Japanese Milk Bread
This Japanese Milk Bread is so soft and fluffy. It stays fresh for days thanks to the addition of tangzhong (a thick cooked roux). It's perfect as is, for toast, or sandwiches.
Ingredients
Tangzhong
- 3 tbsp water
- 3 tbsp milk, 1% or milk alternative (see notes)
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour, or bread flour
Dough
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, or bread flour
- 2 tbsp nonfat dry milk
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast, or instant yeast (see notes)
- 1/2 cup milk, 1% or milk alternative
- 1 large egg
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
To make the tangzhong
- In a small sauce pan, add the water, milk, and flour. Whisk until there are no lumps.
- Place the saucepan over low heat and cook the mixture, whisking constantly, until thick and the whisk leaves lines on the bottom of the pan, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Transfer the tangzhong to a small bowl and allow to cool until it is lukewarm.
To make the dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, combine all of the dough ingredients and tangzhong. Mix until all the ingredients have just combined together, about a minute. Switch to a dough hook and continue mixing until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. This will take about 10-15 minutes.
- Lightly grease a large bowl with oil and transfer the dough into the bowl. If you can shape the dough into a ball before transferring. Cover with a towel and allow to rise for 60-90 minutes. The dough should be about doubled in size.
- Gently deflate the dough and divide it into four equal pieces. I used my scale to weigh out the dough, but you can just approximate if you don't have one.
- Flatten each piece of dough into a 5" x 8" rectangle. With the short end toward you, fold the dough onto itself to the middle. Then fold the other end of the dough onto itself to the middle. You are essentially folding the dough like you would a letter. Flatten the folded pieces into a 3"x6" rectangle. Starting with a short end, roll up each piece into a log.
- After rolling, place each log with the seam side down, into a lightly greased 9x5-inch loaf pan.
- Loosely cover the loaf with a towel and allow it to rise for 40 to 50 minutes, or until it has risen to the past the top of the loaf pan.
- Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Once the bread is ready to bake, brush the top of the loaf with milk. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 190°F. If your bread is not done but the top is too brown, cover with foil for the remaining time.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- I have made this bread with both 1% milk and macadamia nut milk. Both have turned out great so you should be able to use a milk of your choice.
- The original recipe calls for bread flour, but I have always used all purpose flour without any issues.
- The original recipe calls for instant yeast, but I've always used active dry yeast. I use it interchangeably and have never had issues. That being said, I know most recipes will have you bloom active dry yeast first.
- This bread will keep fresh for 5-7 days in an airtight container on the counter. You can also freeze this for longer storage.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!