There are times you can’t help yourself, you just have to make a recipe – and this is one of those times! This is Kindred’s Milk Bread. It’s served at Kindred Restaurant in Davidson, North Carolina to every dinner table. It’s a beautiful thing, this bread. Make it – I promise you you’ll love it!
Kindred’s Milk Bread
I was first seduced by a photo of this Milk Bread I saw online and then I started seeing references in magazines – first Bon Appetit, then Food & Wine, and finally a lovely post on Food 52. I’ve made it twice in three days. To say it’s a bit addictive is an understatement!
The Kindred Restaurant uses this dough for all kinds of things but I really love their little pans of rolls. It’s a fun bread to eat and to make, and amazingly quick. There’s loads of yeast and 1/3 cup of honey in the bread and that speeds the rising right along – the rolls were out of the oven from start to finish in just under two hours.
Kindred’s Milk Bread, removed from the pan so you can see how darling it is!
Speaking of pans – I couldn’t justify spending big bucks on special little pans for this bread, but what I do have is several smallish casseroles, kind of like the ones I got at Pier 1 years ago – the size was close enough and the bread turned out beautifully. They’re about five inches across. Kindred also recommended Jumbo muffin cups.
The first time I made the breads, I checked the rise too late (at about 40 minutes; the recipe said an hour but I fiddled a bit with the salt which can affect rise) and they were a little higher than they should be. I didn’t get the great oven spring that makes this bread really almost “thrust” out of the pans like I did for the ones in these photos. Look for them to rise just over the top of the pan then get them into the oven.
Kindred’s Milk Bread
This recipe, by the way, is more than forgiving. I used what bread flour I had for the first batch and regular flour for the next. I also used milk instead of cream; the bread turned out great both times. I do use less salt than the original recipe and the first time, I made a mistake and used a stick of butter instead of a half stick! None of it mattered, it was still great. So go ahead and make it – it’s amazingly easy and will make you look like a genius!!
When I made my little pans of rolls, I divided some of the dough into three and some into four. I think the four would be a more normal size, but there were three of us at the house. We feasted on it, gave some to neighbors and made peanut butter toast with some. We ate it with butter, we ate it with jam, and we had some FOR dinner one night and with dinner on another!
Kindred’s Milk Bread
Kindred Milk Bread
- 5⅓ cups bread flour, divided, plus more for surface (all-purpose may be used)
- 1 cup heavy cream (milk works)
- ⅓ cup mild honey (such as wildflower or alfalfa)
- 3 tablespoons non fat dry milk powder
- 2 tablespoons active dry yeast (from about 3 envelopes)
- 1 tablespoons Morton’s kosher salt (see conversion table if you don’t wish to use kosher)
- 3 large eggs (2 for dough, one to brush rolls)
- 4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
- Non-stick vegetable oil spray
- Flaky sea salt (optional)
Cook ⅓ cup flour and 1 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly, until a thick paste forms (almost like a roux but looser), about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add cream (or milk) and honey. Whisk till dissolved.
Transfer mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook (note: make sure the flour mixture isn’t too hot for the yeast) and add milk powder, yeast, kosher salt, 2 eggs, and 5 cups flour.
Knead on medium speed until dough is smooth, about 5 minutes. If dough is climbing up the dough hook, add water, about a teaspoon at a time. If dough is not forming a ball, add flour, a teaspoon at a time.
Add butter, a piece at a time, fully incorporating into dough before adding the next piece, until dough is smooth, shiny, and elastic, about 4 minutes.
Coat a large bowl with non-stick spray and transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
If making rolls, lightly coat a 6-cup jumbo muffin pans or small casseroles with non-stick spray. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and divide into 6 pieces. Divide each piece into 4 smaller pieces (you should have 24 total). They don’t need to be exact; just eyeball it. Place 4 pieces of dough side-by-side in each muffin cup. (No need to shape into balls, although you can.)
If making loaves, lightly coat two 9 x 5″ loaf pans with non-stick spray. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and divide into 4 pieces. Nestle pieces side-by-side to create a row down length of pan.
If making split-top buns, lightly coat two 13 x 9″ baking dishes with nonstick spray. Divide dough into 12 pieces and shape each into a 4″-long log. Place 6 logs in a row down length of each dish.
Let shaped dough rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size (dough should be just puffing over top of pan), about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
While dough is rising, preheat oven to 375°.
Beat remaining egg with 1 teaspoon of water in a small bowl to blend. Brush top of dough with egg wash and sprinkle with sea salt, if desired. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until bread is deep golden brown, starting to pull away from the sides of the pan, and is baked through,
22–35 minutes for the small pans of rolls, 50–60 minutes for loaf, or 30–40 minutes for buns.
If making buns, slice each bun down the middle deep enough to create a split-top. Let milk bread cool slightly in pan on a wire rack before turning out; let cool completely or serve warm.
Do Ahead: Bread can be baked 5 days ahead; store tightly wrapped at room temperature.
from the kitchen of http://www.frugalhausfrau.com, adapted (slightly) from Kindred Restaurant, Davidson, NC
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Today, of course, I’ll be linking to our very own Throwback Thursday Link Party, hosted by Quinn of Dad What’s for Dinner, Meaghan of 4 Sons are Us, Alli of Tornadough, Carlee from Cooking with Carlee and Moi! That’s right – me!
Click over to our latest Throwback Thursday post for links to their blogs and social media, rules and more info or, as always, to see all the links or add your own, click on the little blue frog, below.
And, as I do almost every Friday, I’ll be linking up to Angie’s Fiesta Friday – this week is Fiesta Friday 126, so stop by and party!
Guys, I’m happy to report that the recipe for Kindred Milk Bread was a feature on Fiesta Friday!
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