Japanese milk bread is the fluffiest and softest bread loaf ever. It’s great on it’s own, with some butter, or a little condensed milk.
Bread is my weakness. Crusty French baguettes, chewy Italian ciabatta, and this oh so fluffy and heavenly Japanese milk bread.
Ever since my high school days, there have always been diets and fads telling me to stay away from breads. It’s not that I couldn’t do it, it’s just that I don’t want to deny myself something so tasty.
I could give up chocolate, espresso, and maybe even whiskey, but refraining from breads…that might be a real tough one.
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Japanese Milk Bread
For most of my childhood, my mom would only purchase two types of bread: Filipino pan de sal and Japanese milk bread.
I grew up eating bread with a slather of salted butter, maybe a piece of hard cheese, or a giant spoonful of sweetened condensed milk (the best!).
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to favor more heartier breads, but to this day, I still cannot enter an Asian bakery without buying a loaf of milk bread.
And that got me thinking…what if I had to move to an area that didn’t have my favorite breads? What would I do?
Naturally, the answer is simple. Learn to make all my favorite breads starting with this Japanese milk bread. (Up next, pineapple buns/melon pans!)
How to make Hokkaido Milk Bread:
Even if you’ve never made bread before (or you’ve been intimidated to try), this will be the bread that will change your mind.
Japanese milk bread (also known as Hokkaido milk bread) is known for it’s distinct slightly sweet flavor and soft interior.
The secret to this fluffy milk bread is it’s use of a starter (water roux). A simple mixture of flour, water, and milk creates this paste that helps to produce the fluffiest bread ever.
Even four days after baking the bread, the loaf will remain soft and springy like the first day.
Combining all the ingredients for the dough is fairly simple and straight forward. Once you’ve let the dough rest and rise for an hour, place the dough on a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into four equal parts.
Keep the cut dough under plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out or forming an unwanted skin. Roll the dough into balls. Working with one ball at a time, flatten or roll out dough to a length of about 8 inches and width of 5 inches.
Fold in about 1-inch on both sides of the dough. Starting from the end closest to you, roll the dough into a log. Repeat with remaining dough.
Place the logs seam-side down in a buttered and parchment lined loaf pan.
Cover loaf pan with plastic wrap and let rest for 30-45 minutes until dough has doubled in volume.
Lightly brush the top of the dough with heavy cream. Bake in a 350 degree F oven until the top of the bread is a nice golden brown and the internal temperature of the bread is at least 190 degrees F.
If the bread top colors too fast, place a foil tent over it to prevent it from burning.
Let the bread cool in the loaf pan for 5 minutes before unmolding, then allow the loaf to cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Once cool, go ahead and slice yourself a piece!
Japanese Milk Bread
Ingredients
Starter:
- 3 Tbsp bread flour , (25 g) or all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup whole milk, (60 ml)
- ¼ cup water, (60 ml)
Dough:
- 2 ½ cups bread flour, (325 g)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar, (60 g)
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast, (7 g)
- 1 Tablespoon non-fat dry milk powder, , optional*
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 large egg, lightly whisked, room temperature
- ½ cup whole milk, (120 ml), room temperature
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, (60 g), softened
- heavy cream, as needed for brushing
Instructions
- Starter: Stir together flour, milk, and water in a microwave safe cup. Mixture will be slightly lumpy. Microwave for 20 seconds. (NOTE: this cooking time refers to a 1100 W microwave.) *See notes for directions cooking starter stovetop.
- Remove from microwave and stir mixture together. Mixture will have thickened. Stir and break up any large clumps of flour. Then, return to microwave and heat for another 20 seconds. Remove from microwave and stir together. Heat for another 15 seconds until mixture is smooth and has thickened to the consistency of mashed potatoes. *If needed, return to microwave for another 10 seconds and mix again.
- Transfer mixture to a cool clean bowl. Let mixture sit for 15 minutes to allow to cool before adding to remaining down ingredients.
- Dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together bread flour, sugar, yeast, milk powder and salt. Attach dough hook to mixer. Add in cooled starter mixture, egg, and milk. Knead on low speed for 5 minutes. Scape down bowl to ensure thorough mixing.
- Add softened butter and continue to knead on low speed for 5 minutes until butter is integrated into dough. Increase speed to medium and knead for another 5 minutes until dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Transfer dough to a lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 1 hour, or until dough is doubled in volume.
- Line a 9 x 4-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Grease and set aside. Transfer dough to a lightly floured working surface. Divide dough into four equal parts and roll into balls. Cover dough with plastic wrap as you work to prevent it from drying out or forming a skin.
- Working with one ball of dough at a time, flatten or roll out dough to a length of about 8-inches and 5-inches wide. Fold in about 1-inch of the sides. Starting from the end closest to you, roll the dough into a log. Place log seam-side down in prepared loaf pan. Repeat with remaining dough balls. Cover loaf pan with plastic wrap and let sit for 30-45 minutes until dough has doubled in volume.
- Lightly brush the top of the dough with heavy cream. Bake dough in a 350° F oven for 35-40 minutes until the top of the bread is golden brown and internal temperature of bread is at least 190 degrees F.
- Let cool in loaf pan for 5 minutes. Unmold bread from loaf pan and allow to cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Once cool, slice bread accordingly.
Notes
- Milk powder provides additional flavor. It is optional and can be omitted.
- RECIPE SLIGHTLY ADAPTED FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES
Stovetop Starter:
Double the amounts listed in the starter ingredients for stovetop. It is difficult to cook a very small amount in a pot.- In a medium pot, whisk together bread flour, milk, and water. Set over medium heat and stir often, making sure to stir the bottom edges of the pot. Cook for about 5 minutes until mixture has thickened to the consistency of mashed potatoes. Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, allowing wrap to lay directly on top of starter mixture. Cool to room temperature. Use 1/2 cup of starter in the recipe. Discard remaining starter.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!What do with this Japanese milk bread?
This milk bread tastes great on it’s own. I mentioned that I enjoy milk bread with butter or condensed milk, but my MOST favorite way to eat milk bread… is this cinnamon sugar milk toast.
Hi! I’m also in Germany and so wonder: what is the German equivalent of “bread flour”? Could you perhaps recommend a brand or where I could probably find some? Many thanks!
I use King Arthur Bread Flour. It’s available for purchase online and they offer international shipping. Bread flour is often labeled as “high protein flour.” I hope that help!
Made this today. Absolutely addictively fabulous! After posting pictures on Facebook, I had multiple requests to mail care packages of bread!
Will be making quite often!!
That’s wonderful to hear! I’m glad you liked the recipe!
I made it, delicious
I made two loaves today. FABULOUSLY delicious and so easy!
That’s wonderful! Thanks for trying out the recipe!
Hi Maryanne,
I grew up in Japan and I love this recipe!!! I followed your recipe and it came out great. This bread reminds me of my childhood. The only thing I wanted to ask is my dough was very wet and sticky. i had a hard time to put the dough together (but this bread is seriously tasty!). I ended up with adding more flour… Currently, I live in Hawaii and it’s humid here. Do you think I should use less milk or add flour?
Thank you,
Akiko
Hi Akiko! Thanks for trying out the recipe. I’m glad you liked it! Humidity can definitely affect the bread. I suggest adding a little more flour, about 1 tablespoon at a time until it’s easy to work with. It’s better to have the bread on the wet/moist side, rather than over-floured and dry. I hope that helps!
Hi Maryanne,
Thanks for your recipe. I made this today. It is very fluffy and soft. It is definitely a keeper.
I love making this bread. Once, instead of making 4 balls, I made 8 small ones. Using a round springform cake pan, rolled the balls into logs, then put 7 of them around the walls and 1 in the middle. They made the best dinner rolls ever!
Thanks for trying out the recipe! I’ll definitely need to try making smaller rolls.
I love this recipe! I’ve made it several times and it’s always delicious. Even toast feels like a treat now! I do have one question – I find I’m not getting as much of a rise as I expect. Should I be proofing the yeast, or adding it dry to the other dry ingredients? The loaves I’ve made without salt seem to do better, so I’m concerned that adding the yeast in with the salt and flour is killing it. I appreciate any suggestions, but I’ll keep making it either way!
Hi Laura! That’s great to hear! Thanks for trying out the recipe!
Salt does slightly inhibit the growth of the yeast, however just minimally. Is your yeast past it’s expiration date? Perhaps the ingredients are too cold, or the temperature of the room is too cold. Also over proofing can deflate the yeast. You could also activate and start the yeast in warm milk, before you add the the starter and egg.
Do you have any directions for making this bread into rolls? It is fantastic, but I thought rolls might look nicer for Thanksgiving presentation.
Your site is absolutely fabulous and I can’t wait to try more of your goodies!
Hi Karen! I’ve never made this bread into rolls. You can try using the directions from my Filipino Bread Rolls (https://www.thelittleepicurean.com/pandesal-filipino-bread-rolls/). Thanks so much for stopping by. I wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Hi! How will the recipe change if I want to use it in a bread maker?
Hi Bevlyn! Unfortunately, I don’t have any experience using a bread maker.