Milk Bread Loaf – Rohi Parāoa Miraka
Parāoa Miraka (milk bread) is such a lovely bread loaf with a few little twists on the way. As far as I understand milk bread originates in Japan. This recipe starts by making a simple 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 which gives a subtle pattern to the baked parāoa (bread). We also pre-cut the loaf in to slices before the second rise which means, once it it cooked we pull the dough apart or cut it in to perfect pieces of bread. Is it such a beautiful loaf.
If you want to make this bread but with a little pop of tiakarete (chocolate), try my chocolate swirl bread loaf, it is just beautiful and uses the same technique.
Milk Bread Loaf – Rohi Parāoa Miraka
Ingredients
The Tangzhong
- ⅓ C miraka (milk)
- ⅓ C 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!
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