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Milk Bread (Shokupan)

Soft and pillowy Japanese style milk bread.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour 27 minutes
Cook Time 16 minutes
Servings 2 loaves

Ingredients
  

Tangzhong

  • 40 g all purpose flour
  • 175 g whole milk

Yeast Mixture

  • 20 g yeast
  • 40 g warm water

Dough

  • tangzhong
  • yeast mixture
  • 750 g all purpose flour
  • 120 g granulated sugar
  • 13 g salt
  • 260 g whole milk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 6 tbsp butter cubed

Instructions
 

Tangzhong

  • Whisk together the flour and milk in a saucepan over medium heat until the mixture thickens into a paste. Set aside to cool.

Yeast Mixture

  • Mix together warm water and yeast and allow to bloom.

Dough

  • Weigh out dry ingredients in a bowl.
  • Whisk together the milk and eggs in the bowl of the stand mixer. Add tangzhong and yeast mixture.
  • Pour in the dry ingredients and mix until a shaggy dough forms.
  • Add in cubed butter a few at a time while the dough is mixing. Continue to allow the dough to mix in the stand mixer until its soft and smooth. If needed - take out the dough and kneed by hand using the slap & fold method. The dough may feel slightly tacky but shouldn't be sticky.

Proofing, Shaping & Baking

  • Form the dough into a large ball and place in a large bowl and cover until completely doubled in size.
  • Punch down the dough and split the dough into 6 pieces that weigh 250g each. Form them into a ball and set aside.
  • Roll out each ball into a rectangle on a lightly floured surface and fold in the sides over each other. Roll up the dough and place into a greased or lined bread pan. Three rolls go into each loaf of bread. (see photos above)
  • Cover the pans and allow to rise again until it doubles in size.
  • Preheat the oven to 350℉. Once bread has doubled in size, brush with egg wash and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and an internal temp of 180℉ is reached.
  • Immediately remove bread from pans once out of the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.