Purple Cow Milk Bread

loaf of bread and three slices of bread in a purple cow pattern with a bread knife.

5 from 1 vote

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A cow pattern and purple food coloring turn this soft and sweet Japanese milk bread into a unique purple cow bread. Have fun with your food!

Prep Time2

Cook Time40

Rising Times5

Total Time7 40

Course: Bread

Cuisine: Unspecified

Servings: slices

Calories: 126kcal

Author: Joanne Stekler

Equipment

Stand mixer

Ingredients

Tangzhong (roux starter)

⅓ cup (45 grams) bread flour
½ cup (120 milliliters) whole milk
½ cup water

Dough (white)

2⅓ cup (300 grams) bread flour more as needed
¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
1¼ teaspoons instant yeast (or half of a 2¼ teaspoon packet)
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 tablespoons (30 milliliters) whole milk more as needed
½ cup roux starter
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut into cubes

Dough (purple)

2⅓ cup (300 grams) bread flour plus more as needed
¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
1¼ teaspoon instant yeast (or 1⅙ teaspoons if using a 2¼ teaspoon packet)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons purple sweet potato powder
1 egg
2 tablespoons (30 milliliters) whole milk more as needed
½ cup roux starter
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut into cubes
pink (7 drops), black (3 drops), blue (2 drops), and red (1 drop) concentrated food coloring adjust as needed based on your food coloring

Instructions

Make the roux starter (tangzhong). In a small pot, combine the flour, milk, and water. Over low heat, whisk until smooth and continue stirring until the whisk leaves a clear track at the bottom of the pot (as if you were making a bechamel).
⅓ cup (45 grams) bread flour, ½ cup (120 milliliters) whole milk, ½ cup water
Remove from heat, scrape into a glass measuring cup, and cover it with plastic wrap, pressing down the wrap onto the surface of the roux to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool.
When the roux has cooled, make the doughs, starting with the white to avoid having to clean the mixing bowl in between.
In the bowl of a mixer, use the paddle to combine the flour, sugar, and yeast and mix on low speed briefly. Add the salt and mix for about 10 seconds.
2⅓ cup (300 grams) bread flour, ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar, 1¼ teaspoons instant yeast, 1 teaspoon salt
Add the egg, milk, and half of the starter (½ cup). Mix on low speed. When it comes together, add the butter cubes.
1 egg, 2 tablespoons (30 milliliters) whole milk, ½ cup roux starter, 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut into cubes
When the dough starts to come together, switch to the dough hook. (If the dough doesn't come together, add an additional tablespoon of milk at a time). Increase the speed to medium and knead for 10 minutes, adding flour as necessary if the dough sticks to the bottom of the mixer. At the end of kneading, the dough should be soft and tacky but not sticky.
Shape the white dough into a ball and place into a buttered bowl. Cover with plastic wrap.
Make the purple dough, repeating the above steps with the following additions. Add the purple sweet potato powder with the initial dry ingredients (flour, sugar, and yeast). Add the food coloring during the kneading time, a few drops at a time until you achieve the desired color.
2⅓ cup (300 grams) bread flour, ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar, 1¼ teaspoon instant yeast, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons purple sweet potato powder, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons (30 milliliters) whole milk, ½ cup roux starter, pink (7 drops), black (3 drops), blue (2 drops), and red (1 drop) concentrated food coloring, 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut into cubes
As with the white dough, shape the purple dough into a ball, place it into a buttered bowl, and cover it with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 60 minutes.
Lightly butter a 13 inch by 4 inch by 4 inch Pullman loaf pan, including the lid.
To make a bread with six "patches," divide the white dough relatively equally into six and the purple dough into eight uneven segments. The white dough will be used to wrap the purple dough in uneven ways.
Create two large purple patches at each side of the bottom of the bread. Take a purple section and roll it into a long log the length of the pan. Flatten it out using a rolling pin as thin as possible, and then roll it along the long side to make a thin long coiled log. Repeat the same with a second purple section. Take a white segment, roll it into a long log and flatten it like with the purple sections. Now place the two purple logs side by side in the middle of the flattened white log and wrap the white dough around the two purple doughs. Place this large log of dough lengthwise, seam down along one of the corners of the pan. Repeat this with two more purple segments and one more white segment and place that log lengthwise, seam down along the other side of the pan.
There should be four segments of each color remaining. Repeat this procedure of taking the purple dough, forming a long log, flattening it, rolling it up in a coil, and wrapping a segment of white dough around it (this time around only one purple segment to make smaller patches). Lay this seam down in the pan and repeat with the remaining segments.
Put the lid on the pan and let the dough rise until it is nearly up to the lid.
Thirty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the internal temperature is 190°F.
Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then cool on a rack completely before slicing.

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