Pain au Lait

French Milk Bread is the translation.  I decided to try my hand at bread making by hand and this is the second recipe I tried.

I bought a kitchen scale for making bread as the ingredients are usually weighed.  This one I got through amazon.com and is totally smooth which makes it really easy to clean and has multiple measurements.

16 ounces of water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast or 2.5 teaspoons of instant yeast
8 ounces of milk
3 ounces of butter (not melted)
1.25 ounces of sugar
2 pounds and 8 ounces of bread flour
1.5 tablespoons of salt
1 egg for egg wash


Warm water and milk to 90 degrees.  I use a water bath.

Place water, milk, and yeast with a little bit of sugar in a bowl and mix until yeast is dissolved.


Place yeast mixture in mixing bowl (I used the big KitchenAid Mixer) and add the remaining ingredients.  Mix on speed 1 for 2 minutes and then speed 2 for 4 minutes.  Dough should be smooth and resilient. You can see that the ingredients mix up together with no residue on the side of the bowl.

Rise for 45 minutes to an hour.  I used the wrapper of the butter to grease the bowl.  See homemade proofing oven discussed here.

Degas (punching down) and knead/fold (bringing each side up and folding with your hand).


Portion into rolls:
     2 ounces = average dinner roll
     3 ounces = large dinner roll
     4 ounces = hamburger bun


Place on a parchment lined sheet pan and proof until each roll looks like it has taken a breath and held it.  Each roll should have a marshmallow like texture.


Egg wash with 1 whole egg beaten up well.

Bake at 350-375 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes.

You can freeze these rolls after baking or freeze the dough before the first rise. If freezing dough, place in an oiled bag and leave a little air pocket.  Tie up or zip the bag and place in freezer.  When defrosting, take out of freezer and place in the refrigerator.  Take out the refrigerator and bring to room temperature and continue with the proofing.  For frozen rolls, thaw at room temperature in a few hours and then refresh in a 350 degree oven for 5-7 minutes.


You can add seeds such as sesame seeds, poppy seeds, fennel seeds, or millet in 1 tablespoon increments and place in the mix with the flour.  You can also sprinkle some seeds on top of the rolls after the egg wash.