Ingredients

• 50 g bread flour
• 50 ml boiling water
• 250 g bread flour
• 20 g sugar
• 5 g salt
• 3 g instant dry yeast
• 160 ml whole milk
• 20 g unsalted butter
• 1 tsp unsalted butter

Method

1. 01
   Make the yudane Put 50 grams of bread flour in a small heatproof bowl, pour in 50 millilitres of boiling water, and stir quickly with a spatula until it forms a smooth, sticky paste.
2. 02
   Chill the yudane Cover the bowl with plastic wrap pressed onto the surface, let it cool, then refrigerate it for at least one hour.
3. 03
   Mix and knead In a large bowl, combine 250 grams of bread flour, the sugar, the yeast and the salt, add the lukewarm milk and the yudane torn into small pieces, then mix and knead on the counter for about ten minutes until the dough is smooth.
4. 04
   Knead in the butter Flatten the dough, add the softened butter, and knead for about ten more minutes until the dough is glossy and stretches into a thin see-through sheet without tearing.
5. 05
   First rise Round the dough into a ball, place it in a lightly greased bowl, cover it, and leave it in a warm place for about one hour until doubled in size.
6. 06
   Divide and rest Press the air out of the dough, divide it into three equal pieces, roll each into a smooth ball, cover them, and let them rest for fifteen minutes.
7. 07
   Shape the loaf Grease a one-kin loaf tin, about twenty by ten centimetres, with butter, then roll each ball into a long oval, fold it in thirds, roll it up tightly from the short end, and place the three rolls seam side down side by side in the tin.
8. 08
   Second rise Cover the tin loosely and let the dough rise in a warm place for about fifty minutes, until the top domes reach about one centimetre above the rim, and preheat the oven to one hundred and ninety degrees Celsius during the last twenty minutes.
9. 09
   Bake the loaf Bake the loaf on the lower middle rack for about thirty minutes until the top is deep golden brown.
10. 10
    Release and cool Drop the tin firmly onto the counter once, turn the loaf out straight away onto a wire rack, and let it cool for at least one hour before slicing.