Leopard Print Milk Bread

Cut into this leopard print milk bread for a slice of stunning, tasty, and sweet bread with the faint flavor of chocolate and vanilla. 

This leopard print milk bread is slightly sweet with a touch of vanilla flavor. 

Besides being very tasty, the fun part of making this bread is slicing it for the very first time and seeing the leopard print. You'll probably hold your breath, but rest assured, even if you struggled with the shaping, you'll be greeted by such a pretty pattern. 

No leopards were sacrificed for this bread. 

You can This bread is not necessarily difficult to make, but it is a little time consuming. I used a recipe for Hokkaido milk bread, but you can use your favorite white bread recipe and just add cocoa powder to some of the dough to make the spots. 

I used two types of cocoa powder, one black cocoa and one natural cocoa, but you can increase the color intensity by increasing the amount of cocoa part of the dough. 

How to create the spots in this leopard bread:

After you make your bread dough, divide it in half and then divide one half into two pieces so that you have three pieces of dough.

Next, knead the cocoa into the smaller pieces of dough so that you have one dark piece and one lighter piece. I mixed the cocoa with a little milk to make it easier to incorporate into the dough. 

You can try to work the chocolate into the dough by hand kneading, but I used the dough hook on my stand mixer to make it easier. 

Next, divide each color of dough, including the white dough, into seven equal pieces, and roll them into balls. Roll out the medium brown dough pieces into an 8 inch length, and roll each into a log. 

After that, roll out the darkest dough to eight inch lengths, and wrap them around the logs, sealing the edges together with water or milk. 

Next, roll out the white dough to nine inch lengths and wrap each around the logs, sealing the edges and ends. Finally, roll the logs back and forth with both of your hands until they have doubled in length. 

Cut the logs in half width-wise and arrange them in an oiled or parchment lined bread pan. 

You will be kneading this bread for a long time, so I recommend using a stand mixer. Plus, the dough is pretty sticky. 

I definitely recommend using a kitchen scale as well to evenly measure the dough pieces. 

This dough calls for a tangzhong, which is a combination of flour and water that is cooked to form a pudding-like mixture. It takes just a couple of minutes to make, and helps soften the bread and keep it fresh longer. 

As this bread bakes, the logs will grow together and form shapes that are a lot like the spots on a leopard. 

This bread is pretty tasty freshly sliced and spread with Nutella. You can also use it for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cinnamon toast, and even French toast. 

• Broccoli Bread from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Cheesy Chicken Stuffed Bread from Making Miracles
• Cinnamon Apple Surprise Bread from Food Lust People Love
• Giraffe Print Bread from Ambrosia
• Paw Print Bread from Passion Kneaded
• Peek-a-boo Panda Bread from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Picasso Floral Surprise Loaf from A Messy Kitchen
• Sourdough Coconut Swirl Bread from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Swirl Sourdough Whole Wheat Bread (Chocolate, Garlic & Herbs) from Cook with Renu
• Whey Watermelon Bread from Sneha's Recipe

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Leopard Print Milk Bread

Yield: 16 servings

Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories

Cut into this leopard print milk bread for a slice of stunning, tasty, and sweet bread with the faint flavor of chocolate and vanilla.

Ingredients

For the tangzhong

• 50 grams (1/3 cup) bread flour
• 1 cup water

For the Final Loaf

• 350 grams (2 1/2 cups) bread flour, plus more if the dough is too sticky
• 98 grams (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon milk powder
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 130 grams (about 1/2 of the recipe) tangzhong
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (I used black cocoa) plus 1 tablespoon milk, mixed together
• 2 teaspoons natural cocoa powder plus 1 teaspoon milk, mixed together

Egg Wash

• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

To Make the Tangzhong

1. Whisk the flour and the water together until there aren't any lumps.
2. Place the mixture into a small saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture reaches 149 degrees F. If you don't have a thermometer, cook until the mixture resembles a custard. 
3. Let cool to 110 degrees F. 

To Make the Bread

1. Whisk the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer.
2. Add the egg, milk, butter, and the tangzhong, and mix and knead until a dough forms. Knead on medium high speed for 15 to 20 minutes. As you are kneading, if the dough is too sticky, add flour by the tablespoon and continue mixing between each addition until the dough is slightly sticky or tacky.
3. Divide the bread dough in half and then divide one half into two pieces so that you have three pieces of dough.
4. Prepare the two cocoa and milk mixtures and knead each into each the smaller pieces of dough so that you have one dark piece and one lighter piece (plus the white dough). 
5. Place each piece of dough into an oiled bowl or dough rising bucket, cover, and let rise in a warm spot in your kitchen until doubled in size, about 40 to 60 minutes. If your kitchen is cold, this could take longer.
6. Divide each color of dough, including the white dough, into seven equal pieces, and roll each into balls. You will have 21 pieces of dough. Roll out the medium brown dough pieces into an 8 inch length, and roll each into a log.
7. Roll out the darkest dough to eight inch lengths, and wrap them around the logs, sealing the edges together with water or milk.
8. Next, roll out the white dough to nine inch lengths and wrap each around the logs, sealing the edges and ends. Finally, using your hands, roll the logs back and forth on the work surface with both of your hands until they have doubled in length. Cut them in half widthwise and stack them lengthwise in an oiled 9 inch by 5 inch loaf pan. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rise until puffy, about 40 to 60 minutes.
9. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
10. Brush the loaf with the egg wash and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. If the top gets too brown, tent the loaf with foil while baking.
11. Remove the loaf from the pan and cool on a wire rack. Let it cool completely.

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2021/05/leopard-print-milk-bread-breadbakers.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

tangzhong, milk bread, leopard bread

bread

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @karenskitchenstories.com on instagram and hashtag it #karenskitchenstories

Created using The Recipes Generator