You might have seen sweet taro bread at an Asian bakery. Sometimes they are made into dinner rolls, and sometimes the taro filling is baked into a loaf of bread. Today I want to share this beautiful swirled taro bread that uses a very simple milk bread dough. You can easily put the bread dough together using a mixer. The filling is made with taro and purple sweet potato to add color, then sweetened with condensed milk and sugar. The whole loaf is very fluffy and tender, and just slightly sweet. It can be served by itself or with butter and jam for a fun breakfast.
Ingredients
Taro
Taro, or taro root, is called Yu Tou (芋头) in Chinese. It is a root vegetable, similar to potato and sweet potato. It has a fuzzy brown exterior and speckled cream colored interior with a hint of purple. Once cooked, it has a light sweet taste with a hint of savory umami. It is a very popular ingredient to be used in Asian desserts, such as ice cream, bread and cake. You can find taro in Chinese markets and most Asian grocery stores. When you shop for taro, you might see smaller ones like potatoes or huge roots that are the size of a head of cabbage. For a bigger taro root, you will often find the ones that are cut up and sold in sections. If you have leftover taro after making this recipe, you can steam it until tender and dip it in sugar to enjoy directly. It is also a nice ingredient to add to a savory soup, to replace potato.
Purple sweet potato
I used purple sweet potato in this recipe to add a purple color to the taro filling. I also really like the taste of it. If you do not have purple sweet potato, it is possible to use ube extract or purple food coloring to add the color. If you only use taro root, with no deep purple ingredient, your bread filling will turn out with a very light purple color.
Ingredients for the milk bread
The milk bread base uses a few simple ingredients:
Bread flour Whole milk Active dry yeast Sugar Salt Condensed milk Butter Egg
Different from other milk bread recipes, you only need to mix all the ingredients and knead the dough in a mixer. The bread will turn out extra fluffy, tender and light.
Bread filling
The filling is made with:
Taro Purple sweet potato Sugar Condensed milk Salt Milk
How to make taro bread
Prepare the milk bread dough
Prepare the taro filling
Assemble taro bread and cook
It does take some time and effort to make taro bread. But the dough is quite easy to work with, and the process is rather straightforward. Not to mention, the result is super rewarding! The bread is so pretty and has a great taste. I enjoy serving it for a nice Sunday brunch or using it as an edible gift. It is also perfect for occasions such as Mother’s Day.
How to serve taro bread
When it’s freshly made, taro bread is great, simply enjoyed on its own. Once refrigerated or frozen, I prefer to toast it before serving. It is also delightful served with butter and jam, peanut butter, or made into an extra fancy French toast.
Other delicious Asian bakery recipes
Chinese Walnut Cookies (核桃酥) Red Bean Bread (豆沙包) Coconut Mochi (糯米滋, Lo Mai Chi) Chinese Hot Dog Buns Hong Kong Egg Tart (港式蛋挞)
