This is the Japanese sandwich bread shokupan, also known as the Hokkaido milk bread. It uses an Asian tangzhong method and produces the softest, lightest, and an airiest slice of bread you will ever make. Amazing on its own, perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and of course sandwiches
Table of Content
Every time I make the Japanese milk bread, it ruins me from making any other bread. I get so tempted to add the tangzhong in every bread I make. If you've never made this Hokkaido milk bread, I highly recommend you try it at least once. The soft, light and airy texture of the bread is as light as a cloud.
What is tangzhong?
Well, it's a Japanese technique called yukone (yudane) using a roux that's made with flour and water (or milk). I like the combination of the two. This roux is like a thick pudding made by cooking flour, water, and milk. Once thickened, it is cooled to room temperature, and then added to the dough-making process. How does it work?
Well, the water is absorbed by the flour at high temperature and the starch is gelatinized without forming any gluten (that is why it must be cooked carefully). This allows the starch in the tangzhong to absorb far more liquid at room temperature later. That's why when tangzhong is added to the dough, we can use more water, which in turn gives us a soft, stable yet spongy texture in the final bread. And, did you know you can add tangzhong to any bread to improve its consistency and texture? Yup!
Today, we make sandwich bread, but you can use this to make almost anything. For example, try my softest burger buns, dinner rolls, or even cinnamon rolls.
Why make this bread?
- The recipe is very simple and easy with one additional step compared to all other bread. That's preparing the tangzhong. But, that too is very simple and easy. It takes no more than 3 minutes for the whole process.
- This process makes the lightest, airiest, and softest sandwich bread everyone will be impressed with.
- This bread is perfect for everyday use and leftover freeze beautifully.
- These are all-purpose bread - Delicious on their own or, serve it for breakfast with butter and jam. Alongside the main course for lunch or dinner. Of course, these also make the most amazing sandwiches!!
Timeline and process at a glance
- Prepare and cool tangzhong - 5 mins
- Prepare dough - 10 mins
- First rise - 60 to 90 mins
- Shape the loaf - 10 mins
- Proof the loaf - 45 mins
- Bake the loaf - 35 mins
- Cool the loaf - 15 mins
Ingredients and substitutes
- Flour - I love to use bread flour because it produces the softest most delicious bread, which is also slightly chewy.
- Egg - I use a large egg, about 60 to 65 grams in weight.
- Sugar - This bread is slightly sweeter than most other white bread. And yet, you can certainly reduce the sugar by half.
- Butter - A good quality butter at room temperature works best for flavor and consistency.
- Milk powder - This bread is often referred to as milk bread because it has milk and milk powder.
- Yeast - Today, I am using bakers fresh yeast, about 21 grams. But, you can use 2 ¼ teaspoon of instant yeast. For other substitutes on yeast read my post - Baking with yeast a beginners guide.
Step by step instructions - Shokupan
Tangzhong
- In a saucepan, combine water and flour with a whisk until no lumps. Add the milk and combine well again.
Pro tip - It is very important to make sure you have no lumps as these will be difficult to remove from the dough. - Place the saucepan over medium heat and cook this mixture for 2 to 3 minutes. Keep stirring constantly to prevent lumps.
Pro tip - Keep the heat on medium to low. At first, the mixture will take a while to thicken, but then it does get thicker quickly. So, keep a close eye and take it off just when it reaches almost paste consistency similar to a pudding. - Take it off the heat and transfer it into a bowl or plate. Cover and let cool to almost room temperature. Make sure the plastic touches the surface of the tangzhong to prevent a skin.
Pro tip - Removing from the hot pan will prevent it from cooking further as we don't want it to get lumpy. - At first, the mixture will take a while to thicken, but then it does get thicker quickly. So, keep a close eye and take it off just when it reaches almost paste consistency, similar to a pudding (see video).
Dough
- In a bowl of a stand mixer - add the lukewarm milk (no warmer than 110 F) and the yeast. Combine well with a whisk. Then, add the sugar, milk powder, egg, and cooled tangzhong.
- Add the flour and salt. Turn the mixer on medium-high speed.
Pro tip - Scrape the sides of the bowl well to ensure all the flour is well incorporated and do not add more flour yet. - Once all the flour has been incorporated, knead:
- By hand - transfer to a well-dusted worktop and knead for 5 to 6 minutes
- Stand mixer - once all the flour is well incorporated knead on medium for 4 to 5 minutes
- Then, gradually add the butter one tablespoon at a time. Once all the butter has been incorporated - knead for 3 minutes more.
- When the dough is soft, shiny, but still slightly sticky shape into a ball. Place the dough in an oiled bowl seam side down. Coat the surface with oil to prevent drying. Cover with a clean kitchen cloth or plastic wrap.
- Leave in a warm place. Let rise for 60 to 90 minutes until double in volume.
Pro tip - In winter, you may need 90 minutes or more. But in summer, the dough may double in 45 minutes. If you can't attend to it at that moment, de-gas, reshape, and let double in volume again.
Shape the loaf
- When the dough is double in volume, transfer to a well-dusted floured surface. De-gas, reshape into a ball.
Pro tip - At this point, there is no need for additional flour. So use a light dusting of flour. - Roll the dough into a cylinder and divide the dough into 4 portions. Weigh the portions to ensure they are similar in size. Mine was about 200 to 215 grams each.
- Shape each portion into a tight roll. To do this correctly,
- Flatten the dough on an unfloured surface.
- Fold the top and two sides in.
- Then roll towards you into a sausage shape.
Proof and bake
- Place the shaped portions in a 9 x 4 loaf pan. Cover with a clean kitchen cloth or plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for about 45 minutes until almost double in size.
Pro tip - Spray the plastic wrap with oil to prevent it from sticking to the rolls. - When the bread is almost double in volume at about 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 375°F /190°C / Gas Mark 5
- Brush the rolls with egg wash, milk, or cream
Pro tip - Egg wash is a full egg with 2 tablespoon of water. An egg wash will give a nice golden color. If you can't use egg, milk or cream will work just as well. Do not use oil or butter as it will create a crust.
- Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes until lightly golden on top. If the top of the sandwich bread is getting too dark, tent it with aluminum foil. When baked, brush with melted butter
Pro tip - This is optional but adds a nice flavor and keeps the top crust soft. - Take it out of the pan and cover it with a clean kitchen cloth for at least 5 minutes to keep it soft.
Pro tip - Do not leave the bread in the pan for too long as the steam will make the bread soggy on the bottom.
More sandwich bread recipes
- BEST Sandwich Bread Recipe
- Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
- Brioche Sandwich Bread Recipe
- Challah Sandwich Bread
- No-Knead Sandwich Bread
- Grilled Chicken Sandwich or Turkey Sandwich
- See all sandwich Bread recipes
Frequently asked questions
How long will this sandwich bread keep?
This milk bread will keep at room temperature for 3 to 4 days. You can also freeze it for up to a month. However, I do not recommend keeping bread in the fridge and it dries out moisture from the bread.
What is Japanese milk bread?
This Hokkaido bread is called Japanese milk bread. It is quite milky in taste because it uses both milk and milk powder. And it is a very light and airy bread often referred to soft as a cloud or sponge in texture.
What is the purpose of the tangzhong?
The water is absorbed by the flour at high temperature and the starch is gelatinized without forming any gluten. This allows the starch in the tangzhong to absorb far more liquid at room temperature. That's why when tangzhong is added to the dough we can use more water which in turn gives us a soft, stable yet spongy texture in the final bread.
Can I add more tangzhong to the bread?
No, it doesn't work like this. Add only as much as requested in the recipe. This recipe has been tried and tested a few times so it works perfectly with these measurements. As you can see in the video the bread is soft as cotton, light, and airy.
Can I make a sandwich bread without the tangzhong?
The tangzhong is an important part of this recipe. But, if you want to make the classic sandwich bread I do have a few you may like to try -
Classic white sandwich bread
Pullman sandwich bread
Brioche sandwich bread
Brioche Pullman Loaf
No-knead sandwich bread
Whole wheat sandwich bread
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Printable Recipe
Shokupan Sandwich Bread Recipe
Print Pin Rate Share by Email Share on FB Save Grow Coooking Temperature: 375°F /190°C / Gas Mark 5
Difficulty: Easy
Calories: 190kcal
Adjust Servings Here: 12 slices
Description
This is the Japanese sandwich bread shokupan, also known as the Hokkaido milk bread. It uses an Asian tangzhong method and produces the softest, lightest, and an airiest slice of bread you will ever make. Amazing on its own, perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and of course sandwiches
Video
Ingredients
Total dough - 1200 grams - Makes 9 x 4-inch loaf pan or 13-inch Pullman pan
Tangzhong/water-roux
- 60 g (¼ cup) Milk
- 60 g (¼ cup) Water
- 45 g (3 tablespoon) Bread flour
Main dough
- 1 batch Tangzhong (prepared above)
- 320 grams (1½ ml) Warm milk (100°F)
- 14 grams (2 tablespoon) Instant dry yeast ( I used 35 grams fresh bakers yeast)
- 30 grams (2 tablespoon) Sugar
- 15 grams (2 tablespoon) Milk powder
- 50 grams (1 large) Egg
- 60 grams (2 tablespoon) Unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 650 grams (5¼ cups) Bread flour (or 50/50 bread and all-purpose)
- 13 grams Kosher salt
Eggwash
- ½ Egg (for egg wash)
- 2 tablespoon Water (for egg wash)
Instructions
Tangzhong
- In a saucepan, combine water and flour with a whisk until no lumps. Add the milk and combine well again.Pro tip - It is very important to make sure you have no lumps as these will be difficult to remove from the dough.60 g Milk, 60 g Water, 45 g Bread flour
- Place the saucepan over medium heat and cook this mixture for 2 to 3 minutes. Keep stirring constantly to prevent lumps.Pro tip - Keep the heat on medium to low. At first, the mixture will take a while to thicken, but then it does get thicker quickly. So, keep a close eye and take it off just when it reaches almost paste consistency similar to a pudding.
- Take it off the heat and transfer it into a bowl or plate. Cover and let cool to almost room temperature. Make sure the plastic touches the surface of the tangzhong to prevent a skin.Pro tip - Removing from the hot pan will prevent it from cooking further as we don't want it to get lumpy.
- At first, the mixture will take a while to thicken, but then it does get thicker quickly. So, keep a close eye and take it off just when it reaches almost paste consistency, similar to a pudding (see video).
Dough
- In a bowl of a stand mixer - add the lukewarm milk (no warmer than 110 F) and the yeast. Combine well with a whisk. Then, add the sugar, milk powder, egg and cooled tangzhong.320 grams Warm milk, 14 grams Instant dry yeast, 30 grams Sugar, 15 grams Milk powder, 50 grams Egg, 1 batch Tangzhong
- Add the flour and salt. Turn the mixer on medium-high speed. Pro tip - Scrape the sides of the bowl well to ensure all the flour is well incorporated and do not add more flour yet.650 grams Bread flour, 13 grams Kosher salt
- Once all the flour has been incorporated, knead:- By hand - transfer to a well-dusted worktop and knead for 5 to 6 minutes - Stand mixer - once all the flour is well incorporated knead on medium for 4 to 5 minutes
- Then, gradually add the butter, one tablespoon at a time. Once all the butter has been incorporated, knead for 3 minutes more.60 grams Unsalted butter
- When the dough is soft, shiny, but still slightly sticky shape into a ball. Place the dough in an oiled bowl seam side down. Coat the surface with oil to prevent drying. Cover with a clean kitchen cloth or plastic wrap.
- Leave in a warm place. Let rise for 60 to 90 minutes until double in volume. Pro tip - In winter, you may need 90 minutes or more. But in summer, the dough may double in 45 minutes. If you can't attend to it at that moment, de-gas, reshape, and let double in volume again.
Shape the loaf
- When the dough is double in volume, transfer to a well-dusted floured surface. De-gas, reshape into a ball. Pro-tip - at this point there is no need for additional flour. So use a light dusting of flour.
- Roll the dough into a cylinder and divide the dough into 4 portions. Weigh the portions to ensure they are similar in size. Mine was about 200 to 215 grams each.
- Shape each portion into a tight roll. To do this correctly, - flatten the dough on an unfloured surface. - Fold the top and two sides in. - Then roll towards you into a sausage shape.
Proof and bake
- Place the shaped portions in a 9 x 4 loaf pan. Cover with a clean kitchen cloth or plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for about 45 minutes until almost double in size.Pro tip - Spray the plastic wrap with oil to prevent it from sticking to the rolls.
- When the bread is almost double in volume at about 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 375°F / 190°C / Gas Mark 5
- Brush the rolls with egg wash, milk, or creamPro tip - Egg wash is a full egg with 2 tablespoon of water. An egg wash will give a nice golden color. If you can't use egg, milk or cream will work just as well. Do not use oil or butter as it will create a crust.½ Egg, 2 tablespoon Water
- Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes until lightly golden on top. If the top of the sandwich bread is getting too dark, tent it with aluminum foil. When baked brush with melted butter.Pro tip - This is optional but adds a nice flavor and keeps the top crust soft.
- Take it out of the pan and cover it with a clean kitchen cloth for at least 30 minutes to keep it softPro tip - Do not leave the bread in the pan for too long as the steam will make the bread soggy on the bottom.
Recipe Notes
- Cook the tangzhong at medium to low speed so the flour has a chance to absorb the liquid - if you cook on high heat the liquid will evaporate.
- Also, you need to stir the tangzhong continuously but not vigorously. Why? we want to avoid gluten formation.
- The tangzhong must be a paste consistency and it gets thicker as it cools so remove it earlier rather than later. If it gets too thick and lumpy it will be difficult to incorporate into the dough.
- Cool the tangzhong to room temperature before you add it to the dough. But do not place it in the fridge to avoid lumps.
- Add salt to the flour, not the yeast mixture. Salt can kill the yeast.
- Knead the dough for the time mentioned in the recipe. Using a timer works great to under or over-knead the dough. this is a high-hydration dough which means it has more water compared to other bread dough. As such, the dough is quite soft to knead so a stand mixer makes it easier. Having said that, you can certainly knead this dough by hand. In fact, I have done it on many occasions. And chilling the dough for an hour after the first rise will make it easier to shape.
- Bread flour works best for this bead making it soft and chewy. Having said that, I have used all-purpose flour and it works just as well.
- Overnight Bread - The dough can be prepared a day in advance. Proof them for an hour on the counter then punch down and let the dough rest in the fridge overnight. Overnight proofing is a great way to add flavor to the bagels. The next day, let the dough come to room temperature before you shape and bake them.
- Storing sandwich bread- this sandwich bread does freeze beautifully. Cool the baked bread then place it in a freezer-safe storage bag. These can be frozen for up to a month. I like to cut the sandwich bread into slices and freeze the slices so my kids can thaw the slices as needed,
- Kneading the dough - If possible use an electric mixer because the dough is soft and sticky.
- Bread machine - buns can be easily made in a bread machine. Pour all ingredients in the pan set to dough or manual. Start and let the dough run its cycle for about 9 to 10 minutes - continue with the recipe as shown above.
- The dough did not rise? -Most often the simplest explanation for this is that the liquid (milk) used was not warm. You need the liquid to be no more than 110 F/ 41 C. Hotter than that will not activate the yeast. In some cases, it could also be that the yeast was old and not good.
- Dry dense, not soft bread? If you add too much flour to the dough the bread will be dense, not soft. You want the dough to be soft, elastic, and still slightly sticky when kneading. Follow the recipe and look at the video to see my consistency of dough.
- Bread deflated during baking -Prove the buns for only 45 minutes or until just almost double in volume. They will continue to rise some more in the oven when baking. If you overproof the buns they tend to rise and deflate when baking.
Adapted from -
Inspired by -
Nutrition Information
Calories: 190- kcalCarbohydrates: 28- gProtein: 6- gFat: 6- gSaturated Fat: 3- gCholesterol: 40- mgSodium: 215- mgPotassium: 80- mgFiber: 1- gSugar: 3- gVitamin A: 195- IUCalcium: 33- mgIron: 1- mg
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
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Linda Krieger
I really need to ask you. Can this recipe be baked in a 13x4x4' Pullman bread pan with the lid on? In one continuous loaf perhaps?
Veena Azmanov
Linda, the pan size mentioned in the recipe is a 9 4 x 4 loaf pan so no, the dough will be small for a 13x4x4 inch pan. You can use 1 1/2 times this recipe for a 13-inch loaf pan. Thanks
Jeff F
My bread is delicious, but I have a couple of questions. First my dough was too wet and thus unworkable. It was so loose and sticky that I could not really make the rolls. I just separated the dough into four blobs and put those in the pan. Next time, if I see the dough is staying too soft can I add a couple tablespoons of flour during kneading in my mixer?
Even after the butter goes in?
The other issue is that the loaf was sort of concave on the sides. This could be related to the wet dough I'm sure. The oven spring on this bread is huge so the loaf is really tall, but with sunken in sides. This could be my fault again as I used my pullman pan (without the lid) and it is a bit skinny and has perfectly straight sides. I want to try a wider pan to get a more broad loaf.
What do you think about my proposed solutions? More flour and a wider pan might help?
My wife wants me to solve these small issues because she already loves this bread!
Veena Azmanov
Hey Jeff, Happy you enjoyed this recipe. Yes, you can add a few tablespoons of flour as necessary. look at the consistency of dough in the video.
And yes, unlike no-knead bread that is better when very loose - once kneaded the gluten needs a bit of stability so too soft can cause it to collapse.
Also, over poofing can cause the dough to collapse in the oven during baking or sometimes after it's out of the oven. In my experience, the concave is usually an over-proofed dough.
I hope this helps. Let me know if you try this bread again.
Thanks for the feedback.
Jeff F
Well I made the bread again and it's perfect. Pretty sure I made a mistake measuring liquid the first time. I did use a wider pan and like the shape of the loaf a little better for our needs.
I also realized today that since I can slice a whole loaf any thickness I want, I might just have to try your french bread recipe with this bread.
Veena Azmanov
Ah, great, Thanks for the feedback, Ken. Happy you enjoyed this recipe. Thanks for the feedback.
RJ
Good recipe but just one thing - Tangzhong is not a Japanese word, The Japanese word is 'Yudane'.
Tangzhong is from Chinese, as this method is also used in Taiwan.
Veena Azmanov
This Asian technique — which has origins in Japan's yukone (or yudane) and was popularized across Asia by Taiwanese cookbook author Yvonne Chen — cooks a small percentage of the flour and liquid (water or milk) in a yeast recipe very briefly before combining the resulting thick slurry with the remaining ingredients.
Nisha
hello,
I have one quick question can i do this bread using patent flour or all purpose? I cant find bread flour .
Would we very happy if i got a response from you.
Shall be waiting.
Thanks in advance!!
Veena Azmanov
Yes, you can use bread flour for this Nisha
Tatiana
Shokupan is one of my favorite breads to bake at home, such a good bread for sandwiches! Your tips are great!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Tatiana.