If you're looking to make bread with a crispy crust and a chewy texture then it's better to use water instead of milk. If you want to make a soft bread with a soft crust then milk will help you achieve this.
Water vs.
Milk changes bread recipes by producing a softer loaf, due to the milk fat content, which also gives bread a richer flavor. Bread made with milk browns more easily than bread made with water, as lactose or milk sugar will caramelize as it bakes.
Milk is used to add flavor. It enriches the dough and gives the bread a creamy color, soft crumb and a golden crust. What is this? Just like water, milk used in bread recipes, especially when mixed directly with yeast must be lukewarm.
The fat and lactose in milk help with tenderizing the crumb of the bread making it softer and sweeter. The crust of the bread also gets more caramelization. Be aware that bread made with milk should not be baked at too high of a temperature to prevent it from browning too much too soon.
The release of carbon dioxide during fermentation makes the bread soft and fluffy.
In the dough stage, milk increases water absorption. Consequently, dough made with milk should come softer from the mixer than dough made with water. Other aspects of milk in yeast doughs include: Dough may be mixed more intensively.
Water is a common ingredient, but since many people use the timer on their bread machines, most recipes call for non-fat dry milk or powdered buttermilk. However, if you are mixing your dough right away, you can certainly use fresh milk. Simply replace the water with milk or buttermilk and omit the powdered milk.
Molly Marzalek-Kelly, senior recipe developer at King Arthur Baking Company, says milk powder helps yeasted breads “have a higher rise and softer texture. Milk powder lends an added level of tenderness while also helping to increase the item's shelf life.
If you want delicate, soft, and tender baked goods, I recommend using oil vs. butter. Butter will result in a denser crumb and not be as moist.
Eggs help the dough rise and create a large crumb that's great for soaking up liquids, like a bowl of chocolat chaud (hot chocolate). The egg yolks give the bread a golden interior, and butter adds an extra boost of moisture. The result is a rich, buttery flavor, and deep golden-brown crust.
Adding butter (unsalted) or oil (olive or vegetable) in small quantities to bread results in a higher rise, a crisper crust, and a longer shelf life. When fat is added in large quantities, such as for brioche, it results in a softer texture and less volume.
Heavy Cream or Milk
If you don't brush the tops, they will be duller in comparison to the browned sides and bottoms. Since milk encourages browning, brushing the tops will give you a desirable rustic golden color out of the oven.
Water is necessary for yeast fermentation and reproduction; softer doughs will ferment more quickly than dry doughs. Water is responsible for the consistency of bread dough. The temperature of water can be varied in order to obtain dough of the correct temperature.
Some baking books and experts claim that bread rises and tastes better when dough is made using high-quality water—which usually means filtered, distilled, or deionized water that contains very few dissolved solids.
The way you add the water and how much of it you do is no exception. The reason, Busby's Bakery shares, is that water directly affects the formation of gluten. The wetter a dough is, the longer the gluten strands can get, and that's exactly what you want in bread because it results in a softer crumb.
By introducing fat, such as butter, oil, lard or vegetable fat, we will get softer results. Fat lubricates and tenderises the gluten to keep it moist and less chewy. They reduce the browning temperature, which shortens the time it takes for the crust to form.
What Does Shokupan Taste Like? Over the decades, Japanese bakers modified the typical Pullman loaf to appeal to the Japanese palate. As a result, shokupan is at once slightly sweet, buttery, and milky. This delicate balance comes from simple ingredients like white flour, yeast, milk powder, butter, salt, and sugar.
For milk bread, a little sticky is good. However, if your dough is somewhat firm, you've added too much flour, resulting in dense, dry rolls.
Substituting milk for water in bread will usually add both fat (from milkfat) and sugar (lactose). Several changes can happen, including: The crust will typically be softer. The crust will brown more quickly (due to sugar) and can darken more evenly before burning.
Manage the Hydration Levels of Your Bread
Simply put, the more water in your dough, the more open the crumb will be. However, be careful not to overdo it as a watery dough is usually harder to handle and can flop more easily. The best way to manage the hydration levels of your bread is to start slowly.
Water. In an absolute pinch, water can sometimes be used as a substitute in a recipe that calls for milk…but you might experience some changes in flavor and texture. (Think: Less creamy, less fluffy and less rich.)
Butter or Olive Oil Brush: Brush softened butter or olive oil atop the loaf before baking to add flavor and color. Milk Bath: Brushing a loaf with milk before baking gives the baked bread a tender, golden crust.
Commercial bakeries use two types of ingredients to slow spoilage — emulsifiers and enzymes. Emulsifiers keep bread from going stale by preventing oil and water from separating. Adding emulsifiers sometimes goes by the names “crumb softening” or “dough conditioning” because it works to preserve texture.
Dense or heavy bread can be the result of not kneading the dough mix properly –out of many reasons out there. Some of the other potential reasons could be mixing the yeast & salt together or losing your patience while baking or even not creating enough tension in the finished loaf before baking the bread.