Japanese Milk Bread

Classic Japanese Milk Bread made with cream, milk, and an extra special something that makes it super soft, fluffy, and moist. Stays fresh for days longer than regular bread.

What is Japanese Milk Bread (also known as Shokupan and Hokkaido Milk Bread)?

My friends, your life is about to change. Japanese Milk Bread is quite possibly the best bread on the planet. Yes, it’s true. My Overnight Yeast Rolls, French Bread Rolls, and Bread Bowls are all pretty spectacular. But if I could only choose one bread to eat before I die, it would have to be this Japanese Milk Bread.

When I lived in Japan nearly twenty years ago (What the HECK? How can I be this old?) there was one choice for bread at the store, and this was it. Why were there not any other choices? Because everybody took one bite of this bread and knew they had found the holy grail of bread and that there was no need for any other varieties.

I actually never tried making this bread at home until last month, and I cannot believe I have deprived myself for the past twenty years. I made this bread for three days in a row, because I COULD NOT STOP EATING IT. (I made a total of four loaves). My family could not stop eating it, either. It’s like crack in bread form. Just thought I should warn you 🙂

This bread is white and fluffy and feathery and sweet and gorgeous. It’s actually made with heavy whipping cream along with milk. It’s also made with a special roux called “tangzhong.”

What is Tangzhong?

And why does it sound Chinese rather than Japanese? Well, it actually means “water roux” and was invented by the Japanese, but popularized by a Chinese woman (who presumably gave it a Chinese name). It’s a simple mixture of water and flour, cooked on the stove until it turns into a paste.

Why would you do this? Well, it all has to do with chemistry. Cooking the flour with water pre-activates the starches in the flour, making them more able to absorb water. Because the starch holds on to this water, it creates more internal steam while baking, giving your bread a higher rise and fluffier texture. Your bread will also stay moist and fresh longer after baking. So yes, it’s totally worth the extra step to make it (which really just takes about two minutes).

Ingredients for Japanese Milk Bread

Don’t worry. You don’t need anything fancy and won’t need to take a trip to the pungent Asian market to get anything for this bread. You might already have everything you need! Take a look at the list of ingredients and see:

• water
• bread flour (easily made at home–I’ll tell you how in a minute)
• whole milk
• yeast
• salt
• sugar
• heavy whipping cream
• eggs
• butter

How to Make Bread Flour

Bread flour just has a little extra gluten in it. So all you have to do is add 1 teaspoon of gluten to each cup of regular all-purpose flour. I use Bob’s Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten. You can order it from Amazon by clicking on my affiliate link there, or you can find it in any grocery store. But no biggie if you don’t want to use bread flour. You can use regular flour and your bread will still be wonderful and delicious.

How to Make Japanese Milk Bread

I’ve got lots of pictures for you to help you along every step of the way. So let’s get started!

First, make your tangzhong. Just put six tablespoons of water with two tablespoons of flour into a small pan on the stove. Mix it with a whisk over medium-low heat, making sure to get rid of all the lumps. After a few minutes, it will thicken to a paste.

You’ll know it’s ready when you drag your whisk across the bottom and the lines remain. At this point, remove it from the heat and let it cool.

Next you’ll heat 1/4 cup of whole milk to about 110 degrees F. (Just pop it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds until it is lukewarm). Sprinkle with 1 1/2 teaspoons of active, dry yeast. Set the milk and yeast aside for about ten minutes, until the yeast is frothy.

Now your tangzhong should be cool enough to be mixed with other ingredients. (It’s o.k. if it’s still a little warm). Add one egg and whisk in. Then add 1/4 cup of heavy whipping cream and mix in.

Set that aside for a minute while you get your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Now add to your mixer 3 tablespoons of sugar, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, and 2 1/2 cups of bread flour. You can use a spoon to stir that a little if you like.

Then pour in your tangzhong/egg/cream mixture and your milk/yeast mixture. Turn your mixer on to speed one or two and let the dough hook do its work. You may need to stop from time to time and use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl. If you feel like the dough is too sticky, you can add up to an extra 1/4 cup of flour, a little at a time.

Finally, you’ll add two tablespoons of soft butter, one tablespoon at a time. Just drop one in there and let the dough hook knead the dough until the butter disappears. Then do the same with the second tablespoon.

At this point, the dough will be sticking to the bottom of the bowl, but when you touch it, it will be barely sticky. Now you can either leave the dough in the mixing bowl, or transfer it to another bowl to rise.

Now I have a trick for getting this to rise more quickly. You might already know this trick, but I’m still telling you, just in case 🙂 Heat your oven to 200 degrees F, and then turn it off. Put your dough in a metal or glass bowl (I just leave it in the mixer bowl), cover it with a cloth, and put it in the warm oven for about an hour, until doubled in size.

After the dough has risen, punch it down, remove it from the bowl, and divide it into three equal pieces. (I actually weighed my pieces on a kitchen scale to make sure they were equal).

Now you’re going to roll out each piece on a floured surface, like this:

It’s o.k. if it isn’t in a perfect square. Now fold the dough in thirds, like this:

Now just roll it up from one end to the other.

Do this for each of the pieces of dough.

Now put the dough into a greased and floured bread pan, with the seams of the rolls down.

It’s time to let the dough rise again. You can cover it and leave it on the counter, or pop it back into a warm oven for about an hour. You’ll know it’s ready to bake when you poke it with your finger and the dough bounces back slowly, but you can still see the indentation of your finger.

Now we want this bread to be really pretty, so there’s one more thing we need to do before baking. In a small bowl, crack an egg and whisk it with a splash of milk or water. Then brush it gently over the top of the dough.

It’s time to bake! Pop this in a 350-degree F. oven and bake for about 30 minutes, until nicely browned on top. (If you feel your bread is getting too brown before time is up, just lay a piece of tin foil over the top for the last few minutes of baking).

Isn’t it gorgeous? Just let it cool for a few minutes before turning it out of the pan. Then slice and enjoy! (And oh boy, will you ever enjoy it!)

For more amazing bread recipes, try my Overnight Yeast Rolls, Home Made Hamburger Buns, and Bread Bowls. You can find all my bread recipes in one convenient place by clicking here.

Recipe adapted from Hokkaido Milk Bread on Food52.

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