Japanese Milk Bread Loaf

Japanese Milk Bread

While the rest of the world has been busy baking sourdough bread, I have been busy perfecting my milk bread recipes. Of course, there are days when a crusty loaf of sourdough is exactly what I want (especially for my toast with avocado!), but most days, it’s the soft and squishy milk bread that I crave the most.

Japanese Milk Bread is one of my favourite bread recipes, not least because there are so many different ways you can shape and use the dough. Japanese Milk Bread forms the basis of many Asian breads and buns, so once you have mastered the basic milk bread recipe, you can use the same recipe to make many different shapes.

Milk Bread Loaf

The classic way of baking Japanese Milk Bread is in a regular loaf pan to make Shokupan, which is essentially a loaf which you can pull apart in 2 or more segments.

Another popular method is to bake the Milk Bread as a sandwich bread, also called a Pullman’s loaf or pain de mie. This is the shape I make when I plan to make Japanese-style French Toast, although I generally have to make 2 loaves because there is never such a thing as leftover Milk Bread in my home!

What is Milk Bread?

• Milk Bread is a Japanese-style bread which contains milk to add a bit of sweetness and richness to the dough.
• The taste and texture is quite similar to a French brioche, but with less eggs and butter, and slightly more structure.
• Making a Japanese Milk Bread is like making an enriched dough, but with the addition of a paste or starter called a Yudane or Tangzhong.

Yudane or Tangzhong

When making Milk Bread, you need to make a Yudane or Tangzhong. Both names refer to a paste or roux made from flour and a hot liquid (either water and/or milk).

The cooled paste is mixed into an otherwise common enriched bread dough, but because the paste has a high liquid content, it adds moisture to the dough, which creates more air pockets in the dough, which in turn results in a soft and fluffy bread.

Once you have tried making bread with a Tangzhong, you might possibly never try another bread recipe again!

Milk Bread Recipe

This Milk Bread recipe is the same as that which I use for Japanese Milk Bread or Shokupan. In fact, it is a recipe I turn to very frequently whenever I want to make very moist, soft and fluffy bread, whatever the form.

There are various ways in which you can shape your Milk Bread, and one way is to make a classic sandwich bread. There is something strangely satisfying about making a homemade version of an industrially-produced loaf of bread 😉

Pullman Loaf

To make a classic sandwich bread, you can use a regular loaf pan (to make classic Shokupan), or a special Pullman loaf pan.

A Pullman loaf pan is shaped like most regular loaf pans, but it also comes with a lid to create a flat top surface. During baking, as the bread rises, the lid will prevent the bread from rising to form a domed surface; the bread will instead fill the enclosed loaf pan completely.

Pullman Loaf Pan Substitute

If you don’t own a Pullman loaf pan, you can still achieve the same end result with some creativity in the kitchen.

One tip I found in Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume 2 by Julia Child and Simone Beck is that, as a substitute for a Pullman loaf pan or a pain de mie pan, you can use an ordinary loaf pan, cover the pan with a sheet of baking paper (Julia Child suggests foil) followed by a metal sheet pan, and top that with an oven-proof weight (such as a brick, cast-iron skillet or cast-iron lid) to hold the sheet pan down like the lid on a Pullman loaf pan.

How to Make Milk Bread

Making Milk Bread is very similar to making any other loaf of bread, except that you also add a floury paste to the dough. This paste, called a Yudane or Tangzhong, takes only a few minutes to make, but it makes all the difference to the finished loaf of bread.

Once you get started, you will quickly see that this milk bread recipe is quite similar to a brioche recipe, both in terms of ingredients, as well as texture of the dough.

Step 1

Make the Tangzhong by whisking together the ingredients in a small saucepan. Place the saucepan over low heat, and continue whisking until the mixture forms a thick paste. You want a thick enough consistency so that, as you whisk the mixture, the whisk leaves lines which do not move.

Scrape the Tangzhong into a small bowl and set it aside to cool. Once cooled, cover the bowl with clingfilm and place it in the fridge overnight.

If you are in a hurry, you can use the Tangzhong as soon as it has cooled to room temperature. But leaving the Tangzhong overnight allows it to develop more flavour.

Step 2

Measure the flour, yeast, salt and sugar into the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Lightly mix the ingredients together.

Step 3

Add the egg and Tangzhong. Use the dough hook to start to incorporate everything together. Slowly add the milk until a sticky dough starts to form. Then add the butter, one tablespoon at a time.

Step 4

Knead the dough on medium speed for 10-15 minutes until you have a dough which passes the windowpane test.

To perform the “windowpane test”, pinch off a small piece of dough, roll it into a ball and use your hands to gently stretch the dough. If the dough can stretch to form a thin sheet and be almost translucent so that you can see the light through it, your dough has passed the “windowpane test”. This means that you have kneaded the dough sufficiently and that the dough is ready to be proofed.

At this stage, the dough will be somewhat sticky and tacky, mostly because of the butter and high liquid content. However, once the dough has had its first proofing, it will be less sticky to the touch and easier to handle.

Step 5

Lightly oil a large mixing bowl. Roll the dough into a smooth-ish ball and place it inside the bowl.

Cover with a clean tea towel or bowl cover, and set it aside somewhere warm for about 1.5 hours, or until it has doubled in size.

Step 6

Once the dough has doubled in size, gently remove the dough from the bowl. The dough will deflate as you handle it.

Step 7

Divide the dough into 3 equal portions. Use a digital scale for even-sized buns.

Lightly grease a Pullman loaf pan and its lid.

Roll each piece of dough into a ball, then roll it into an oval shape measuring approximately 20 x 13 cm/8 x 5 inches. Roll up the dough from the short end so that you have a log about 5 inches long. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.

Place the logs of dough into the prepared Pullman loaf pan.

Step 8

Place the pan somewhere warm, covered with plastic wrap, for about 30-60 minutes, or until the dough has risen to about 1 cm/0.5 inch below the rim of the loaf pan.

Step 9

Slide the lid onto the loaf pan, and bake in a preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until nicely golden. To check if the bread has coloured nicely, simply slide the lid off to have a peek.

Tips for Making Milk Bread

• When making bread, even Milk Bread, I prefer to use bread flour. Bread flour contains more protein than plain flour (all-purpose flour), which will help create more gluten, which will result in a chewier, nicer-tasting texture.
• Although it is possible to make Milk Bread by hand and with an upper-body workout, an electric stand-mixer will be your best friend whenever making any enriched dough.

Tips for Making Bread Dough Ahead of Time

I love baking bread, but I don’t love getting up extra early to get started on the dough. So I typically make the dough the night before and allow it to rise slowly in the fridge overnight. The longer proofing time has the added benefit of allowing the dough to develop more flavour and a better texture. Come the morning, the dough will have at least doubled in size, and it will be ready for shaping as per the recipe.

To make the dough the night before:

1. Make the dough as per the recipe.
2. Place the dough into a large oiled bowl.
3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a reusable bowl cover.
4. Place the bowl into the fridge.
5. Let the dough rise overnight, or for at least 8-10 hours.
6. The next morning, the dough should have at least doubled in size.
7. Gently remove the dough from the bowl.
8. The dough is ready for shaping and the second proof as per the recipe.
9. As the dough will be cold from the fridge, the second proof may take slightly longer.