This is How Milk Affects Bread Dough | How to Use Milk in Breadmaking 

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I'm a professional chef, and I must say that I'm hooked on your channel. The scientific approach and easy to understand rational has already improved my baking, thanks a million! I used the biga method for years without really knowing what it was, just noticed the improvement in rise and bake.

Glad to finally see oven settings. All the baking video i watch just tell you to throw the thing in the oven at x degrees for n minutes. No mention on heating elements and/or fan.

Thanks for another tutorial. For the record, recently I baked a recipe for bread calling for milk. I only had soy milk available. I used the recipe's listed amount and all was good. I don't remember the bread... I should keep a journal. 👍

I love these experiment videos, they're very interesting and useful. An experiment idea would be dough additives, such as lecithin, malt powder (like the one you used for the Belarusian Rye Bread), enzymes, acids, yeast nutrients, gluten powder, etc. Another would be fiber sources, such as wheat bran, psyllium husks, flax seeds, bamboo fiber, chia seeds, etc, and how to incorporate them and adjust a standard recipe, taking into consideration their appetite for liquids :)

Interesting! I keep powdered milk on hand because I travel a lot and live alone. After getting home from a three week trip and pouring 80% of a quart of milk down the drain, it gets expensive fast! I also use a bread maker (guilty) to make delayed loaves and if milk is called for, it almost always specifies dry milk for obvious reasons. The dry milk I buy is the store brand and it's nonfat. I assume that gives it a longer shelf life. I can mix a batch (however much I need), mix in some cream which I also keep on hand (it lasts for months even after opened) to turn it into whole milk. I drink it and can't tell it apart from fresh. I mainly point this out because there may be others who have a similar problem of not going through milk fast enough or being able to buy it in small containers. It works very well. Thanks for the awesome content!

Love your videos! I found your channel recently and it's honestly a crime you don't have more subscribers. Keep up the great work 🍞

Just a small note: I've made bread using some buttermilk powder and the flavor is fantastic.

Great job! I usually use water and cow milk 50/50 in my buns

Your straightforward, easily understood explanations make your videos very watchable. No nonsense, I like your approach, thank you

New to bread making, this helps so much! Thank you and Aloha from Maui!

This is brilliant. I’m just learning to hack my own bread ratios and your approach makes a world of sense to me! Would love to see you compare eggs with common vegan egg replacers in an enriched dough. Thank you!

👍 Another really good video. I am a retired (Western) Science Teacher, living in Thailand. We have no oven! I've spent the last 1 1/2 years learning how to steam bread, and "baked" goods on the stovetop. I adapt your good info to my unique challenges. Thanks!!! (I am a subscriber.)

Great experiment! I really appreciated the explainer of the sugar/fat/water ratios as well.

I'm so glad you thought to include milk powder!! Super helpful, thank you.

Lovely video! Because I don’t like milk normally, I don’t keep it on hand and so I use homemade cashew milk for all your recipes that require milk. I’ve always secretly wondered if I was missing out on something haha. Great informative video !!

This would be interesting to see how different plant milks would affect breads. Oat milk has so much more fat than almond and soy has much more protein than both. We use oat at the bakery I work at.

Thanks for another great video. I appreciate the time and effort you put in to make it easy for us to watch and understand. I rarely use milk in bread making. I tend to use olive oil when I want to add fat and sugar when I want some sweetness.

Literally watching one of your videos as this got uploaded! Trying my first hydration bread :D Smells good!

Charlie, so grateful to you for the worthy experiment. Such a well designed experiment ! My milk bread was failed. I realize It's not because of the milk, it's because of me. 😂😭 i must have mismanaged the ratio.

Pretty excited for this video always happy to see new content from your channel

Just found this channel today. Cant stop watching your videos. Love it!!!

Love these comparison videos

Hello Chain Baker, I had asked you about adding eggs in sourdough in the previous video and you answered, I went ahead and I also added olive oil and evaporated milk, turned out great. Thanks for the experiments!

I'm glad you did this video because I normally use evaporated milk in my bread making and I always wondered what effect milk powder will have in the baking process and that's because I procrastinated on using it. But great video as always and you never fail to disappoint us!!

I've been watching this whole playlist and I find it helpful for me. Can you create a video about how to tell the shelf life of the bread?

I love how you explain things. Puts things into perspective. Great voice too.

Great video! I'd like to see something else comparing different flours and how they affect the bread.

Again, great informative video - thank you for sharing the comparison of how milk affects bread dough. 🍞🥛 I like when you "do the math".

Thanks for this comparison vid. I am new to baking and I've looked at many enriched dough recipes. Some of them call for just warm milk and others call for scalded and cooled down milk and I honestly didn't understand the purpose behind this. So after researching and testing for myself, I've learned that there's a whey protein in milk and it weakens the gluten in the flour and prevents the dough from rising properly. And by scalding the milk heating to just below boiling 82c deactivates the protein so this doesn't happen resulting in fluffier softer baked bread. So now when a yeast dough recipe calls for milk, I always scald the milk just in case it does help. LOL But It would be very interesting to see a side by side comparison on this.

Thank you for making videos been watching them for a while and they instantly improved my understanding of bread.

Thanks, I’m still in sourdough, but will try a loaf with Oatly

This videos are great, contain useful information i looked over year. Thank you.

Love your channel. I typed this very question into Google and lo and behold, you had a video all about it! Thank you 😊

Thank you for such an informational video

Hi Great learning resource. Kindly make a video on how curd effect the dough

favorite channel ever thank you for another great vid!!

I make bread using whey, left over from yoghurt making. I soak the flour overnight this rids the flour of phytic acid and enables wheat intolerant to digest the bread. All other ingredients added after 12 hours at room temperature. I'm milk intolerant too so presumably helps. Thank you for such interesting content ☺

This was very interesting, I don't know enough about bread to know the differences, Every video I watch I'm learning. Ps. I started another batch of panettone, this time I'm going to adjust my temperature right, I'll let you know how it goes.

Just one week I requested this comparison and here it is! We'll done, thank you. So let's step it up now. Can you please do a comparison video showing the impact of using different type of white flour on the end result, there are so many types of white wheat bread with different strength levels.

Interesting facts about the milk. I have over the years developed what I call "white American bread". All whole milk, no water, and sugar and honey added to sweeten it up. 55% hydration. I bake the loaves in the large pullman sized pans. Comes out very nice however I mostly just bake a rustic loaf , no sugar, no milk for everyday use.

I use half/half milk and either potato water or pasta water. Potato water seems to make a softer,denser dough. Pasta water is just about the starch.(well, really, both are starchy)

Charlie, I am a relatively novice baker (started after the baking fad took over during early lockdown). I work with spelt as my main wheat. Happily, there are many spelt recipes online, in great variety, as well as some books. Oddly, surprisingly, and frustratingly, my doughs are always so much moister than the recipe expects them to be, and impossible to work with or even shape. I tend to do a rough knead in the bowl, I guess more of a stretch and fold... but somehow my breads always turn out. Maybe not perfect, but always edible. Ha! I am always hesitant to add TOO much flour... and sometimes it seems like I'd end up doubling the flour if I keep adding it... so I don't usually add an excessive amount. And these ARE recipes specifically made for spelt. I know the ancient wheats all have their quirks and spelt requires less hydration than modern wheat. So, one wouldn't expect me to have all the issues I have with hydration. At any rate, my baking issues cause me to do more digging on the internet to make changes. I've started making notes about different things to experiment with to get softer texture to my loaves. I love your channel, as it is so informative and gives me good base for how to make changes to a recipe, or even decide when to skip one. I love the scientific aspect and you offer great, useful charts and formulas. 🤓🗒✍📈 Also, in the last 6mo or so, I've decided I'm enjoying working with buttermilk. I don't find many yeast recipes using buttermilk. And I have read about the effect of acid in a dough. (One of my suggestions for you to experiment with in a future video.) Right now, I have begun developing my own recipe to get some specific results and incorporating buttermilk. It provides several things all bundled together, it seems to me. Some fat, sweetness, definitely flavor, and acid. In the pursuit of making a loaf exactly how I want it, I am (re)watching a bunch of your videos, as well as finding useful ones I haven't seen before. Thank you for all your awesomeness! Bake on! 🍞🥖🥨🤗

Fascinating, I appreciate the add in of the plant based milk. I am on this journey because I want more things to eat. But being vegetarian I am having to create those things myself. I want to recreate my old favorites but now without meat in them. I used to love a ham and cheese pull apart and other bread snacks. I finally have my meals recreated. I now must understand bread. These videos are great. Thanks.

As a hotel baker we always used whole milk powder rather than actual milk in yeasted enriched doughs. I never gave much thought to why, so I wonder why it is that the loaf with MP had a more open texture and rose higher than actual milk? Great video thank you so much for your passion and your work

I make sourdough bread usually. I don't usually use milk, but I did recently for a German Stollen recipe. Much more dense but oh so good!

I just fell into your channel today and am so excited about all this great info. you are sharing. One type of milk I use from time to time is an 18 minute run of whole milk through the pressure canner. It makes some of the best bread for pasta dishes during summer and rich soups in the cold of winter.

I’ve been trying both powdered skim milk and coffee whitener. The powdered skim milk worked ok, which I mixed with the flour. The coffee whitener dissolves so easily, I included it in the flour on a 4% basis with the flour. What I was greeted with was a dough that absolutely refused to cold proof, but rose normally in the oven. But the real problems were with kneading and folding. I thought I had failed miserably when the dough turned into the consistency of silicone rubber. Rolling it out and placing it in the tin left me with serious doubts on my sanity. I let the loaf bake, it turned out reasonably normal but quite heavy. I deferred from touching it and put it in storage to allow it to cool over an extended period and will cut a slice later when I need bread. I expect to see a loaf with a huge gas bubble in the Center, and soggy bread crumb.

Excellent, informative video. Exactly the information I was looking for.

Of course I do and I use soy milk most of the time ( more protein and fat then any other plant-based milks )^^ Thank you for your time and effort, Charlie🤝🍀🥖🍞

great video wish there were even more videos about how one component affect dough.

As ever thanks for your videos. I have been swapping out the water in my daily loaf recipe for the same amount of skimmed milk. My family much prefer the results which seem to be a softer closer to supermarket sandwich loaf.

Thanks for the great info on milk! I didn't know milk is 90% water. Btw, do you know how much water (in terms of percentage) is in heavy cream (35% fat)? I can't seem to find anything online. And please keep up the great work! 100% with you on the importance of learning the principles of baking rather than just following a recipe and hoping for the best

Interesting and informative 👍🏼👍🏼

For a while, I substituted milk in most of my breads. I always liked the added sweetness. Thanks partially to you, I've branched out a bit and use milk in only a few recipes. Still love the taste, but but variety keeps it interesting! Thanks for all of your educational videos.

As always with the god damn good videos, thanks. Im gonna go make bread right now

ABSOLUTELY LOVE these comparison style videos. Keep doing your thing, Charlie!

I’ve always wondered what plant base milk would achieve in substitute of whole milk. Thank you so much, you’ve clarified my curiosity with your well knowledgeable video. Cheers Charlie 🙏🏼

Thanks for doing this video, I really appreciate it 😊

Thank you so much …. I always use fresh milk my little experience with owner milk was not very successful. May be I should try it again after watching your video

I use half milk (2%) and half water, sometimes I toss in an egg

Thankyou for your tutorials..

spectacular video!!! thank you!!!

PLANT BASED TIP there’s actually some small differences between different plant based milks, this is coming from a professional vegan baker! for example, almond milk tends to be more “watery” than others, while soy milk has a higher protein content, which 100% makes a difference. personally, i would recommend any baker that is starting their plant based journey to use soy milk for their experiments, or even better, if you can find any plant based milk labeled as “barista” go for it! at my bakery we use a barista soy milk. it’s perfect because it’s higher on fat, protein and sugar, thats why baristas use them for their latte art! love your videos btw, i have adapted lots of your recipes for vegan ingredients :)

Really enjoying your channel; excellent content! What strategy might you suggest if one wanted the texture/taste benefits of the fresh whole milk but preferred the crust to be lighter in color?

How would buttermilk make a difference? I used half ‘n half (half dairy cream/half full fat milk) in a Turkish flatbread recipe last night and it was delicious.

Charlie: The calcium added to almond milk is calcium carbonate and cannot be readily absorbed in the human body without a big meal and then is it still only partially absorbed. Calcium citrate is readily absorbed by the body. I am not sure if Vitamin D is added to almond milk, but Vitamin D is also necessary for the absorption of calcium in the body. While dairy has its issues some of the plant based milks also have problems.

Dear Charlie, I would like to complement you that your videos provide viewers with a good understanding on the finer techiques on breadmaking even to a novice like me. However, i find it difficult to follow esp in clips like this (when comparing making bread with different variables). I think it would help if physical labels as headers are placed when you proceed with making the different breads eg "No Milk" , Whole Milk".....would be easier to follow when many tests are involved. TQ

Love the videos, just wondering, have you done a comparison on milk out of the fridge versus scalded milk? I could be wrong, but I think scalded milk helps make the bread a little bit more fluffy. Just wanted to hear your thoughts. Thanks!

I was always told that milk must be scaled before using it in a yeast product, otherwise there's an enzyme in it that somewhat inhibits yeast development.

6:32 haha appreciate your effort! great video as always

I use soy milk in all my baking. It contains more fat and sugar than almond milk. Makes really delicious bread.

Love this channel. Basically spent an entire day going through your videos. I’m hoping you can clarify something you said in this video. You said that both sugar and fat tenderize the crumb of the bread making it softer and more springy. I would think that more gluten formation would result in more “springiness”. Maybe it’s just a semantic problem but could you or Thespis clarify? I also wonder if different kinds of fats (i.e the ones found in milk vs. ones found in vegetable oils) have different effects on gluten formation.

@chain baker.... I'd imagine you to be a connoisseur at kneading dough... 👏🖐️

Really interesting! I would love it if you would do a recipe video on Czech housky/ Slovak rohliky bread rolls. That’s what i use milk for.

I do need to bring yogurt up, I mean the regular, non-sweetened or flavoured kind. I always have some in the fridge, it has a longer shelf life compared to fresh milk, and (in my opinion) takes away a bit of the chew from the bread, which is a desired outcome for me. But, I read in some blog that acidity actually helps gluten formation, so why is my bread not chewier but softer? The fat content is minimal in yogurt so I don't think it would make that much of a difference. I usually add about 50g to 300g water, flour is 500g, and the fat in the yogurt is 3.5%

Thanks for this amazing video. I was wondering that does milk increase and fasten yeast fermentation in the bread compared to using water in yeast fermentation?

I love the chain baker. Thank you Sir for your videos. Please why do you say the whole milk is better? Is it in the uniformity of the crust or is there some other feature that makes it best to you?

It would be interesting to know how milk compares to whey. I occasionally like to make cheese and I don't want to waste the whey so I use it for baking.

I’m hunting for a nutritious robust bread for the kids’ every other day and adding egg looks like a great way to add some sustenance. I want to use mostly wholemeal though using a loaf tin to get nice tight shape - any tips?!

love the concepts behind your videos. ive been wondering lately how eggs might affect bread dough in my pursuit of trying to perfect my 100% whole wheat sandwich bread recipe

Hi thanks for another great video. Just like so many who have commented here i've wondered how milk powder is better than regular full fat milk. I use milk for proofing my yeast and i find that yogurt does a fantastic job of keeping the bread soft and tender. I especially like yogurt for bread rolls and flatbreads, havent tried it in sandwich loaves yet. Thanks so much!

Yours videos are awesome, I just started baking bread once again. I am just wondering how to make bread that will be less dense inside - higher hydration or something else is gonna affect this? To bake I am using cast iron skillet with deep baking sheet as lid to kinda close it.

That's why I use milk in my pizza dough to get nicer caramelized and coloured bread when baked in normal home oven. But I would use water if pizza dough to be baked in a real pizza oven.

I have watched quite a few cooking and baking channels. FYI, you have the sexiest voice and I enjoy listening to you. So these videos are very enjoyable on 2 levels! ( a cool baker, Ha!) plus you really know what you’re doing. I would enjoy a sourdough rye bread video with NO caraway seeds. My family is from Germany and most of the german bakeries here no longer carry the rye breads we love. They are mostly white bread with a little rye, coloring and the dreaded caraway seeds. Did I miss an episode with that? I do make a decent one but need a little help. Thanks!

I always have half and half in the house, how would I sub it in for the milk powder? Appreciated your explanation about the actual cost of the powdered milk.

I figured out that milk was not necessary for the weekend bread I bake, basic ingredients and skills do the job. Or at least I haven't found a specific bread that justifies the use of milk, maybe for burger buns, English muffin.

I really enjoyed your videos! Got me into breadmaking. Can you develop a recipie for wholewheat shokupan if that's even possible? Haha

Yup, we do!

I would like test Yudane vs Tangzon Vs normal bread.

No wonder weighing scales are important, more important than measuring cups. If one has to alter measurements it has to be done precisely.

Have you tried condensed milk? Buttermilk? Sour cream?

Did you ever bake the icelandic bread Rúgbrauð? It's a steamed rye bread, which is baked for at least 14 hours at 100°C. :)

I don’t use milk to make bread. But I make an oat bread with yogurt. A lot of recipes I see often call for a bit of milk, but I don’t drink milk really, I don’t drink tea or coffee, but I have thought today about maybe getting some milk powder for those times recipes call for adding milk, I do have a carton of oat milk in my cupboard that I don’t have to put in the fridge (better use it soon), but I would prefer not to even have to buy that.

Hi! Chef. May I know why most of the bakeries choose to used skimmed milk powder instead of whole milk powder in bread making?

Hi Charlie, did you use high heat or low heat milk powder? Thanks!

I found your channel today,n honestly enjoyed watching this informative video I would like to visit again ⌚👌👍🤞🌹

You have not touched on the subject of glutathione in milk, and whether it is it really necessary to scald milk to denature it or not, which would be an interesting experiment. Glutathione weakens gluten, leading to slacker dough and less high loaves. Glutathione gets deactivated at above 180F....It is my understanding that the ordinary dried milk powder sold in grocery stores is processed at temps not sufficiently high to denature glutathione but commercial quality dried milk powder (used in pizzarias etc) has been treated with high heat....Another source of glutathione is damage to yeast. It is my understanding that the process used to dry active dry yeast is rather harsh can causes about 25% of them to die, releasing lots of glutathione. The process used to dry instant dry yeast is gentler, so less glutathione.

my bread maker machine asks for a TB os dry mild and 1 1/2 cup of water. how can i substitue both with ragular mil? The recipe askes for sugar as well. can I just not add sugar to my bread? The bread comes out ok but its not as soft and fluffy as store boughtbread and has a special flavor to it. i dont know why but when i toast it it taste bette. any help will be appreciated.

You’re the best👍🏻👍🏻