Soft and Fluffy High Altitude Milk Bread

A high altitude recipe for the fluffiest and lightest loaf of milk bread, using a tangzhong starter method for the dough. This bread is so soft, it’s almost cloud-like in texture, and is wonderful enjoyed warm from the oven with soft butter, toasted and slathered with jam or honey, or used days later for French toast or bread pudding.

You might also love these cheesy garlic herb dinner rolls, fluffy baking powder biscuits, and pecan caramel sticky buns.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Soft for Days. While many homemade yeast breads will become dry and stale after the first day, this homemade milk bread stays so soft for days after baking. You’ll also note that it has a “tearable” quality, where it’s so light and fluffy that if you pull the bread apart where two of the sections meet, you can tear off thin strands of bread. When slicing the bread, use a large, serrated bread knife to gently saw through the bread.

So Many Delicious Uses. This bread is fantastic while it’s still warm from the oven, and I love it plain, or with some butter and honey. It’s a bit too soft to use for sandwiches, but you can toast the leftover bread, use it in sweet or savory bread pudding recipes, or dip it in beaten eggs and milk to make French toast. If you’re looking for a sandwich bread recipe, I’d recommend my easy white sandwich bread, which is a bit sturdier than milk bread.

High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude. With yeasted doughs, the altitude mainly affects the rising times. You’ll find that dough tends to rise much faster at high altitude, so you need to keep an eye on your dough to make sure you don’t over-proof it.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

Tangzhong

• The tangzhong starter is a simple mixture of water, milk and flour. Added to the dough, it keeps the buns soft and pillowy, and helps them rise higher and fluffier.

Dough

• Butter. Unsalted butter adds moisture, richness and flavor to the buns.
• Milk. Be sure to use whole milk for the best flavor and texture.
• Yeast. The yeast is the leavening agent which makes the buns rise.
• Sugar. Adds sweetness and helps to activate the yeast.
• Flour. For the best texture, use bread flour, not all-purpose flour.
• Salt. Flavor.
• Egg. Gives the dough structure and a richer flavor.

Egg Wash

• An egg beaten with a little milk and brushed over the buns before baking makes them golden brown and shiny.

Instructions

Make the Tangzhong

• In a small saucepan, whisk together the water, milk and flour. Cook over medium heat for several minutes, whisking constantly, until it thickens into a paste.
• Remove from the heat, scrape the tangzhong into a small bowl, and refrigerate to cool it down while you make the dough.

Make the Dough

• In the same saucepan you used to make the tangzhong (no need to wash the pan first), melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the milk, and warm the mixture just until it reaches between 110-115 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Remove from the heat. Stir in the yeast and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Let sit for a few minutes until it starts to get bubbly.
• In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine all but 1/2 cup of the flour with the remainder of the sugar, the warm yeast mixture, the cooled tangzhong, salt and egg.
• With the dough hook, knead the dough for 10 minutes, gradually adding the remaining 1/2 cup of flour, as needed. The dough should be soft and smooth, and will wrap around the dough hook, but may still stick to the bottom of the bowl. Don’t be tempted to add more flour, though, or the bread will be dense.

• Scrape the dough into a greased bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set in a warm place to rise until doubled in size. This could take anywhere from 30-90 minutes, depending on the freshness/brand of yeast, and how warm your kitchen is.
• If your oven has a bread proof setting, you can use that. Otherwise, preheat your oven to the lowest setting, turn it off, then set the dough inside to rise.

Shape the Bread

• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and lightly flour the top of the dough, too. Use a bench scraper to cut the dough into 4ths, then shape each section into a ball.
• Use a rolling pin to roll each ball of dough into an oval measuring 4×8 inches, then roll the oval up into a log. Repeat with all 4 balls of dough, until you have 4 logs of dough.

• Butter and flour the inside of a Pullman loaf pan, and arrange the 4 logs of dough side by side in the pan, with the seams of the logs facing down against the bottom of the pan.

• Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap, and set in a warm place to let the dough rise again, just until it has nearly reached the top of the pan. This may take 20-30 minutes. Remove the plastic wrap.
• Keep a watchful eye on your dough as it rises. My dough had not even reached the top of the pan yet when I started preheating my oven, and in just 10 more minutes, it was puffing up much more dramatically over the top of the pan. This bread also has a good “oven spring”, meaning it will puff even more as it bakes.

Bake the Bread

• Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
• For the egg wash, whisk together the egg and milk, then use a pastry brush to brush the egg wash over the bread. This will give the bread a beautiful golden brown shine as it bakes.
• Bake the bread for about 35-40 minutes, until golden brown, and an instant digital read thermometer inserted into the center of the bread reads between 190-195 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Let the bread cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn it out onto a cooling rack. Cool for 30-45 minutes, then enjoy warm, or at room temperature.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is tangzhong?

Tangzhong or tang zhong is a simple roux or paste made of water, milk and flour. The tangzhong method is quick and easy. Just cook the ingredients in a saucepan for a minute or two until the mixture thickens into a paste. When this paste is added to yeast dough, it plays a very important role in improving the texture of the dough and the baked bread.

• It helps the starches in the flour absorb more liquid, which in turn makes the dough less sticky and easier to knead and shape into buns.
• It can help the bread rise higher and fluffier as it bakes.
• The baked bread, rolls or buns will stay soft and fresh for longer.

What kind of loaf pan did you use?

I used the USA Pan Bakeware Pullman Loaf Pan. Their pans are heavy aluminized steel, and really excellent quality. My pan is the “small” size, and measures 9 inches long, 4 inches wide and 4 inches tall. A Pullman pan is taller than a standard loaf pan, which is usually only about 2 1/2 – 3 inches tall, so it makes a taller loaf of bread. You can buy a Pullman pan with or without a lid (for making perfectly square loafs of sandwich bread).

What kind of yeast should I use?

You can use either instant yeast or active dry yeast. I highly recommend this Red Star Platinum Premium Instant Yeast with Dough Enhancers. Every loaf of bread I’ve made with this yeast has been spectacular. I use yeast from my grocery store for cinnamon rolls and sticky buns, I love using the Red Star yeast for loaf breads.

Why do I need to check the bread with a thermometer?

It’s impossible to look at a loaf of bread and tell if it’s done or not. Yeasted loaf breads should be perfectly baked, not raw or doughy in the middle, and not over-baked and dry. The ideal internal temperature for a perfectly baked loaf of yeast bread is between 190-195 degrees Fahrenheit, so you need a digital instant read thermometer to ensure your bread is perfectly baked.

Can I knead the dough by hand if I don’t have a stand mixer?

Since the dough is very soft, it would be difficult to knead it by hand without adding too much flour. And while a mixer can do the job in 10 minutes, you would need to knead the dough by hand for 20 minutes. If you don’t have a mixer, I’d suggest using a bowl and a Danish dough whisk to knead your dough, so that you don’t add more flour than the recipe calls for.

Why is it called milk bread?

Milk buns, or milk bread originated in Japan, using the tangzhong method to make buns and bread characterized with a soft, light fluffy texture and rich, milky flavor.

Can I use all-purpose flour instead of bread flour?

If all-purpose flour is all you can get your hands on, you can use it. But bread flour has a higher percentage of protein, which makes for a chewier texture in yeast dough.

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