Chai Spiced Bread

Ingredients

1 cup milk
Chai spices: cinnamon, ginger, star anise, cloves
7g instant yeast
3¼ cups all-purpose flour
71g unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
Mix of seeds to sprinkle

Recipe

Start by mixing the Chai spices into the milk and heating it until it just begins to boil. Then, let it cool down to about 43°C (110°F).
In a bowl, combine one cup of spiced milk with yeast and a pinch of sugar. Let it sit for a bit until it gets nice and foamy.
Add 1½ cups of flour to the mixture, then throw in the butter, sugar, egg, and salt.
Mix everything together until well combined. Add another 1½ cups of flour and mix until the dough forms a ball, which should take about 2 to 3 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, add the remaining ¼ cup of flour, one tablespoon at a time.
Keep mixing for another 2 minutes to knead the dough until it’s smooth and bounces back when you press it.
Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size. This should take about 1 to 2 hours.
Once the dough has risen, grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with softened butter.
Arrange the dough in the prepared pan, sprinkle the mix of seeds on top, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let it rise again until it’s visibly puffed up or almost doubled in size, which should take about 1 hour.
Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F).
Bake the dough for about 20 minutes, or until it’s very puffed and the top is a deep golden brown.

Notes

Important: Heat the milk slowly and let it cool before mixing in the yeast. If the milk is too hot, it can kill the yeast. If it’s too cold, the yeast won’t activate properly, and the bread might take longer to rise.

The choice of seeds is optional, but our favorites are flaxseeds, chia seeds, and poppy seeds. Happy baking!