Quick and Easy Home Made Milk Bread (Pain au Lait)
Published Sep 04, 2014
Updated Apr 27, 2017
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So I was supposed to put up a recipe yesterday but my internet connection failed. I was disappointed but well, that still worked for me because I spent my time bringing a bakery right into my kitchen. It was baking day for me. So instead of posting the recipe I initially planned, I will share with you what I baked yesterday.
It is delicious home made milk bread popularly called ‘Pain au Lait’ in bakeries in Cameroon. The softness plus the aroma that emanates from it make it an absolute favourite. Infact, we traded the dinner I made for the irresistible loaves.
Here is what you will need:
3 cups of bread flour or all purpose flour (equivalent to 375 grams)
1 teaspoonful of yeast
3 tablespoons of butter
4 tablespoons of sugar
Half teaspoon of salt
A quarter cup of evaporated milk
1 cup of warm water
1 egg
In a bowl, mix warm water and yeast. Add sugar, milk and salt to them and stir well.
Melt butter in a microwave and add to mixture, stirring well.
Add in flour gently, mixing until it forms a dough. Place the dough on a rolling board. It should look like this:
Cut the dough into four equal sizes, like this:
Take one piece of dough and roll out on the board using a rolling pin. It should look like this:
Using your fingers, take one end of the dough and roll to the other end:
Fold in the edges of the rolled dough:
Create three lines on the dough using a knife:
Placed the dough on a greased baking tray. Repeat the process with the three remaining pieces of dough and place all on the tray:
Now keep in a warm place to rise for an hour. After rising, the loaves should look like this:
Brush the tops of the loaves with whisked egg so they will glow nicely when ready. Bake in an oven at 300 Degrees Fahrenheit (or 148 Degrees Celsius) for 40 minutes or until golden brown:
If you like, you can divide the dough into 2 and rather make 2 large loaves. I did that and came up with this:
Serve with your favourite bread filling. Bon Appetit!
Hi Precious all your meals look so delicious 😋I am prepping for my practical and was assigned for Cameroon dishes. I have 3 hours to prepare a 3 course meal. Which dishes do you think I should do? I need your help please😇
Hi Michealene, you could make fish pepper soup as an appetizer, stewed spinach (or greens) and boiled plantains for the main dish and plain cake for dessert. I have all those recipes here on my blog. You can use the search button to find them. All the best with your practicals!
I am loving this recipe but even making 2 loaves instead of 4 I don’t get a very high rise on my loaves. Any suggestions?
Hi Kim, it sounds like your yeast didn’t activate well. Did the dough rise before you baked the loaves? Be sure to keep the dough in a warm place to rise. I usually turn on my oven for a minute then I turn it off and put the loaves in it to rise before baking. Hope this helps.
Hi! I commented on another one of your recipes a few moments ago, but I was wondering if you knew how to make the baguette they sell in the boulangeries? It’s not the same as french baguette, and I love it so much more. If you could share, I know so many people would love it!
Thanks for the suggestion, Gabriella! I’ll definitely consider putting that up.
Aunty Precious, Am going to try these yummy
Enjoy dear!
Looking good.
Please is there a special flour for bread?
Yes Faith, there is bread flour but in this recipe regular flour will work well.
I love this.
pls can I grind wheat into flour to bake it?
Hi Olu, I’ve never tried that before but I’m sure you can.
Yayyy! Thank you so much for the awesome feedback. This bread wins every time dear.
Hey big sis, I had a great baking time over the Christmas and I couldn't resist this one. I did this with powdered milk too and it was so nice. This became our favorite bread to make and consume in the house.
Liquid milk, dear. Cameroon peak milk is perfect! That's what I use. Happy baking!