Japanese Milk Bread Recipe (2024)

The first time I made this, I accidentally omitted the water for the starter because it was not included in the list of ingredients.

I am a bit upset with this recipe.I love to make bread, all kinds of breads.Then I made this recipe, all of of sudden my wife decided that was"THE BREAD" I am stuck making it once a weekWhat a great recipe, I personally find it a bit sweet, I make it once a week and I put 20% less sugar.It is fascinating how the moisture trapped in the "roux" releases and keeps the bread moist for days.One of the greatest recipe I have ever come across.

This recipe makes soft squishy delicious bread. I made two batches to use up all of the starter. With the first, I divided the dough into 16 portions and stuffed with Chinese bbq pork mix. Baked on a sheet with parchment. With the second, I rolled them into knots. Placed the knots into a round cake pan to make pull apart bread. I used the same instructions for letting it rest twice - the second time after I formed the buns and knots. The buns took about 30 minutes. The knots 35 minutes. A hit!

I've been looking for a recipe like this for years! This is also called "shokupan" in Japan. I made this in a 13x4 pullman loaf pan, but to fill the pan you'd need to double the recipe (i.e., use the entire amount of starter and double the amount of flour, egg, etc.). My stand mixer also broke so I mixed by hand -- it took twice the amount of time, but I got my exercise in, and the resulting bread was still soft and springy, with a wonderfully elastic (but not gummy) crumb.

The milk/flour starter concept can be used with most any yeast dough recipe to give the finished product a lighter and softer texture. I use it with cinnamon rolls, whole wheat bread, and sweet breads. Just use some of the flour called for in the recipe, and the milk for some of the total liquid quantity in the recipe to make the starter, let it cool, and add in the first kneading stage.

This bread is absolutely 100% intended for a pullman loaf pan. Why on earth don't the instructions reflect that? The ingredients don't either. I made this in a standard sized pullman pan and the numbers just didn't add up. The bread therefore got overblown and collapsed. I agree with the person who suggested you might need to double or at least increase the recipe by 50% in order to fill the pan. Even the picture shows a loaf baked in a pullman!! Very disappointing- Please adjust!

To simplify preparation, I used a bread machine to mix, knead and provide the initial rise. At the time the machine switched to the bake cycle, I quickly removed the dough and placed it in a "pain de mie" (pullman bread) pan for the final rise and baked it in accordance with the typical pain de mie recipe (King Arthur Flour website). Still delicious, beautifully formed -- and much easier!

The stiffer the tangzhong is, the more delicate/softer the structure becomes

I followed the recipe to the letter, but had to do everything by hand, for lack of a stand mixer. It still came out great! Tender crumb and thin crust. I found, however, that it tastes more like a French brioche than a Japanese "shokupan." I should have realized this the moment I saw the egg in the list of ingredients. I want to try again, leaving out the egg. I am looking for a milky-white crumb.

You may have omitted the water because it is mentioned in the instructions, but not the list of ingredients.

King Arthur Bread Flour is 120 g/cup, so 2½ cups is around 300 g.

O.K., I’m done searching for bread recipes. This one is like no other, a dream come true. I couldn’t care less about how healthy or unhealthy this bread is. It flawlessly meets my three pillars of excellence: looks good, tastes good,(we can’t stop eating it), and smells good. People I trust couldn’t believe I made it.I am happy to share my only deviation from the recipe: I used Caputo 00 Chef’s Flour throughout the entire process.Go for it!Thank you, NY Times

I would say make sure you use the right amount of yeast and that your kitchen is kept warm when proofing your dough. Your dough should double its original size at least. Also, be sure to cool your bread to a bit warmer than room temp before removing from the pan and cutting. Be sure to follow the steps carefully and exactly. Try watching tutorials on YouTube. I find them helpful and you can get a technique that's comfortable and effective for you.Hope this helps.

don't bother waiting for the starter to cool. instead, just pour the cold milk into it and stir. bingo.

I have some experience baking bread. This bread is delicious. There is a bakery near me that makes this. I tried it and searched for a recipe. I used the full amount of starter and baked two loaves, one of which I gave away. I think I will cut back a little bit on the sugar next time. It makes me think of a lighter version of brioche.

This recipe needs to be rewritten to use all of the starter by doubling the dough ingredients

How have they still not added water into the ingredients list?!

I’m irritated that the recipe calls for twice as much tangzhong as you need, the rest of which you will have to discard or find another use for. Why? I’ve made tangzhong in smaller quantities with no issue. I guarantee that many who do not read the recipe more than once will, like I did, add the whole amount and then end up with a sticky goopy dough.

Kind of time intensive but it’s wonderful and my boyfriend can’t stop talking about it

Step 7 should be done midway of Step 10, to minimize unnecessary electricity consumption.

This is the most addictive bread I have ever made, and I make bread almost every day! Easy recipe with a great reward!

so so good was looking for a recipe to make loaf bread so i could save a bit of money on groceries and this was the perfect replacement for sandwich bread! so light and fluffy perfect for beginner bread makers

Taste was very good. Instructions for shaping it were very confusing. I put them both long ways but staggered, but then next it says to rise until they touch… already were, oops. Rolling a 6” square, how are you supposed to fit it in a <5” pan? After making I watched a video where they fold the sides in, rather than top and bottom, making a much less wide log that fits better. Would be helpful if the photo was of bread made in the type of pan called for in the recipe, rather than a pullman loaf.

Minor tidbit, but I think they tell you to preheat the oven way too early. It should be right before you left them rest for 40 minutes.

very forgiving - didn't realize that the starter was meant for two loaves until I was halfway through mixing and didn't feel like making two loaves, so doubled everything right there to make one extra large loaf, which fit perfectly into my pullman loaf pan. Didn't bother with every finicky step to make and fold the ovals, etc. Shaped the dough in two logs in the pan, let rise overnight in the fridge. Did not brush top with milk. Still delicious.

I made a double batch while working from home and renovating, and my mixer could not be used. So I did an autolyse, then stretch and folds with a dough whisk, leaving it mostly untended for about three hours. The dough sometimes looked under- then overkneaded. I thought I may as well pop it in the oven, so I just shaped the dough - which got progressively stickier - with water, dumped it in a Pullman pan and baked for 35min, and voila it was amazing. This is magic bread. It's a bit sweet though!

This bread makes me so happy :)It is definitely pretty sweet and buttery. Will reduce sugar and butter next time!

Also wanted to add, I've tried splitting the dough in half and adding in matcha powder, black sesame paste and red bean paste to make swirled milk bread. Much easier to add in powder, but you have to add quite bit for it to taste like matcha. The pastes have more flavor, but you'll need to add more flour.