Cotton Candy Sky Sourdough Milk Bread
HAPPY TUESDAY! LET’S TOAST TO A NEW MONTH AND A MAGICAL MORNING! Slice into pure joy and elevate your breakfast routine with the dreamiest loaf you’ve ever seen—our Cotton Candy Sky Sourdough Milk Bread! It is incredibly soft, beautifully swirled, and baked using Suncore Foods® premium plant-based food color powders to bring the ultimate sunset aesthetic straight to your toaster. This breathtaking, whimsical masterpiece gets its vibrant, cloud-like colors purely from nature, thanks to three of our absolute favorite pantry superpowers: Suncore Foods® Blue Butterfly Pea Flower Powder, Suncore Foods® Purple Sweet Potato Powder, and Suncore Foods® Ruby Red Radish Powder. Whether you are topping a slice with cream cheese, drizzling it with honey, or just enjoying it warm out of the toaster, this bread is guaranteed to make your Tuesday extra happy. Stock up on your plant-based colors, fire up your toaster, and let’s bake the world a little brighter!
Yield: 2 Small Pullman
Levain:
90g bread flour
80g water
30g active sourdough starter
Tangzhong:
50g bread flour
240g whole milk
Final Dough:
575g bread flour
180g whole milk
70g sugar
2 large eggs
12g salt
60g unsalted butter, softened
Cotton Candy Colors:
Pink: ¼ tsp Suncore Foods® Ruby Red Radish Powder
Purple: ¾ tsp Suncore Foods® Purple Sweet Potato Powder
Blue: 1 tsp Suncore Foods® Blue Butterfly Pea Flower Powder
Additional flour, as needed, for rolling
1 egg, beaten, for egg wash
Click Here for Step-by-Step Directions ▼
1. Prepare the Levain — Mix the bread flour, water, and active sourdough starter until combined. Cover and allow to ferment at room temperature until bubbly, active, and ready to use.
2. Make the Tangzhong — Whisk the bread flour and whole milk together in a saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens into a smooth paste. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before using.
3. Mix the Dough — Combine the prepared levain, cooled tangzhong, bread flour, whole milk, sugar, eggs, and salt. Mix until a cohesive dough forms. Knead until gluten begins to develop, then gradually incorporate the softened butter. Continue kneading until the dough is smooth, elastic, and passes the windowpane test.
4. Divide and Color the Dough — Divide the dough into two equal portions. Set aside one half as the white dough. Divide the remaining half into three equal portions. Add
Suncore Foods® Ruby Red Radish Powder to one portion,
Suncore Foods® Purple Sweet Potato Powder to the second, and Suncore Foods® Blue Butterfly Pea Flower Powder to the third. Knead each portion until the color is evenly distributed. Place the four dough portions in separate covered containers and allow them to rise at room temperature until doubled in size.
5. Shape the Cotton Candy Rolls — Lightly grease two small Pullman pans. For each loaf, prepare three rolls: one pink, one purple, and one blue.
6. Cold Proof Overnight — Cover the pans and refrigerate overnight to develop flavor and make the baking schedule convenient.
7. Final Proof — Remove the pans from the refrigerator and allow the dough to come to room temperature and rise until the rolls reach the top of the pans. Depending on dough temperature and fermentation activity, this may take several hours.
8. Bake — Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Brush the tops gently with egg wash. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until the loaves are baked through and beautifully golden.
9. Cool — Remove the loaves from the pans and transfer them to a wire rack. Allow them to cool completely before pulling apart or slicing to reveal the soft white layers and pastel cotton candy swirls.
10. Notes — Use an active, well-fed starter for the best rise and texture. Keep the colored dough portions covered while working to prevent them from drying out. For the prettiest swirls, roll the layered dough evenly and avoid rolling so tightly that the dough cannot expand during proofing. Proofing times will vary with room temperature and starter activity. Let the dough’s appearance and volume guide you rather than relying on the clock alone.
