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–+ servings
a loaf of ube bread with some slices

Ube Bread

Meenakshi
This deep purple-colored, sweet and fragrant ube bread has the most desirable taste coupled with super tender and soft crumbs. Made with purple yam paste, this Filipino ube bread recipe makes a perfect regular or special occasion sandwich bread.
5 from 2 votes
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 32 minutes
Proofing Time 3 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 17 minutes
Course Bread
Cuisine Asian
Servings 14
Calories 139 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 400 g bread flour
  • 250 g whole milk
  • 12 g sugar
  • 7 g instant dry yeast
  • 42 g unsalted butter softened (3 tbsp)
  • 1 ½ teaspoon ube paste
  • 8 g salt

Instructions
 

Step 1 Make ube bread dough

  • Start by combining all the dry ingredients, i.e. bread flour, instant yeast, salt, and sugar in the bowl of the stand mixer. Use a whisk to combine them well.
  • In a jar combine whole milk with ube paste. Give it a whisk and mix the ube paste and milk homogeneously.
  • Now place add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and place the bowl on the stand mixer.
  • Start kneading at low speed (2 for KitchenAid) and keep kneading until the dough comes together and starts to leave the sides of the bowl. It should take about 8-9 minutes.
  • Then bump up the speed to high (6 on KitchenAid) and knead for 2 more minutes. The dough should become smooth by now.
  • The next step is to add butter in 3 stages. One tablespoon at a time and keep kneading until it is fully incorporated. Add more and keep kneading until butter is incorporated well and the dough becomes smooth and shiny.
  • Finally, the dough should not be sticky and should be smooth to the touch.

Step 2 Bulk Fermentation

  • Now, remove the dough from the bowl of the stand mixer and place it in a greased bowl.
  • Cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel.
  • Let the dough proof in a warm place in your kitchen. In winter you can also place it in an oven with lights turned on.
  • Bulk ferment the dough until it becomes double in volume. It would take about 2 hours on a cold day and 60-90 minutes on a warm day. Since we are using instant yeast, it should take less time than the live yeast or dry yeast dough. So, adjust your timeline depending on the type of leavening agent used. It is always better to go by the volume of the dough risen than by any timeline as the ambient temperature highly influences the fermentation.
  • You can also ferment it overnight in the fridge if you want more yeast flavor in your bread.

Step 3 Shaping the ube loaf

  • When the dough has doubled in volume, punch it to deflate and remove on onto a lightly floured work surface.
  • Use the tip of your hands to flatten it and form it into a rectangular sheet. The width of the dough sheet should be about one and a half inches (1 ½ ) less than the length of your loaf pan. I am using a 9x4 inch Pullman loaf pan (though I am not making a Pullman loaf). So, I kept the width of the ube dough sheet at 7 ½ inches. You can also use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a rectangular sheet.
  • Now start rolling the dough sheet into a tight log.
  • Carefully lift the ube loaf and place it in a greased loaf pan.

Step 4 Proofing the loaf

  • Now cover the loaf pan with an oiled cling wrap and let it proof in a warm corner of your kitchen.
  • When the dough rises about an inch well above the rim of the loaf pan at the center of the pan, it is ready for baking.

Step 5 Baking ube bread

  • Preheat the oven to 385 oF. Place a tray with warm water in the lower rack of the oven and place the ube bread for baking on the middle rack.
  • Bake the ube bread for 15 minutes and then pull out the water tray from the lower rack.
  • Bake further for 15-17 minutes or until done.
  • Let the bread cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the loaf pan.
  • Then remove onto a cooling rack and let this purple yam bread cool for 30 minutes before slicing it.
  • Use a sharp serrated bread knife to slice neatly and enjoy!

Notes

  • Use bread flour for best results and do not substitute with regular flour or whole wheat flour.
  • Ube paste has a stronger taste and color than most ube powders that I have tested. So, if you cannot procure fresh ube, go for ube paste.
  • I have used butterfly brand ube paste, if you use some other brand, the exact amount required may vary as the strength and flavor of the paste will vary greatly. So, you might have to adjust for that. 
  • If you are using active dry yeast, the bulk fermentation and proofing stage will take longer than what is suggested in this recipe.
  • You can make this recipe into a loaf or dinner roll.
  • Since it is difficult to see the color of the crust while baking, go by the duration suggested in the recipe.

📋 Nutrition facts

table of nurtition facts

Nutrition

Calories: 139kcal
Keyword Filipino bread loaf, purple yam bread, Ube bread, ube bread loaf, ube bread recipe, ube milk bread
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