Ube Swirl Milk Bread (Purple Sweet Potato Swirl Bread)

This beautiful Ube Swirl Milk Bread made up of 50% milk bread, 50% ube flavored milk bread and is 100% bread goals. This striking purple spin on the traditional Hokkaido Milk Bread has the same delicious flavor with an added aesthetic swirl.

Course Bread, Breakfast

Cuisine Asian Fusion

Prep Time 3

Cook Time 30

Total Time 3 30

Servings Loaf

Calories 1670kcal

Author Megan

Ingredients

Tangzhong

20 g Bread Flour
100 g Water room temperature

Bread Dough

290 g Bread Flour
5 g instant yeast
30 g sugar
6 g salt
5 g milk powder
130 g milk
25 g unsalted butter room temperature
1 large egg room temperature

Ube Coloring Paste

1 tsp Ube Extract
1 tbsp Suncore Foods Purple Sweet Potato Powder
1 tbsp Water

Egg Wash

1 large egg
1 tbsp milk

Instructions

Make tangzhong.

Pour water and flour in small saucepan and whisk until no lumps left. Heat over medium heat while whisking constantly until the mixture thickens into a paste.
Let cool in a bowl to room temperature. Alternatively you can refrigerate overnight, and leave at room temperature for 1 hour before using.

Make the Ube paste.

Mix the purple sweet potato powder, ube flavoring and water until it forms a paste. Set Aside.

Create the Dough.

In a stand mixer with the hook attachment, mix the flour, sugar, yeast, milk powder and salt until combined.
Add warmed milk, tangzhong and egg and kneed on low until ingredients are combined for 5 minutes.
Once the dough has formed, add the softened butter. Increase speed and kneed until combined around 5-7 minutes. The dough should be tacky but not sticky.
Divide the dough into two equal parts. Set aside one half of the doughs.
Place the second dough back in the mixer, add the ube paste and knead until combined.
Proof the Doughs. Shape the doughs and place in two lightly greased bowls. Proof in a warm place for 1-2 hours until doubled.
Shape the Dough. When the dough has doubled, remove from the bowl. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the white dough into an 8.5 x 12 inch rectangle. The dough should be pretty thin. Then roll out the ube dough into the same size of the white dough. Place the ube dough on top of the white dough and roll out the dough to have the doughs merge. Carefully roll the dough down the longer 12 inch side of the dough. Pinch at the end to seal the seam.
Second Proof Dough. Place the logs seam side down in a 8.5 x 4.5 loaf pan. Next, proof in a warm place for another 30 min to 1 hour until doubled in size.
Bake. Preheat oven to 355 degrees. Brush with egg wash and bake for 30 minutes.

Notes

Use a scale! Bread making is a science that needs to be extra precise to produce a consistent loaf. I currently use this scale and I love it!

Yeast: you can use active yeast instead of instant yeast, but make sure to activate the yeast in a warm 110-115°F for about 5 minutes before mixing the ingredients.
Butter: Soften the butter and add to the dough AFTER it has formed a ball to prevent the oil and fat from melting into the gluten formation.
Standard Loaf Pan: I used a standard 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5 inch bread pan. If you use a bigger loaf pan the height will be smaller. To have an even rise, I made sure to equally weigh out each dough.
Proofing: typically, breads with more hydration takes longer to proof. It can take between 1-2 hours. The dough will rise in a warm place around 75-100°F. After shaping, make sure to proof the bread again to get that fluffy cloud like texture.
Ube powder can be found at Filipino supermarkets. It is also available on Amazon. Make sure to use 100% purple yam.
Ube extract can be found at Filipino supermarkets or online. It provides ube flavor and a strong purple color.
Storage Instructions: This recipe lasts longer than other types of bread due to the starter. The bread should last up to one week on the counter in an airtight container. It can last up to a month if stored in the freezer.

Nutrition