Sour Cream Milk Bread

When I have a cup of sour cream sitting in the chiller with a ticking expiring date, I have to find ways to put this good ingredient into good use. So I added a small amount of sour cream to my milk bread to substitute part of the butter and milk.

The bread texture was soft and springy 😋

Update: 20 June 2021

I increased the natural yeast quantity from 40g to 50g, reduced the bread flour from 250g to 245g, reduce the milk from 125g to 120g, added multigrain soy pulp to the dough, and extended the baking time for another 5 minutes.

The revised quantities will be shown in green in the below recipe.

Yield: one loaf

Raw dough weight: 622g

Baking pan size: 21x13x10 cm 1.5L

Baking temperature:  Preheat oven to 190℃, lower rack, bake at 180℃ for 15 minutes, reduce to 170℃ for 20 minutes, turn off oven and continue to bake for 5 minutes.

Ingredients

250 (245)g bread flour

25g superfine wholegrain flour/plain flour

40g raw sugar

2g instant dry yeast

5g full cream milk powder

1/8 tsp vanillin powder, optional

40 (50)g natural yeast/sourdough, 100% hydration*

29g yudane dough^

15g multigrain soy pulp, optional

10g condensed milk

30g sour cream

125(120)g low fat milk, cold 

15g beaten egg

30g cold water, to be added depending on dough condition

3g low sodium salt

20g unsalted butter, softened

some bread flour for sprinkling before baking

Combine condensed milk and sour cream together

* 40g natural yeast can be replaced by 20g each of bread flour and water + 1/8 tsp instant dry yeast. Let the mixture stands for about 1 hour or more till double in volume, before use. You can also keep the mixture in the fridge overnight and thaw it for 1 hour before use.

^ 29g yudane dough is prepared by combining 15g of bread flour with 15g of very hot or boiling water into a sticky dough. Wrap the yudane dough in cling wrap, and cool down before use. Use a silicone spatula to scrape out the sticky yudane dough from the cling wrap.

Directions

1. Knead the dough following your preferred method. 

For my method, you can refer to my recipe Yudane Milk Bread. After kneading the dough to window pane stage, 

Mix all the dry ingredients, except the salt.

Mix in all the wet ingredients except the butter.

Cover and let the dough rest for 15~20 minutes.

Knead using dough hooks of an electric hand mixer, add salt.

Combine the softened butter to the dough.

Knead till dough become smoother.

And reaches window pane stage.

2. Shape into a ball, spray some water over, cover with a lid, and let it proof for about 60 minutes, or till double in volume.

60-minute proofing later 👇

3. Turn out the dough to a floured work top. Deflate the dough and shape into a ball. Cover with an inverted mixing bowl, and rest for 15 minutes.

4. Roll out the dough to about 1 cm thick.

Flip over the dough, and fold in the two wings towards the middle line.

Roll out to achieve an even thickness. Roll up like a swiss roll.

Lower the dough into the bread pan coated with a thin layer of homemade non-stick spread. Spray some water over, cover with a tea cloth, and let it proof for about 45 minutes, or till almost reaching the rim of the pan.

45-minute proofing later 👇

5. Start to preheat oven to 190℃ for about 10 minutes.

While waiting, place a wire rack over the dough, and sprinkle with some bread flour. You can omit the wire rack and just sprinkle the bread flour.

6. Bake at 180℃ for 15 minutes, reduce to 170℃ for 15 minutes, turn off oven and continue to bake for 5 minutes.

7. Remove the hot bread from the pan after leaving the oven, and rest on a wire rack to cool down.