Yuanyang Coffee & Tea Bread loaf (Pre-fermented dough method)

Made this loaf of bread on Sunday morning - Yuanyang bread.

Yuanyang is a combi of sweet, creamy coffee and milk tea together, and this beverage is hugely popular in Hong Kong.  One of the must-have on my list when in Hong Kong.  So back to my bread expedition... I was struggling between making a coffee loaf and a milk tea loaf, and then I thought, why not do a 2-in-1?

Kept thinking that the soothing and decadent coffee-tea mixture will bring about a nice and flavourful loaf, but sadly I was wrong :(  No, not that the bread was a flop.  It was all soft and wonderful, and the bread colour was brownish tinged like a cuppa yuanyang, except that it did not have the strong yuanyang smell or taste I wanted!  I used up a whole 30g instant yuanyang tea sachet for this loaf by the way...

Oh well... that's how life is.  Sometimes things just do not happen the way you want it to.  Nevertheless I got a really soft and fluffy loaf, and the softness lasted till the 2nd day where leftover slices were gobbled up.  Pretty sure it would have stayed as soft even on the 3rd :)

This soft loaf makes up for all that did not happen, and is worth a 2nd chance, a 3rd and more.  I will make this again!

Yuanyang Coffee & Tea Bread Loaf (Pre-fermented dough method)
(makes 1 loaf)

Pre-fermented Dough
230g bread flour
1 tsp instant yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp skimmed milk powder
135ml water

Dissolve yeast in water.  Add to rest of ingredients & knead until soft. Place dough in a big ziplock bag and refrigerate for at least 17 hours. The dough will expand in the bag, so make sure there is room for expansion.

Main Dough
100g bread flour
1 tbsp skimmed milk powder
1/2 tsp salt (I omitted this)
40g sugar (I used brown sugar)
1 small egg (lightly beaten)
40ml instant yuanyang coffee tea sachet (I mixed 30g of instant yuanyang coffee tea sachet with 60ml hot water and used only required amt for main dough)
1 tsp instant yeast
30g butter (softened at room temperature)
chocolate chips (optional) - I had some choc chips left which was not enough to make cookies, so I used it up for this loaf

1. Knead all main dough ingredients together (except butter), then add in pre-fermented dough piece by piece.
2. Knead as you add until the dough is soft and smooth (the dough is quite wet but should be acceptable after about 10-15 minutes of kneading) - I did the mixing of all ingredients by my trusty bread machine.
3. Add butter and continue to knead until dough is soft, smooth and stretchable and does not stick to your fingers when pressed. - I left Step 1 to 3 to my trusty bread machine and only took over from here to knead it till window pane stage as I prefer to feel the dough and achieve windowpane stage with my own hands.  I hate mixing part as I do not like my hands getting on gooey.
4. Flour your hands before shaping dough into a ball and leave in mixing bowl.  Cover the bowl with a clean and damp cloth (or with clingwrap) and let it proof for about 15-30 minutes or until double in size. (I had lunch while letting it proof for 45 minutes)

5. Punch down dough and roll dough flat into a long rectangular shape, add chocolate chips (optional) and roll dough up like swiss roll.  You may shape your dough according to your preference.

6. Grease your loaf tin with butter or oil.  Place rolled up dough in loaf tin and cover top loosely with clingwrap.  Let proof for 45 minutes or till dough has risen to 80-90% of tin.

I lined my loaf tin with a lovely greaseproof paper instead :)

After 45 minutes of proofing,  the dough rised so much it hung on the sides of the tin and a mushroom shaped loaf appeared when I sliced it after it was baked and cooled.  Uber cute!

7. Bake at 180 degree preheated oven for 25-30 minutes.  Unmould and let it cool on cooling rack.

8. Slice when cool. Eat it with a cup of tea or coffee!