Yes, you can use condensed milk in bread recipes. Usually, when I am using condensed milk in other recipes that don't require a full can, I will set the leftover condensed milk aside and use it to make a loaf of bread. If I don't have enough of the condensed milk to fill 1.2 cup, I just add some water until I have the full amount. This is one of the easy bread recipes I use to make a loaf of bread with condensed milk.
- 1 cup water (room temperature)
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tablespoon butter (or margarine)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 1/2 cups bread flour
Gather the ingredients.
In a medium bowl, mix water and yeast.
Add sweetened condensed milk, butter, and salt. Stir.
Add 2 cups of flour and mix well.
Slowly add in remaining flour, enough flour to make a dough that follows the spoon around the bowl.
Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead for 4 minutes, adding more flour as needed until the dough is soft and smooth to the touch.
Place dough in medium greased bowl. Turn dough over in bowl so that the top is also lightly greased. Cover with clean cloth and let rise in warm, draft-free place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Turn dough out onto lightly floured board and knead for 4 minutes or until the bubbles are out of the bread.
Shape dough into a loaf. Set in greased 8" x 4" bread pan. Cover and let rise in warm, draft-free place for 45 minutes or until doubled in size.
Bake loaf at 350 F for 45 minutes or until the bread is golden brown.
Remove loaf from sheet and let cool on rack.
Bread Baking Tips
- Keep yeast stored in an airtight container and in the refrigerator. Heat, moisture, and air kills the yeast and prevents bread dough from rising.
- To keep bread soft, store in a plastic bag.
- Store flour properly to keep it from spoiling.
- Bread flour has a higher amount of gluten than all-purpose flour. This means that bread made with bread flour will rise higher than bread made with all-purpose flour. You can make your own bread flour by adding 1-1/2 teaspoons gluten to each cup of all-purpose flour you use in your bread recipe.
- Add a half cup of raisins or dried cranberries to the bread dough for extra sweetness.
- Spraying loaves with water while they bake will produce a crispy crust.
- Brush loaves with egg white before baking to produce a shiny crust.
- Brush loaves with milk before baking to produce a dark, shiny crust.
- Brush loaves with butter immediately after baking to produce a soft crust.
- Use bottled water instead of tap water to make your breads. Water softeners and chlorinated public water can sometimes kill the yeast needed to make your bread dough rise.
Freezing and Storage
Once baked, the bread can be frozen for up to 6 months. Simply wrap it in foil, then store in a zip-top bag and freeze. Thaw it at room temperature and warm in a low-temperature oven. The dough can also be frozen, with little impact on the yeast. Freeze the dough in an airtight container. Once ready to bake, let the dough thaw at room temperature. Depending on the size of the frozen dough, this could take a few hours. Then proceed with baking.