Ube Milk Bread

5 from 2 votes

Soft and fluffy ube milk bread. This pillowy loaf combines the creaminess of Japanese milk bread with the earthy, sweetness of Filipino purple yam, making it perfect for breakfast, snacking, or dessert. It’s a must try for ube lovers!

Yield: TWO 9x5-inch loaves

Prep Time55

Cook Time35

Dough Rest1 30

Total Time3

Course: Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine: Asian, Filipino

Servings: slices

Author: Maryanne Cabrera

Ingredients

Starter:

⅓ cup all-purpose flour (45 g) or bread flour
½ cup whole milk (120 ml)
½ cup water (120 ml)

Dough:

2 ½ cup bread flour (325 g)
¼ cup granulated sugar (60 g)
2 ¼ teaspoon dry active yeast (7 g)
1 Tablespoon milk powder*
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large egg whisked
½ cup whole milk (120 ml)
¼ cup unsalted butter (60 g)softened

Ube Dough:

2 cup bread flour (260 g)
1 package ube powder (115 g)
⅓ cup granulated sugar (70 g)
2 ¼ teaspoon dry active yeast (7 g)
2 Tablespoon milk powder*
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large egg whisked
½ cup + 2 Tablespoon whole milk (150 ml)
1 ½ teaspoon ube extract
¼ cup unsalted butter (60 g) softened

Instructions

Starter:

In a medium pot, whisk together flour, milk, and water. Set over medium heat. Stir often, making sure to pay attention to the bottom edges of the pot. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the mixture has thickened to the consistency of mashed potatoes.
Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, allow wrap to lay directly on top of starter mixture. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Dough:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together bread flour, sugar, yeast, milk powder and salt. Attach dough hook to mixer. Add in half of cooled starter mixture (about ½ cup), egg, and milk. Knead on low speed for 5 minutes. Scape down bowl to ensure thorough mixing.
Add softened butter and continue to knead on low speed for 5 minutes until butter is integrated into dough. Increase speed to medium and knead for another 5 minutes until dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Transfer dough to a lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 1 hour, or until dough is doubled in volume. Meanwhile, make ube dough.

Ube Dough:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together bread flour, ube powder, sugar, yeast, milk powder and salt. Attach dough hook to mixer. Add in ½ cup of cooled starter mixture, egg, milk, and ube extract. Knead on low speed for 5 minutes. Scape down bowl to ensure thorough mixing.
Add softened butter and continue to knead on low speed for 5 minutes until butter is integrated into dough. Increase speed to medium and knead for another 5 minutes until dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Transfer dough to a lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 1 hour, or until dough is doubled in volume.

Assembly:

Grease two 9x4 or 9x5 inch loaf pans or pullman loaf pans. If desired, line with parchment paper for easy bread removal. Set aside.
Work with cream colored dough first. Punch down risen dough. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface. Divide dough into 8 equal parts. (Use a bench scraper and kitchen scale for ease and accuracy.) Roll each part into a ball. Cover dough with plastic wrap as you work to prevent dough from drying out or forming a skin.
Next, work with purple colored (ube) dough. Punch down risen dough. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface. Divide dough into 8 equal parts. (Use a bench scraper and kitchen scale for ease and accuracy.) Roll each part into a ball. Cover dough with plastic wrap as you work to prevent dough from drying out or forming a skin.
Grab one cream colored dough ball. Flatten or roll out dough to a length of about 8-inches and 5-inches wide. Grab a purple colored ball and repeat rolling. Place purple dough over cream dough. Starting at the shorter end, roll dough into a log.
Place log seam side down into prepared loaf pan. Repeat process until loaf pan has a total of four logs. Cover loaf pan with plastic wrap and let rest for 30-45 minutes at room temperature until dough has doubled in volume and. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F.
Repeat this process with the remaining balls of dough. See notes for instructions on how to make the marbled dough for pullman loaf pan.*
Remove plastic wrap. Lightly brush the top of the dough with heavy cream. Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes until the top of the bread loaf is golden brown and the internal temperature of the bread is at least 190°F. Be sure to rotate bread midway through baking for even coking.
Let bread cool in pan for 5 minutes. Unmold bread from pan and allow to cool to room temperature on wire rack. Once cool, slice bread using serrated knife.

Notes

Ingredient Notes:

Non fat dry milk powder provides additional flavor. It is optional and may be omitted. Milk powder is found in the baking aisle of the supermarket along with the flours. It is also labeled as "instant dry milk."
Ube powder or dehydrated purple yam can be found at Filipino supermarkets. It is also available on Amazon. Make sure to use 100% purple yam. Some varieties include powdered milk and/or sugar.
Ube extract can be found at Filipino supermarkets or online through various retailers. It provides ube flavor and a strong purple color. Be careful with this extract. It stains!

Marbled Bread Instructions:

Follow up to Step 4 in assembly. Place log seam side down on work surface. Use a small rolling pin to flatten and roll log into a rectangle about 5-inch wide and 7 inches in length. Starting at the shorter end, roll dough into a log. Place log seam side down into prepared loaf pan. Repeat process until pan has a total of four logs. Cover with plastic wrap and allow bread to rise until doubled in size, about 40 minutes. Remove plastic wrap and cover pan with lid. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Remove lid, and bake for another 18-20 minutes until internal temperature of bread registers 190 degrees F on kitchen thermometer.

Nutrition