Matcha swirl bread
This soft milk bread loaf is made from a dough split in two, one part left white and the other tinted with matcha green tea, which are then layered and rolled up. When you slice it, each piece reveals an eye-catching green and white spiral, with a faint, gently bitter tea flavor blending into the sweet milkiness.
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Prep
- 50 min
- Cook
- 33 min
- Rising or chilling
- 2 hr
- Total time
- 3 hr 23 min
- Method
- Oven-baked
Ingredients
Dough
Matcha paste
Instructions
Step 1
Put 300 g bread flour, 36 g granulated sugar, 5 g instant yeast, 5 g salt, 40 g eggs and 185 g whole milk in a stand mixer and knead for five minutes, then add 30 g softened butter and knead for about ten minutes more. Kneading long enough means the two doughs can be rolled up later without tearing. The dough is ready when it's smooth and silky and stretches into a thin windowpane.
Step 2
Set the dough on a scale and divide it into two equal pieces, keeping one in a bowl covered with a towel. Two pieces of the same weight give a balanced spiral on the cut slices. You'll end up with two round pieces of dough that differ by no more than a few grams.
Step 3
Sift 8 g matcha powder into a small bowl, stir it with 12 g water into a thick paste, then knead it into one half of the dough. Mixing the matcha with water first gives an even color with no grainy bits of powder. The dough is ready when it's a uniform green with no white streaks.
Step 4
Put the two doughs in separate bowls, cover them tightly and let them rise somewhere warm for about an hour. Rising them separately keeps the two colors from mixing. The dough is ready when both pieces have roughly doubled in size.
Step 5
Roll each piece of dough into an 18 x 28 cm rectangle, lay the green sheet on top of the white one and roll over it lightly once so the two layers stick, then roll it up tightly from the short side and place it seam side down in a 10 x 20 cm loaf pan. Rolling lightly after layering leaves no gaps between the two colors. You'll see a clear green and white spiral at both ends of the roll.
Step 6
Cover with a towel and let it rise for about fifty minutes, while you preheat the oven to 170°C. This rise gives a soft crumb and a nicely domed loaf. The dough is ready when it has risen about one centimeter above the rim of the pan.
Step 7
Bake at 170°C for 30 to 35 minutes, covering the loaf with foil after the first ten minutes. The moderate heat and the foil keep the green part from turning yellowish brown. The bread is done when the top is pale golden, the bottom sounds hollow when tapped and the center reaches about 90°C.
Step 8
Take the bread out of the pan right away and let it cool on a rack for about an hour before slicing with a serrated knife. As it cools, the crumb firms up, so the slices won't squash. The bread is ready when it no longer feels warm to the touch.
Equipment
- Oven
- Loaf pan
- Stand mixer
- Rolling pin
- Bench scraper
- Sieve
- Kitchen scale
- Plastic wrap
Tips
- Choose a bright green baking-grade matcha; matcha that has been stored too long turns yellowish and gives a dull color.
- You can sprinkle a thin layer of sweet red bean paste between the two doughs before rolling for a matcha and red bean version.
- Cover the dough you're not using with plastic wrap so its surface doesn't dry out while you roll the other piece.
Storage
Wrapped tightly at room temperature, the bread stays soft for two to three days. Keep it out of sunlight, because the matcha color will fade; you can also freeze individual slices for up to a month.
Common problems and how to fix them
- The matcha dough turns yellowish brown after baking.
- The oven was too hot or the top wasn't covered. Keep the temperature at 170°C and cover the loaf with foil early.
- The two colored layers separate when sliced.
- The surface of the dough dried out, so the layers didn't stick together. Mist the white sheet with a little water before laying the green one on top, then roll lightly so they bond.
This recipe is based on the common ratios for this bake and is written entirely in our own words.
