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.
Mili says
Hi, just wondering how long can we keep Yudane in the fridge? Thanks.
PS: my first bread attempt and turns out really good! thank you for the recipe!
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Mili, It will keep about a few days in fridge 😀
Diane says
Can I freeze the yudane and thaw to room temperature when I want to bake?
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Diane, I have not tried it myself but theoretically it is possible.
Alessandro Bovey says
hello Shihoko I am alessandro and from Switzerland, professional cook. I tried your recipe, but unfortunately I can’t get the expected result in your recipe. the reasons, I do not know them, the yudane and like a semi-hard ball and the lifting of the dough does not do this. I used 11% protein flower flour again, and the milk I used semi skimmed without lactose. I think I need your very careful help so that I can get a better result other that is frustrating :-(. Because I would be the happiest man to be able to succeed with your recipe which seems good to me. Help me!
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Alessandro, What is the temperature in Switzerland like? Did you check the temperature?
Juls says
Hi,
With the yudane left in the fridge overnight, do I need to bring it to room temperature before mixing it with the dough the next day or is using it straight from the fridge ok to use?
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Juls, bring it to room temp is good idea, though I often just add straight from the fridge.
Thi says
Hi,
Does the water in the yudane counts towards the total hydration”¿ so it’s 20% of flour and 20% of the total hydration.
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Thi, no it is not. The water in the yudane is 16% to total flour(100%).
Michelle says
Thank you for sharing this recipe!! I made it today and it was delicious! 😀
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Thank you Michelle 😀 I am glad to know that your Shokupan was delicious.
Anne says
Hi, what can you do with failed bread dough? it did not rise even if I proofed it overnight. I don’t know why. thanks and your post is very thorough and helpful. It answered a lot of questions. FYI, I did a different recipe. I saw your recipe the day after I did my failed recipe.
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Anne, May be make a flat bread with the dough?
Karen Tan says
Hi there,
Not sure where to find the Japanese flour you’d mentioned in my country, Singapore. What will be the difference if i’d used a regular bread flour instead of the Japanese bread flour? Thanks!
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Karen, you don’t have to use Japanese brand one. Whatever bread flour available in Singapore will work. Just check the protein amount:D That is what makes different.
Karen says
Thanks so much for answering my question! I will try the recipe tomorrow. Did I read correctly that the dough needs to go on medium high speed for 20mins? That’s a pretty long time. Longest I’ve gone for making dough is 10 mins. Thanks!
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Karen yes I did about 20 min.
Jenna Müller says
Possible to replace the bread flour to whole meal flour?
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Jenna, yes if it is wholemeal bread flour 😀
han says
hi there! i must have missed it in the recipe but what size bread pan are you using? thanks !
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Han, It is in the recipe card note section.
Angie says
Hi
I am so trying to figure out what is the pan size. Under the note, you indicated as bread size so is that pan size?
I have tried using the bread machine to knead only . I did the 1st rise in the oven defrost mode. Then I cut into 3 parts and roll into balls with rolling pin and let it stand on the bench. I notice 2 of the 3 balls did not rise as much. And I notice when I was rolling in my earlier step, the 2 has too much elascity and it could not stay in the shape and size I want. Could you tell me what possibly went wrong?
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Angie, the size is my bread form which is the tin. Every ovens are different so check the temperature and if your dough did not rise enough, leave it longer till the dough size double.
Anna says
I’m keen to make a square toast. Would the same recipe works and do I need to make any adjustment to the measurements?
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Anna, are you making one standard loaf? or half?
Anna says
Making a 8 inch loaf. I made 1 but still can’t get the loaf to be squarish and the crust turns out paler.
Lihva says
Hi, you mentioned that the yudane resting time can be shortened? May i know how long is it?
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Lihva, some reader reported 2 hours in fridge and turned out great bread 😀
Rachel Lew says
Hi! My flour is 13.2%‘ will there be alot of difference compared to 12%?
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Rachel, should be fine 😀
Winnie says
You can also use the Pearson’s square to combine your flour with some lesser protein flour such as all purpose flour which is 10% protein.
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Thank you for the information Winnie.
Andy says
When do you add the yeast? It’s not listed in the instructions.
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Thank you Andy, the post is now updated and the recipe is fixed 😀
Shirl L says
Hi! I stumbled upon your page while searching for shokupan recipe. This is the first time I’ve heard of yudane and I love the result of the bread! Nice and spongy on the inside but the crust was a little tough though. Is it supposed to be like that? I’m making it for the second time today, waiting for it to proof in thr oven this very moment. Oh, I did substitute cow’s milk for almond milk and butter with non dairy spread as my boy is dairy intolerant. Works absolutely well! This recipe is definitely a keeper.
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Thank you Shirl 😀
Kim Zhang says
Hi there,
May I ask how is the texture of the kneaded dough be like? Do I need to do a window pane test? My dough came out alittle tacky and sticks to my fingers, even after I added alittle more flour (around 20-30g). Also, when I roll it out, it sticks to the rolling pin and board as well- is it supposed to be like that? Thank you!
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Kim, yes it is quite sticky.
Shin says
I love this recipe and have recommended it to all my friends! I made three loaves this week in the bread maker, and they all turned out great – lovely rise and colour. Your recipe is a keeper, thanks!
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Thank you too Shin!
Alina says
hi! can fresh yeast be used instead? it’s not easy to find powered yeast in my country. thanks x
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Yes Alina, I am going to update including all questions asked in a post very soon.
Maria says
How do you determine the Yudane quantity when adding it to a recipe? I have some bread recipes that I want to add Yudane to
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Maria, I included the baker’s percentage when the recipe updated, so please refer to it in the updated post 😀
Daniela says
Is it possible to hand mix the dough? I don’t have bread machine nor any mixer. I usually hand knead my bread dough.
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Daniela, this bread recipe is more suitable for machine mix as the dough is quit wet, but you can still hand mix the dough as well, just it is very sticky.
Hannah says
Hi! Great recipe…where did you get your loaf tin? I’m having trouble finding one with the right dimensions.
Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles says
Hi Hannah, I bought it in Kappabashi street in Tokyo, Japan. But I am sure similar available online 😀 Pleases let me know if you need help to find it online 😀