Japanese Condensed Milk Bread

Combine warm milk, a bit of the sugar, and yeast in a mixing bowl and allow the yeast to activate (approx 5 minutes). Once foamy, add in the rest of the bread ingredients in a stand mixer with dough hook and start kneading on low speed.

Mix until the dough is smooth and the dough holds together when you try to shape it into a ball. Add the extra flour a bit at a time if you notice too much dough sticking to the bottom of the mixer as it’s kneading. There should be a bit of dough sticking to the bottom of the bowl but not too much.

Coat the dough ball in some vegetable oil to prevent the dough ball from drying out. Then, cover the bowl with some saran wrap and place it in a warm place to allow it to rise (about 30–40 minutes).

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 300ºF and prepare the condensed milk filling by mixing the butter and condensed milk until it turns into a relatively smooth paste.

Once the dough is done rising, roll it out into a rectangle and evenly spread the filling all over the dough.

Cut the sheet of dough into 4 even pieces. Then, stack them on top of each other. Divide into 8 even pieces. Arrange each piece in a loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for another 30–40 minutes or until double in size.

Bake for around 35 minutes or until it turns light golden brown. When done, lightly dust with icing sugar.