{"id":146053,"date":"2025-03-20T16:57:21","date_gmt":"2025-03-20T16:57:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/recipes\/category-a-b\/bread\/fluffy-japanese-milk-bread-loaf-recipe-shokupan\/"},"modified":"2025-03-20T16:57:21","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T16:57:21","slug":"fluffy-japanese-milk-bread-loaf-recipe-shokupan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=146053","title":{"rendered":"Fluffy Japanese milk bread loaf recipe (Shokupan)"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Ever since visiting Japan in 2016, I\u2019ve been wanting to replicate the soft white bread loaf omnipresent across the country, and make Japanese milk bread by hand. It\u2019s the fluffiest and most delicate bread I have ever eaten. It\u2019s not like brioche, it doesn\u2019t have the same richness. Japanese milk bread is white bread indulgence of the most feathery kind.<\/p>\n

\"Japanese<\/a>
Fluffy Japanese milk bread: shokupan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\u201cJapan is generally regarded as being a rice-based food culture. However, bread \u2014 or\u00a0pan\u00a0<\/em>in Japanese, derived from the Portuguese word\u00a0p\u00e3o\u00a0<\/em>\u2014 is eaten almost as widely. [\u2026] The most ubiquitous type of bread in Japan is the white and pillowy square-shaped bread called\u00a0shokupan<\/em><\/strong>, which simply means \u201ceating bread.\u201d Made of white flour, yeast, milk or milk powder, butter, salt and sugar, shokupan is both loved and taken for granted by most. [\u2026] The ideal texture for the crumb of a shokupan is\u00a0mochimochi<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 soft yet resilient and bouncy, rather like\u00a0mochi<\/em>\u00a0(pounded-rice cakes).\u201d
Source: Japan\u2019s secret love of a breakfast loaf<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"Japanese<\/a>
Japanese Milk Bread in Tokyo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The City Bakery Tokyo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Lotus<\/a>
Lotus Baguette Tokyo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Mini<\/a>
Mini plastic bread in Japan \u2013 wonderful!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u2019ve taken the last few weeks to research the method behind the Japanese milk bread loaf. Much like Felicity Cloake and her \u2018How to cook the perfect\u2026\u2019<\/a> quest, I\u2019ve been trying different recipes in my search for the perfect homemade Japanese milk bread recipe.<\/p>\n

An additional reason for looking into Japanese milk bread just now is that I wanted to learn how to bake this lofty white loaf for my little baby daughter, to make eggy bread and baby pizza slices.<\/p>\n

History of Japanese milk bread<\/h2>\n

Milk bread was developed in Japan in the 20th century, using Tangzhong, a warm flour-and-water paste traditionally used in China to make buns with a soft, springy texture and tiny air bubbles. According to this article in the Japan Times<\/a>,\u00a0people started to take bread seriously as a meal staple rather than a snack after the violent Rice Riots of 1918.<\/p>\n

The Chopstick Chronicles<\/a> mention that the Yudane method\u00a0subsequently originated in Japan and became a widespread and popular way to bake bread after Yvonne Chen introduced Tangzhong roux as a secret ingredient in her book called \u201cBread Doctor\u201d.<\/p>\n

Fluffy Japanese Milk Bread Recipe<\/h2>\n

I looked into both the Tangzhong and Yudane methods of baking,\u00a0and want to briefly outline the difference between these methods (thank you to\u00a0Lynn Lim for this informative Facebook thread<\/a>). For my Shokupan recipe \u2013 after many experiments using both methods \u2013\u00a0 I\u2019ve settled on a combination of this version of Shokupan<\/a>\u00a0and the Yudane process.<\/p>\n

Yudane Method vs Tangzhong Method<\/h3>\n

Yudane Method<\/p>\n