Viral Froggy Pandan Milk Bread Recipe by Kat Lieu

Viral Froggy Pandan Milk Bread Recipe by Kat Lieu — modern asian baking (2024)

Bread

Oct 6

Written By Kat Lieu

Hi friends! Kat Lieu here. I’ve been baking a lot of bread. (Who hasn’t, lol?) And who hasn’t seen the cute froggy cakes from Oracle Bakery yet? Well, here are my cute froggy milk buns!

Milk bread is straightforward to make. It is soft, fluffy, and light, and it can usually stay covered for a few days on the countertops before needing refrigeration. Quick toasting will bring your bread back to life!

There are some tricks we’ve learned when making milk bread. Egg washes are not necessary. Cover the bread mid-bake with aluminum foil to prevent burning. If you underbake your milk bread, it will sink or be too dense instead of springy.

Finally, you don’t want to over-proof or over-knead your bread. And with this method, you don’t need a thick roux or starter. You need to activate the yeast in warm milk! Now let’s get baking!

Viral Froggy Pandan Milk Bread Recipe by Kat Lieu — modern asian baking (1)

Fluffy Soft and Delicious Viral Froggy Milk Bread (Tangzhong Method) Matcha or Pandan flavor by Kat Lieu

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Make a delicious fluffy and soft viral froggy milk buns using a simple #tangzhong method and flavor them with matcha or pandan to make them green!

Ingredients

350 g bread flour
75 g sugar (less if you want the bread less sweet)
1 packet of dry yeast (7-8g)
1 large egg (egg replacement OK)
170 ml warm milk (coconut milk OK) (heat milk for 30 seconds in microwave until 110F)
2 tablespoons or 30 g softened butter (vegan butter OK)
Pinch of salt or a teaspoon of miso paste
1 tablespoon matcha powder or a teaspoon of pandan extract
Chocolate syrup for decorating the froggies

Instructions

Combine the flour, salt or miso paste, and sugar and set aside. (If using matcha powder, add matcha powder to dry ingredients.)
Combine the yeast, with a pinch of sugar, with the warm milk. Mix and then set aside for 10 minutes. (If using pandan extract, add the pandan extract here.)
Using low mixing (level 2 on Kitchen aide) and the dough hook, mix the dry together. Whisk the egg into the milk, and then slowly pour into the dry ingredients. Knead with mixer for about 10 minutes. If the dough looks too dry, add in a little milk. If the dough is too wet closing in on 10 minutes of mixing, add more flour.
You should have a nice kneadable bread dough after 10 minutes, it should not be sticky, but it should also not be dry. Cover and set aside for about 10 minutes in a warm place. (Proof in oven is OK.)
Add the softened butter (30g) to the dough and knead for another 10 minutes on low. Check to see if you get window pane effect when you stretch the dough. Again it should not be sticky, should not be dry. You can add more flour to a sticky dough.
Roll into a ball. Cover and set aside for about 15 minutes in a warm space. It should increase in size by a little.
Remove the dough and roll into a ball, then divide it into 9 equal pieces (about 75g each, and set aside a piece of dough for the eyes). Turn each piece into a smooth ball. Place them evenly into a 7inch x 7 inch square baking dish. For the eyes, roll 2g balls of the remaining dough as the eyes and to stick them onto the buns, spray a little water onto the bottom of the eyeball dough.
Proof in oven or a warm space for about an hour. The buns should puff up nicely and there shouldn't be a lot of space between each bun.
Brush with egg wash if you like a shinier top. Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes. Please cover the top with aluminum foil at about 15 of baking minutes to avoid burning the top.
Serve warm! Decorate the eyes and mouths using the chocolate syrup and a toothpick :)
Troubleshooting: If the dough is too wet, add a little bread flour. If the dough is too dry, add a little milk. Must be well incorporated and kneaded.

Notes

If the buns sink in the middle, or get wrinkly, they are under baked. Store your buns in the fridge for them to last longer. Serve fresh and warm, with a slab of butter, some condensed milk, honey, chocolate sauce, jam, or just by themselves :)

FAQs

Why is Asian bread so soft? ›

The key difference lies in the dough's chemistry: Western-style bread has zero fat – its main [components] are flour, salt and water while Asian-style bread contains 15 per cent fat and 25 per cent sugar to give that soft texture.

Why is my Japanese milk bread dense? ›

Why is my milk bread dense? If your milk bread is dense, mostly likely, the dough is under-kneaded. The dough needs to develop enough gluten to expand and become soft and fluffy. A sure way to ensure that the dough is kneaded enough is using the window pane test.

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Why is Japanese milk bread so fluffy? ›

Simply put, it does two things to our bread. Making a water roux gelatinises the starch in the flour, which essentially means that it traps water (moisture) in this mix. As a result, when you bake your bread, the moisture doesn't just evaporate but stays within, giving the bread the soft fluffy texture.

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What bread do Chinese eat? ›

Mantou, one of the more basic in the wheat-based family and popular in northern parts of China, is a leavened bun made of flour, milk or water, and yeast, and is steamed. Plainer in taste, they are similar to American rolls in that they are meant for accompanying stronger flavored dishes.

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What bread is closest to Japanese milk bread? ›

It's a very similar recipe to Jewish challah bread or brioche but it's just slightly fluffier that both and the reason for this is the roux-like tangzhong 'starter' that does something 'sciency' to the bread.

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What is the difference between Japanese milk bread and regular bread? ›

What is milk bread's main difference from traditional bread? The only liquid used in milk bread is milk. In most yeast bread recipes, the liquid is usually water. There are also no eggs in most yeast breads.

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What is the difference between brioche and Japanese milk bread? ›

Brioche is a much richer bread than Japanese milk bread. It uses a lot more butter than shokupan dough, giving brioche a sweeter and more buttery taste. Brioche is also made with eggs. This helps give brioche its signature golden color and a denser, chewier texture than shokupan.

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Why is bread in Asia so sweet? ›

One of the key differences between bread made in Asia and the rest of the world lies in the dough's chemistry, where there is a higher quantity of fat and sugar which works together to create the soft texture.

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What makes bread very soft? ›

Final answer: Carbon dioxide gas given off during fermentation of sugar makes bread soft and fluffy.

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What is special about Japanese bread? ›

These simple style loaves tend to be soft, fluffy and are served cut into thick slices, and are a staple feature on the shelves of convenience stores, bakeries and supermarkets up and down the country.

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Why is my bread so soft? ›

As the loaf cools, any moisture which is left in the loaf escapes through the crust as steam and this is what causes the softening. You can help to prevent this from happening by reducing the water content of the loaf.

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