up like a scroll to create a swirl pattern. Lastly, pre-cut the loaf in to slices and place it in a tin. Once it is baked, pull the dough apart or cut it with a serrated knife to reveal the pattern inside. Te mutunga mai o te ātaahua – absolutely beautiful!
More kneaded dough recipes:
Try these other porotiti (scrolls) Coconut Buns (Pani Popo) for a coconut vibe. You could also try Sticky Maple and Pecan Scrolls that have the subtle sweetness of marahihi māpere (maple syrup) and nati pēkanai (pecan nuts). Or maybe you are looking for a slightly fancy loaf, try this sweet Braided Brioche Chocolate Chip Bread or this savoury Savoury Braided Brioche Bread.
Videography and photography by Sarah Henderson.
Milk Bread Loaf – Rohi Parāoa Miraka
Ingredients
The Tangzhong
- ⅓ C (80 g) miraka (milk)
- ⅓ C (80 g) wai (water)
- ⅓ C (50 g) puehu parāoa kounga (high grade flour)
The Dough – Te Pokenga
- 230 ml miraka mahana (warm milk, you should be able to hold your finger in the milk, if not it is too hot)
- 2 ½ tbsp huka hāura (brown sugar or caster sugar)
- 8 g (1 sachet) īhi tere (instant yeast)
- 3 C (450 g) puehu parāoa kounga (high grade flour)
- 2 tsp tote (salt, fine)
Instructions
The Tangzhong
- Add the miraka (milk), wai (water) and puehu parāoa kounga (high grade flour) in to a pot. Heat over medium heat as you whisk with it thickens. Once it is thick, keep on the heat, stirring for another 10 seconds.
- Remove from the heat, add to a small bowl. Leave in the fridge to cool as you continue with the dough.
The Dough – Te Pokenga
- Oil a loaf tin. My tin is 22 cm long, 9.5 cm wide and 10 cm high but around 6 cm high is fine.
- Add the miraka mahana (warm milk) and huka hāura (brown sugar) in to a large bowl. Stir until the huka (sugar) is dissolved in to the miraka (milk).
- Sprinkle over the īhi tere (instant yeast) and stir again. Leave to activate for a few minutes until frothy.
- Add the puehu parāoa kounga (high grade flour), tote (salt) and the tangzhong paste in to the yeast mixture. Mix until a shaggy dough forms.
- If you are kneading it by hand, add the dough to a lightly floured bench and knead for 12-15 minutes until the dough is soft and stretchy.If you are kneading it in a mixer, knead for 10-12 minutes until the dough is soft and stretchy.
- Shape the dough in to a ball, place it in a large bowl and cover with a tea towel or bowl cover. Leave it to rise for 1 hour – 1 hour 15 minutes or until it has doubled in size.
- Once it has risen, remove from the bowl and roll it out to a 45 cm long rectangle. Get the loaf tin you are using and make it 4 cm less wide than the length of the tin. My tin is 22 cm long so I made my rectangle 18 cm wide.
- Once you have the size, gently roll it up in to a scroll type roll.
- Now cut 10 pieces of the dough, cutting all the way through. Keep the pieces roughly together as you do this. Cutting them like this enable you to pull the parāoa (bread) apart in to perfect slices once it is baked.
- Gently hold the pieces and lower them in to your prepared tin. Cover and allow them to rise for another 45 minutes.
- Pre-heat the oven to 170 °C.
- Bake for 40 minutes until golden. Rub a little butter on to the freshly baked bread and pull apart or cut those delicious slices you have created! Tau kē – awesome!
Made this today. It’s so nice. Different to the usual bread I make.
So glad you tried this recipe Paula, I like it for that reason too as I enjoy making dough with different techniques.