Japanese Milk Bread, also known as shokupan (食パン), is amazingly soft, pull-apart bread that is a staple in most bakeries in Asia. This bread can be eaten on its own, toasted with butter, or topped with delicious spreads. It’s a very versatile bread and a staple in my home! Best of all, it’s surprisingly simple to make.
To get the distinctive fluffiness and texture of milk bread, this recipe uses the Tangzhong method, which I believe originated as a Japanese technique popularized with a Chinese name by Yvonne Chen in the book The 65°C Bread Doctor.
Tangzhong is actually very simple – it’s just an extra step in the bread making process and involves whisking a small amount of flour and water over heat until the consistency becomes a thick slurry that resembles mashed potatoes. This bread roux starter is then combined with the main bread dough to help create lower amounts of gluten development so the bread is not as tough.
Using the Tangzhong method will make it sticker and harder to knead by hand, but if you have a stand mixer it will help immensely! The advantages to doing this are worth it. It results in:
- Fluffier, higher-rising bread
- Bread that holds more moisture that will stay fresher for longer
You can bake the bread as a loaf, or split it into equal-sized pieces to form dinner rolls. I’ve tried many different variations of shokupan designs, and they’ve all turned out great 99% of the time! (The other 1% I don’t like to talk about… )
If you’ve seen milk bread in Asian bakeries, one distinctive feature is that they are very square. This shape can be achieved with a Pullman loaf pan, which is a bread tin with a lid on top. I absolutely love the versatility of a Pullman loaf pan, and can choose whether I want the bread to rise naturally or keep it contained so each slice is a perfect square. Keeping the lid on does result in a slightly denser bread because it doesn’t have room to expand, but the taste will still the same! One of my favorite brands for this is USA Pan, and I highly recommend their pan with the cover! Alternatively, you can use any deep 9″x4″ (23cm x 10cm) pan.
Tips:
- If your roux is having trouble thickening after 5 minutes, add 1 tsp of bread flour at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
- If you are using active dry yeast, it’s important to activate it first in either lukewarm water or milk before adding it to the rest of the dough. The optimal temperature of the liquid should be between 98°-110°F or 36.5°-40.5°C.
- Make sure your bread has enough room to expand on the second rise. Try to leave small, evenly-spaced gaps between the rolls, and they will fill in after the second rise as well as during baking.
Japanese Milk Bread
Ingredients
Starter (Roux)
- 6 tbsp bread flour 48g
- 1/4 cup whole milk 60g
- 1/4 cup water 60g
Main Dough
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast 7g
- 1/2 cup milk, lukewarm 120g
- 2 1/2 cup bread flour 370g
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar 45g
- 1 tbsp dry milk powder 8g
- 1 tsp salt 6g
- 1 egg, beaten and room temperature 50g
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened 57g
Extra
- 2 tbsp melted butter or egg wash 30g
Instructions
- In a small saucepan on low-medium heat, combine the starter ingredients. Whisk continuously for about 5 minutes or until the starter thickens to the consistency of mashed potatoes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
- Activate the yeast and heat the milk to lukewarm temperature and sprinkle the yeast over the surface of the milk. Do not mix and let it sit undisturbed for about 5 minutes. If the yeast is active, bubbles should appear on the surface. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine bread flour, sugar, yeast, dry milk powder, and salt. Then add the milk with activated yeast, starter, and beaten egg. Using the dough hook attachment, beat on low speed for about 5 minutes. Add in butter and beat for another 5 minutes. Increase the speed for the final 5 minutes, and continue kneading until the dough passes the windowpane test. Transfer to bowl and cover with plastic wrap or towel. Let it rest for 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size.
- Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and punch the dough down to release air bubbles. Divide into 4 equal pieces and roll out each to a rectangular shape about 8"x4" (20cm x 10cm) long. Roll up from the shorter side and place in a lightly greased 9"x4" (23cm x 10cm) bread pan. Repeat until all dough is in the pan. Cover and let it rest for 45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. After the second rest, brush the top of the dough with egg wash or melted butter. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top is golden brown. If the top is browning too quickly but the inside is not done yet, loosely cover the top with aluminum foil to prevent it from burning.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes in the bread pan before transferring to a cooling rack. Let cool for at least 10 additional minutes before slicing.
Notes
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