Japanese Milk Bread also known as Japan's Hokkaido milk bread, Shokupan is a feather light, Soft and fluffy milk bread which is buttery and soft at the same time. This bread makes the prefect sandwich or toast. This special milk bread is made using tangzhong which is what give it their light and fluffy character. Also I use one secret ingredient which gives the bread super soft texture.
Making soft Japanese milk bread is easy and takes less than 15 minutes to put together. In this blog post, learn how to make Soft Japanese Hokkaido Milk Bread with step by step pictures and video.
Japanese Milk Bread Recipe
I have to admit this is the most fluffy, tender bread I have ever baked. To mention I have tried so many bread recipes in the past. The bread has a light, fluffy and moist texture to it which comes from the milk paste which we add to it. Also the bread is made mainly with milk, condensed milk and basic ingredients.
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About Japanese Milk Bread
Japanese milk bread also known as shokupan or hokkaido milk bread. "Hokkaido milk" refers to milk produced on Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island, known for its creamy, high-quality milk used in various dairy products and increasingly popular in skincare. This bread uses milk and milk products to achieve the soft fluffy texture hence the name. Milk bread is also described as feather like or cloud like bread.
This bread is made of milk, flour, sugar, butter, sweetened condensed milk, egg and yeast. It's called milk bread because milk is used in multiple forms which keeps the bread moist and soft along with the tangzhong. The bread uses a special technique known as Tangzhong method to make the soft texture.
Watch Japanese Milk Bread Video
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What is Tangzhong?
Tangzhong is a water roux made by cooking flour and water together to create a paste. This is used used to improve the texture of bread and prevent the bread from going stale easier.
The advantage of tangzhong is to lock in the moisture in bread which infact prevents them from going dry and hard. This mixture then holds moisture so that, when it is added to a bread mix, the dough bakes with a soft, fluffy texture and the bread then keeps for longer.
Japanese Milk Bread Ingredients
This bread requires ingredients like usual bread but it uses milk as its wet ingredients or hydration. Basic staple pantry ingredients which you already have on hand is used in this bread.
Plain Flour | All purpose flour (maida) - plain flour is used in the making of Japanese milk bread. Plain flour gives the fluffy light texture to the bread. You can use bread flour inlace of plain flour too.
Milk - Use full fat milk for this bread. Even though you can use almond milk, soy milk or any other plant based milk in this recipe. It is recommended to use cows milk for proper texture and flavour.
Butter - High quality butter provides the necessary moistness to the bread. Butter adds the required flavour the bread.
Sugar - sugar is added to activate the yeast and make them live throughout the bread making process.
Dry yeast - I prefer to use dry yeast for my bread making. It is easy to find and also works great.
Sweetened condensed milk - this is my secret ingredient in getting the perfect texture in bread. It adds moistness, sweetness and rich buttery flavour to the bread.
How to Activate Yeast?
- Take warm water in a bowl. Use Luke warm water. You can use warm milk as well. Dip your finger in the water and it should be very warm. Just like a warm bath water.
- sprinkle little sweetness like sugar, honey. Because yeast loves warm and sweet environment.
- now sprinkle yeast over it. I use dry yeast.
- leave aside for 5 mins to activate. The yeast mix should be bubbly and foamy. This means yeast is activated.
If your mixture doesn’t look foamy.
- Then you must have added yeast to too hot water so the yeast has died.
- You have used cold water so yeast didn’t activated.
- Your yeast is expired. Always store yeast in freezer in an air right container.
There are few techniques which I learned over the years to get a perfect loaf of bread. one of the mail which I get often is “What is the trick to making soft milk bread?”. So I am spilling all the beans to get a perfect loaf of milk bread. One of the most important step in getting perfect soft bread is kneading the dough. Dough has to be kneaded until it passes window pane test. If you are using stand mixer, then the job is easy. But if you are kneading by hand, it will take time and lots of elbow grease.
Kneading the dough using hands
If you are making bread with hands. You might have to knead the dough using your heels of your hand to push the dough out and bring it back to the centre, turning it over and repeating the process again until it passes the window pane test. Kneading dough with hands takes time, energy and patience. It will take around 15 to 25 mins. Meanwhile If you are using stand mixer or hand mixer then the process of kneading will be much faster. I found out that it takes a good 10 to 15 mins for the stand mixer to knead the bread dough.
Window Pane Test in Bread - Window pane test is very important to check whether the gluten development in dough is formed. This helps in getting the texture of the bread. Take a small ball of the dough and stretch it into a square. Keep on stretching until it becomes a thin film in the middle without breaking. The dough must be thin enough to pass light through it. If it is obtained without any tear, then your dough is properly kneaded.
How to Make Japanese Milk Bread (Stepwise Pictures)
Tangzhong
1)Start by making a paste. Take flour and water in a sauce pan and mix till it gets paste like texture.
2)Now place this on heat and cook until it thickens and becomes like a thick sticky dough. Set aside for at least 10 minutes so it gets warm. This is your tangzhong.
Activate Yeast
3)After the paste has rested. Activate the yeast mixture. Take warm milk, sugar and yeast in a small bowl.
4)Mix well and set aside for 5 to 10 mins for the yeast to get foamy. The yeast has to become foamy.
Making Bread Dough
5)Now lets make the bread dough. In a stand mixer bowl, Add in egg.
6)Add in the foamy yeast mixture.
7)Add in sweetened condensed milk.
8)Add in plain flour.
9)Sprinkle in the salt.
10)Add in the cooled tangzhong paste.
11) If you don't have a stand mixer, you can mix this in a bowl using hand or electric beater with dough hook. Now transfer the bowl to the stand mixer and Knead the dough for at least 5 minutes, so the gluten can activate.
12)Now start adding the butter 1 tbsp at a time and continue mixing until all butter is added..
13)Knead this for 5 to 10 minutes on low speed until the dough becomes soft and elastic.
14)The dough is ready.
Window pane test
15)Window pane test is very important to check whether the gluten development in dough is formed. This helps in getting the texture of the bread. Take a small ball of the dough and stretch it into a square. Keep on stretching until it becomes a thin film in the middle without breaking. The dough must be thin enough to pass light through it. If it is obtained without any tear, then your dough is properly kneaded.
Proofing
16)Take the dough in a work surface and shape it into a smooth ball.
17)Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a cloth. Let it rest in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours till it is doubled in size.
18)Now the dough should be doubled in size.
Prepare loaf pan
19)Meanwhile grease a loaf pan with butter and set aside.
Shaping Bread
20)Remove to dough to work surface. Divide the dough into three equal portions.
21)Take one dough ball and use a rolling pin to roll it into a short rectangle sheet.
22)Gently roll it like a burrito. Repeat this for remaining two dough.
23)Now the dough is shaped. Do this for the remaining two portion of dough.
Final Proofing Bread
24)Place the rolled dough into the loaf pan, cover the pan with cloth and let it rise somewhere warm again for 45 mins to 1 hour.
Baking Bread
25)The bread should have risen above the loaf pan. Now during the last 30 mins or rising, preheat oven to 180 degree C.
26)Brush the top of the bread with egg wash. I mixed one egg with some milk for making egg wash.
27)Pop the bread in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 30 to 35 mins.
28)Remove and let it cool in the tin for at least 10 mins before un-molding. Place the bread on a wire rack and let it cool completely. Slice and serve.
Expert Tips
- Make sure the paste which you make comes to room temp or warm before incorporating it into the dough.
- Warm full fat milk is used in the making of the dough to attain the texture.
- Make sure you follow the shaping technique for creating the proper flakiness and texture in the bread.
Storage & Serving
- Japanese milk bread is best served warm, freshly sliced.
- Next Day, Great for making sandwiches.
- Two Days After, Toasted and slathered with butter and jam.
Storage Suggestions
- Japanese milk bread can be stored at room temperature upto 2 days.
- Wrap it and store in a bread box in fridge upto 4 to 5 days.
- You can freeze the bread upto a month. Wrap the bread tightly in plastic wrap and a layer of aluminium foil tightly before freezing.
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📖 Recipe Card
Japanese Milk Bread Recipe (Hokkaido Milk Bread)
Equipment
- Loaf Pan
- Cooking pot
- Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
For Paste (tangzhong)
- 2 tbsp All Purpose flour 30 grams
- ⅓ cup Water 78 ml
For Yeast
- ½ cup Warm Milk 120 ml
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tbsp Dry Yeast
For Dough
- 2½ cup All Purpose flour 300 grams
- ¼ cup Sweetened Condensed Milk 76 grams
- 1 large Egg
- 2 tsp Salt
- 3 tbsp Butter softened
For Egg wash
- 1 medium Egg
- 2 tbsp Milk or Cream
Instructions
- Start by making a paste. Take flour and water in a sauce pan and mix till it gets paste like texture. Now place this on heat and cook until it thickens and becomes like a thick sticky dough. Set aside for at least 10 minutes so it gets warm. This is your tangzhong.
- After the paste has rested. Activate the yeast mixture. Take warm milk, sugar and yeast in a small bowl. Mix well and set aside for 5 to 10 mins for the yeast to get foamy. The yeast has to become foamy.
- Now lets make the bread dough. In a stand mixer bowl, Add in egg, yeast mixture, sweetened condensed milk, plain flour, salt, and the milk flour paste which we have prepared earlier. If you don't have a stand mixer, you can mix this in a bowl using hand or electric beater with dough hook.
- Now transfer the bowl to the stand mixer and Knead the dough for at least 5 minutes, so the gluten can activate. Now start adding the butter 1 tbsp at a time and continue mixing until all butter is added.. Knead this for 5 to 10 minutes on low speed until the dough becomes soft and elastic.
- Window Pane Test in Bread - Window pane test is very important to check whether the gluten development in dough is formed. This helps in getting the texture of the bread. Take a small ball of the dough and stretch it into a square. Keep on stretching until it becomes a thin film in the middle without breaking. The dough must be thin enough to pass light through it. If it is obtained without any tear, then your dough is properly kneaded.
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with a cloth. Let it rest in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours till it is doubled in size. Now the dough should be doubled in size. Remove to dough to work surface. Divide the dough into three equal portions.
- Meanwhile grease a loaf pan with butter and set aside. Take one dough ball and use a rolling pin to roll it into a short rectangle sheet. Gently roll it like a burrito. Repeat this for remaining two dough.
- Place the rolled dough into the loaf pan, cover the pan with cloth and let it rise somewhere warm again for 45 mins to 1 hour. The bread should have risen above the loaf pan.
- Now during the last 30 mins or rising, preheat oven to 180 degree C. Brush the top of the bread with egg wash.
- Pop the bread in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 30 to 35 mins. Remove and let it cool in the tin for at least 10 mins before un-molding. Place the bread on a wire rack and let it cool completely. Slice and serve.
Notes
- Make sure the paste which you make comes to room temp or warm before incorporating it into the dough.
- Warm full fat milk is used in the making of the dough to attain the texture.
- Make sure you follow the shaping technique for creating the proper flakiness and texture in the bread.
Serving Suggestions
- Japanese milk bread is best served warm, freshly sliced.
- Next Day, Great for making sandwiches.
- Two Days After, Toasted and slathered with butter and jam.
Storage
- Japanese milk bread can be stored at room temperature upto 2 days.
- Wrap it and store in a bread box in fridge upto 4 to 5 days.
- You can freeze the bread upto a month. Wrap the bread tightly in plastic wrap and a layer of aluminium foil tightly before freezing.
Nutrition
If you have any questions not covered in this post and if you need help, leave me a comment or mail me @[email protected] and I’ll help as soon as I can.
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