Have you ever eaten Shokupan, the Japanese milk bread? You must try it! It’s the delicious, soft and fluffy white bread loaf that you can get in Japan. The golden brown crust and soft white inside make it irresistible. It is amazingly fluffy and stays moist for longer than ordinary bread because of the Yudane method.
Why is Japanese Bread So Fluffy?
Why is Japanese bread so soft and fluffy and has the mochi-like texture? The answer is because of the “Yudane” method. The Yudane method makes the bread pillowy soft and fluffy and also keeps the bread from drying out quickly. This is because the heated gelatinised starch in the flour keeps the moisture inside the bread.
What is the Yudane Method?
Yudane is made by mixing bread flour and hot boiling water. Adding hot boiling water gelatinises the starch. The gelatinised starch not only allows the starch to take in more water, but also increases the sweetness of it. Therefore by adding Yudane to a bread dough (the yudane method), you can make soft, moist and sweeter bread which lasts longer.
Yudane vs Tangzhong roux
- The Yudane method originated in Japan and it became widespread and the popular way to bake bread in Asian countries when Yvonne Chen introduced “Tangzhong” roux as a secret ingredient to bake the super soft and light Japanese milk bread in her book called “Bread Doctor”.
- Yudane ratio of flour and water is usually 1:1 whereas “Tangzhong roux” is made by 1:5 ratio of bread flour to water. The Tangzhong mixture is made by heating up to 149°F(65°C) then cooled down to room temperature and added to the bread dough. I will explain how to make Yudane in a paragraph below.
- I have often seen this type of bread also called “Hokkaido Milk Bread” or “Japanese Milk Bread” on social media platforms such as Pinterest. Those breads are made by the same principle either adding Yudane or Tangzhong roux to bread dough.
How to Make Yudane?
We need to deduct 20% of total flour ingredients to make Yudane. So to make 1 standard loaf size dough, we need 250 x 0.2 = 50g bread flour. Yudane flour to water ratio is generally 1:1, but I found it is easier to make yudane with 1:08 ratio. Then simply add hot boiling water (should be above 194°F/90°C) and combine them with a wooden spatula. The ideal combined dough temperature will be around 122°F/50°C. When it is cooled down, wrap with a sheet of plastic wrap and leave it on the kitchen bench or in the fridge.
Ingredients
You need to gather bread flour, milk, sugar, unsalted butter, Salt and Yudane that you made the night before. Some ingredients will be further explained as I have received many questions about this.
Flour
For making fluffy Japanese milk bread, we need to use bread flour that contains around 12% of protein. I use Japanese brand Nisshin flour. You can use all-purpose flour but all-purpose flour has around 10% protein content therefore the bread will not rise as high as the shokupan made with bread flour.
Yeast
I usually use LeSaffre Saf-Instant Yeast Gold for making shokupan Japanese milk bread. If you cannot find instant active dry yeast but can find fresh yeast, you can substitute. This recipe requires 1 teaspoon(5g) of dry yeast, so you would need 5g x 3 = 15g of fresh yeast.
Butter
We need to use unsalted butter. Because the salt content of butter will affect the gluten formation. If you don’t have unsalted butter, and would like to use oil instead, you can. However it is a little bit tricky because butter is solid and oil is liquid. Generally speaking, you can replace 3/4 of the amount of butter with oil.
Milk
Some readers have asked if they can replace the whole milk with other types of milk. Using different milk does not affect the fluffiness and lightness of the bread. I tested using coconut milk and almond milk. Read the result in the FAQ.
Bakers Percentages
Some readers have asked to change the amount of the ingredients to make bigger or smaller sized bread loaves. Baker’s percentage is great because it is universal even when each country uses different units of weight. In the table below, is the bread ingredients mixing ratio. Each ingredient is shown as a % of the flour.
Ingredients | weight | percentage |
Bread flour for Yudane | 50g | 20% |
Hot water | 40g/ml | 16% |
Bread flour | 200g | 80% |
Milk | 150g/ml | 60% |
Sugar | 15g | 6% |
Instant dry yeast | 3g | 1.2% |
unsalted butter | 10g | 4% |
Salt | 5g | 2% |
Using Cup Measurement
If you don’t have a kitchen scale, don’t worry. I have figured out measurements for using cups. However, you need to be as precise as you can. For example, when you measure 1 cup of flour, you need to spoon flour to the measuring cup, then level the surface with the back of a knife. The cup measurements are included in the recipe cards’ note section.
How to Make Shokupan Japanese Milk Bread?
This is the basic process of making the shokupan Japanese bread in 8 steps using Yudane method.
- Make Yudane the night before. (8-12 hours)
- Knead all ingredients using a stand mixer, bread machine or by hand (20min)
- The first rise (45-60 min depends on the temperature)
- Divide & roll
- Bench time (20 min)
- Shape
- The second rise (30 min)
- Bake (30 min)
Tips for Making Shokupan Japanese Milk Bread Successfully
- Start making Yudane the night before with boiling hot water. When the mixture combines the temperature of the dough should be around 122°F/50°C.
- Leaving Yudane longer will result in better Japanese bread.
- The dough rising temperature should be around 86°F(30°C). My oven has a defrost function and I set the temperature to 86°F(30°C), so I use that setting for rising. Or use a styrofoam box with 4 little cups with hot water in the corners of the box.
Other Recipes That Call for Shokupan Japanese Milk Bread
The fluffy, soft and moist Japanese milk bread is the basis of other delicious Japanese creations.
- Tamago Sando (Japanese egg sandwich). This egg salad sandwich is super popular and for good reason.
- Fruit Sando (Japanese fruit sandwich). Another popular sandwich in Japan, often made with strawberries and cream.
- Panko (Japanese bread crumbs). You can use this Japanese bread to make Japanese bread crumbs which are so crispy and perfect for using to make pork katsu or chicken katsu.
- Simply toasting the bread with some butter or jam is also great. The bread is so delicious that even eating it simply like this tastes amazing.
- You can also use this recipe to make super soft Japanese bread rolls.
How to Store the Bread?
Another tip that I can give you is that this bread is super soft, so it is better to slice it the following day. I bake the bread on a Saturday and slice it on Sunday. It will stay moist for a few days just sitting on the kitchen bench. In my household, the bread is eaten in a day or two. But if you wish, slice them and individually wrap and place them in a ziplock bag to freeze. It will last about a month.
FAQ
A: Yes, you can. But as you can see the all purpose flour did not rise well in my experiment. The texture of the bread was not fluffy, but rather it was like eating a savoury muffin.
A: Using different milk does not affect the fluffiness and lightness of the bread. The coconut milk I used was the “Ayam Premium Coconut Milk 100 % Natural” which contains 24.3 g fat in 100ml and it is quite rich and thick. The almond milk that I used was “Sanitarium So Good Almond Milk” and contained only 1.4g per 100ml. It was very thin milk. The almond milk bread turned out fluffier and coconut milk bread was denser. Hope these experiments using different ingredients helps you make a decision as to which ingredients to use.
A: You can hand knead, however, because this has yudane in the dough which is very moist, the dough is quite sticky. Therefore, this recipe is more suitable for machine kneading. I usually use either a machine or bread mixer to knead and rise.
A: Yes you can. Some of my readers and myself have only rested the dough for about a couple hours in the fridge and the bread made with that shorter resting time of the yudane was quite successful. However, the longer you rest the yudane the better the quality of the bread.
A: My bread form size is 3.9 x 7.9 x 3.5 inch (10 x 20 x 9 cm). I bought it in Japan. This is similar to what I have from Amazon.com.
Stay Connected
This is not a popular effortless “No Knead” type of bread recipe, however, it is worth the effort to bake this bread especially if you love any Japanese baking stuff. This is the bread you must try!
If you liked my recipe for Shokupan Japanese milk bread, please rate it and leave a comment below. Also, don’t forget to follow me on Youtube, Pinterest, Facebook , Twitter and Instagram to keep up to date with all the latest happenings on Chopstick Chronicles. Don’t forget to use the hashtag #ChopstickChronicles so I can see your wonderful creations!
Shokupan
Ingredients
Yudane
- 50 g Bread flour *1
- 40 ml boiling water above 194°F(90°C)
Bread
- 150 ml milk (room temperature) *3
- 15 g sugar
- 3 g dry instant yeast *2
- 10 g unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 200 g Bread flour *1
- 5 g salt
Instructions
- Make Yudane the night before. Place bread flour in a bowl and add boiling water and mix well. Put cling wrap and refrigerate overnight. *4
- Pour the room temperature milk into a stand mixer bowl.
- Add sugar,butter and yeast to the bowl then add the yudane as you tear it into small pieces.
- Add the bread, flour and salt.
- Attach the kneading hook onto the stand mixer and combine all ingredient on low speed 1.
- When all ingredients are combined, turn the speed up to 5 or 6 and knead the dough for 20 min.
- Roll the dough round and place the dough into a greased bowl. Wrap with cling wrap to rise for about 45 min to 1 hour at about 86°F(30°C) or until double the size.
- Use your finger, to test if the dough has risen by dusting your finger with flour and poking the dough. If the dough doesn't bounce back and the hole you poked stays there, it is ready.
- Punch the dough down and cut the dough into two equal parts with a scraper and roll them.
- Cover the rolled doughs with a wet cloth and stand it for 20 minutes bench time.
- Roll out each dough to about 5.9×7.8inch (15 x 20 cm) rectangle with a rolling pin.
- Fold the dough tightly not letting any air in towards the centre from left and right.
- Rotate the dough 90 degrees and roll it from one end.
- Spray one loaf bread tin lightly and place the rolled dough in the end of the tin facing the centre.
- Cover it with a wet cloth and let the dough rise for a second time until the dough rises to the size of the bread tin about 30 min.
- Start to preheat the oven to 365 °F(185°C).
- When the dough has risen to be level with the tin, it's ready to bake.
- Bake the dough for about 25 -30 minutes in preheated oven.
- Remove the bread from the tin and cool it down on a rack. * 5
- Whisk an egg, rightly brush over the bread dough.(Optional)
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Chopstick Chronicles is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
This recipe was originally posted in 2017, since then had received so many questions and suggestions. So I have decided update the post and the recipe in order to answer all the questions asked. Thank you for those who left comments below and rate the recipe highly.
Pam says
Is it possible to replace the dried yeast with my sourdough starter?
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Pam, it is possible I think but you need to change the recipe, the liquid and solid ingredients ratio.
Ivi Vanessa Inger says
my favourite bread at home. thanks for the recipe. luv it.
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Ohhhh Lovely Thank you for making Shokupan with my recipe 😀
Nancy says
Hi Shihoko, I am not a fan of butter, and would like to substitute with oil instead. Will that make a difference in the end result?
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Nancy, I have not tried with oil so not 100%sure but you can substitute with oil. I think the end result will not be same but will not make huge difference. The flavour and fluffiness will be different.
Jessica says
Hi Shihoko! Thank you for the lovely recipe. The results is fantastic and my family love it so much. The texture is so soft and fluffy. When i make the Yudane i added another 30ml hot water to get a gluey pudding texture. Then during kneading i added another 35ml flour to reduce the stickiness of the dough.
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Fantastic Jessica! adjust to whatever works for you is the way to go as we all use different brand ingredients 😀
Jessica says
Thank you! I love the recipe so much. The bread turn out very soft and good too. When I was naking the Yudane I added more 30ml hot water to the flour to get a pudding like paste. The dough is very wet so i added 40g bread flour during the kneading process. The turn out is lovely because I put some shredded cheese & brown sugar for the topping before baking at 180°C for 30 mins.
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Nice!
Honey says
Hello Shihoko! I just made this recipe & it’s very good! My husband loves it!
I dont have a bread maker or stand mixer, I used a hand mixer but I realised the hand mixer gets too hot after awhile. Was thinking if I rest the hand mixer in between the kneading, is it possible? Or should I adjust the speed and time so that it wont overheat? Thank you! 🙂
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Honey, Yes that would be a good idea.
Emily says
I am not a very experienced baker, and so I was very interested to try a new technique! I prepared my yudane yesterday, and baked the loaf tonight – very soft and delicious. Mine did not rise as much as your exemplar (actually only about half as high in a baking tin the same size), but to me that is a good result, because it means I have to try again!
Thank you for sharing!
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Emily That is great effort and result. Is the temperature cold? where you raise your bread? You may be needed longer raise time than I stated? raising time is just a guide and you need to adjust the time according to the temperature.
Diana says
Hi there,
I dont what I did wrong but my yudane is very lumpy.
Is it the right amount of water and flour? 50gr of bread flour and 40ml water?
Thanks
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Diana, yes the amount of water and flour are correct. I am not sure what went wrong. Did you masure properly and used correct flour?
Pei jun says
Hi, i have tried your recipe 3 times. The 1st time it turned out well. Bread is pillowy soft. Last 3 days with same txture!
When i tried to double batch it with savory ingredients, i have problems. My bread becomes slightly chewy yet soft (soft but not fluffy). Is there something i should look out for?
I use bacon and ham for both tries.
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Sorry Pei jun, it because you change the recipe by adding bacon or ham?
Lydia says
Hi, can I add milk powder into the recipe? Would 10g be ok?
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Lidia, not sure. Why do you want to add milk powder? Milk is already used in the recipe. Are you going to replace the milk?
lydia says
some other recipes i have seen used the milk powder to enhance the flavour of the bread further. But I am not sure whether it works here. I will try baking the bread using your recipe. thanks for your reply.
Amy says
Mine did not turn out fluffy although the flavor was good…i followed the recipe exact! I’m so bummed!
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Amy I am sorry the bread did not turned out as you expected. There are many factors affect the end result, even you follow the recipe exactly, all the ingredients you used might have been different (in terms of brand and also how old the ingredients are), temperature in general is different etc.
Sara Gordon says
Thank You so much for sharing so many amzing recipes. I Love them all and Going to Do them all. Red bean pan is my favourite. I tried this one first. In Cairns, We have a Japanese loaf shop, a small Lovely shop fantastic Bread freshly made and Nice atmosphere there. Have all Bread on your website, so excited to find your website.
I found my Dough very very sticky to shape. Dont know Whats the problem is and could u recommen the flour brand u use. Thank You so much
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Konnichiwa Sara-san 😀 There must be Japanese grocery stores in Cairns. If you can find one, I usually buy Nisshin(日清)brand strong flour(カメリア強力粉麦粉)If your dough is too sticky may need to adjust wet ingredients?
LayLee says
Hi Shihoko!
The bread looks sooo pillowy soft and delicious!
Would like to try baking it but as I don’t have a bread machine, can I use a stand mixer for kneading the dough?
If so, will the kneading time be the same as stated in the recipe?
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Laylee, yes. You can use a stand mixer and same kneading time 😀
LayLee says
Thanks for your fast reply! Will try it tomorrow!😃
Suzanne says
I am new to baking bread. Would love to try out your recipe. Instead of baking in oven, can I bake ithe bread machine itself?
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Suzanne, Yes you can. Just for the photo purpose, my bread machine is for one loaf and usually make tall one and also baking in the machine leaves a hole at the bottom… but if you don’t mind how it look, you can leave them in the machine to bake. Leaving in the machine to bake does not compromise texture and taste 😀
Adelina says
I love this!
I’m wondering of how the yudane works here as opposed to one where the mixture is cooked , stir until it’s almost pudding like. Also, the water to flour ratio here seems to be different from the popular 5:1. Can you help explain?
I’m working on a batch using your recipe, but double it to fit into the only loaf pan l have in the house, the Pullman pan… I won’t have enough patience to rest the yudane overnight, but I’m planning to let it rest at room temperature for an hour or so….
Looking forward to reading your comments! Thanks so much!
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Adelina, thank you 😀 The ratio is for Yudane method is 1:1 it just different method. 5:1 is the ratio for Tangzhong Method 😀 It works same principle but I think Yudane method retain moisture more than Tangzhong method. Hope your batch turn out delicious bread!
Henry says
Can we use self rising flour instead of bread flour?
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Henry, you can but the texture of the bread will not be as fluffy as using bread flour. I included photos in the post. Self rising flour is baking powder added plain so the texture will be similar to that.
LT says
I am very interested in trying this recipe. I was wondering if i can add sredded coconut and use coconut milk for it to be like a coconutbread? I know that you’v tried it with coconut milk, but does adding shredded coconut affect the texture of the bread?
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi LT 😀 I have never made coconut bread though used coconut milk in my shokupan. So I am not sure if it will be like a coconut bread. And it is depends on how much you add shredded coconut. I sometimes add raisins to make fruit bread using same method and it is as fluffy as this shokupan so if you don’t add too much it will not affect the texture.
Liz says
I love the texture of this fabulous bread! Thanks for the details on how to make this wonderful recipe.
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
You are welcome Liz. Thank you 😀
Wilhelmina Wessel says
Love this post! Thank you for explaining all of the options!
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
You are welcome ;D
Jenn says
Love all the tips and the visual difference between the coconut and almond milk here! Outstanding!
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Thank you Jenn ;D
Raschell Celleste says
Excellent post. The images are so much more helpful than trying to explain it. Love your website – looking forward to more.
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Thank you Raschell 😀