• For the Tangzhong
• Place the water, milk and bread flour in a small pan. Mix until there are no lumps. It’s going to look very watery, but don’t worry, the heat will cook it down. Turn the heat to low. Stir the mixture constantly with a whisk for 3 to 5 minutes until it starts looking like glue, and the whisk leaves lines in the roux.

  Transfer the tangzhong to a small bowl and leave to cool fully.

For the Malunggay Bread:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine bread flour, dried malunggay leaves, milk powder, sugar, salt and yeast. Mix well. Then add in the milk, and tangzhong. Using the bread hook, combine the ingredients until you get a shaggy dough. Lightly knead for 2 minutes until the dough comes together.

  Stop the mixer and let the dough rest for 15 minutes, covered with a wet and clean tea towel. This helps the dough absorb the moisture and start the process of activating the gluten strands prior to kneading.

  Put the bowl of dough back on the stand mixer and knead at medium speed for 15-20 minutes until the dough is nice and soft.
• Lightly grease a bowl with vegetable oil. Form the dough into a tight ball and cover with cling wrap. Leave to rise in a warm area until the dough has doubled in size.

  After an hour, it’s time to test if the dough is ready. Just flour one finger and poke the dough with it! If the hole stays and does not bounce back, the dough is ready.
• Prepare a loaf tin by greasing it with some vegetable oil.
• Punch down the dough and roll into an oval loaf shape to fit into your tin.
• Cover the tin with a damp cloth and leave to rise until the dough is close to the loaf tin height. It should take about an hour, but at the 30-minute mark, preheat your oven to 350°F.
• Bake the Japanese milk bread for 30 minutes. Let the bread cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.