Homemade 'King's Hawaiian' Bread (& teacher gift)

Have you ever had King's Hawaiian bread?  It's delicious, and my girls absolutely love it.  Problem is, it contains eggs, so my son can't eat it.  Therefore, I don't buy it very often.  Plus, it's a little pricey.

The other day, while searching for a bread to make for my son's preschool teachers, I stumbled across this one for Decadent Sweet Milk Bread.  I was intrigued since it called for sweetened condensed milk, and I pretty much love anything with sweetened condensed milk.  I used my bread machine to make the dough, but it's not necessary, or you can make the entire loaf in the machine.  I divided the dough and made 4 mini loaves.  It rose great, and the best part was that I was only planning on giving away 3 of them :D  You see where I'm going with this right?  My oldest daughter and I felt compelled to cut into the freshly baked 4th loaf, b/c you never want to give something away not knowing how it tastes!

I paired the mini loaves of bread with a small jar of "Christmas Marmalade" - I figured no one really needed to know that the green flecks were zucchini ;) - for my son's teachers.

My daughter took one bite, and with a mouthful, she said, ohmygahhh, this is soooo good.  I told her to swallow her food and then she said "It tastes just like King's Hawaiian!!"  That was one happy girl.  She asked me to make another loaf the next day, just for us.  And I did.  Because it was awesome.  And it was easy to make!  and it contains no eggs...score, score, SCORE!

My first time "braiding" bread...it needs some work.

Decadent Sweet Milk Bread (or Homemade 'King's Hawaiian') 
source: Frugal Dr. Mom

1 cup of water
½ cup of sweetened condensed milk *I used fat-free
1 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of butter
3 1/3 cups of bread flour*
2 teaspoons of yeast
Put ingredients in bread machine and set for dough cycle. When complete, remove and separate into three sections. Roll each out like snakes and mesh ends together. Braid and press ends together. Place in baking dish and allow to rise for 25-30 minutes. (Here's a little trick: before braiding your bread, heat your oven to 175 degrees and then turn off. Put your braided bread in the warmed oven to rise.) Brush melted butter or egg white on top after rising. Bake at 340 for 30-45 minutes, until top is golden brown. 

*The first time I made this, I used all-purpose flour and a teaspoon of vital wheat gluten. The second time I used bread flour.  It was delicious both times, so I don't think it makes much difference.


I'm planning on making rolls with this dough next time, and I'm going to take a loaf to my parents' house for Christmas Eve Brunch, and I think I'm going to make a loaf for my neighbors as well. Yes, this is definitely a keeper in the Mo'Betta house!

I'm linking this recipe up with the following linkys - It's a Blog Party, All the Small Stuff , 33 Shades of Green,  Blessed With Grace, From Mess Hall to Bistro, Eat at Home