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The Spruce / Jennifer Perillo
Love homemade bread, but wish you could enjoy that soft, fresh-from-the-oven taste and texture the next day? Look no further than this recipe for Japanese milk bread, a springy, airy white bread that gets its signature texture from a roux starter called tangzhong.
As with making gravy, you whisk flour together with liquid (in this case, a combination of water and milk) and cook it on the stovetop until it thickens into a pudding-like mixture. This two-minute effort of making the starter gives the gluten in the flour a head start—think of it as an aerobic warm-up for bread dough.
Another signature method used in making Japanese milk bread is the folding technique. The proofed dough is divided into four pieces that get rolled out, folded like a letter, then rolled out again. It’s a lamination technique used in making croissants and puff pastry. The rolled pieces of dough are tucked into a loaf pan. The finished loaf can be sliced as a regular loaf would, or you can pull apart it apart into smaller loaves for sharing. Our recipe uses a 9-inch loaf pan; for a taller, more majestic loaf, use an 8-inch loaf pan.
Ingredients
- For the Tangzhong Starter:
- 1/2 cup (70 grams) bread flour
- 1/2 cup whole milk (or 2 percent milk)
- 1/2 cup water
- For the Dough:
- 2 1/2 cups (390 grams) bread flour
- 2 tablespoons (28 grams) sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons (7 grams) fast-acting yeast
- 1 teaspoon (4 grams) salt
- 2/3 cup milk
- 4 tablespoons butter (melted)
- 1 large egg
- For Greasing the Pan:
- Butter (room temperature)
Steps to Make It
-
Gather the ingredients.
The Spruce / Jennifer Perillo -
To make the starter, whisk the bread flour, milk, and water together in a medium saucepan until smooth. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until mixture thickens into the consistency of mashed potatoes, about 2 minutes. Cover with plastic film, pressing against the surface of the milk-flour mixture to ensure it doesn’t form a skin. Set aside and allow to cool until barely warm, about 10 minutes.
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To make the dough, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.
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In a small bowl or measuring cup, stir together the milk and melted butter (the butter will clump). Measure out 1 1/2 tablespoons of the mixture into a small, separate bowl, and reserve for brushing the top of the loaf.
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Pour the remaining butter and milk mixture into the bowl with the flour. Add the starter and the egg. Vigorously stir to combine until it forms a rough, scraggly dough, 2 to 3 minutes.
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Knead the dough in the bowl until it forms a rough ball, about 30 seconds. (Alternately, you can use a stand mixer for this entire step).
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If the dough is still sticky, lightly dust a counter with flour (if the dough is tacky, but doesn’t stick to your fingers, then proceed without any flour). Scrape the dough onto the counter and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes. If the dough starts to stick to the counter or your hands, add a tablespoon of flour at a time as needed (you shouldn’t need more than an additional 2 to 3 tablespoons of flour at most). Lightly grease a large bowl with butter. Add the dough, cover tightly with plastic film and set aside in a warm spot to rise until doubled in volume, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
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Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9-inch loaf pan.
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Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece out into a 6-inch by 10-inch rectangle (do not flour the surface!). Starting with the shorter end facing you, fold the dough in thirds like a letter.
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Turn the dough once clockwise, then roll the dough out into a 4 x 10-inch rectangle. Roll each piece into a cylinder.
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Arrange the rolled pieces of dough next to each other in the prepared pan. Cover with a lightly floured towel or slip into an oven roasting bag and set in a warm spot until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.
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Brush the top of the dough with the reserved milk-butter mixture (the butter will have solidified; don’t worry, it’s still okay to brush it on). Bake on the center rack until the top is deeply golden and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the bread reads 190 F, 40 to 45 minutes.
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Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool 20 minutes in the pan. Unmold the bread and set it on a wire rack to cool completely before slicing. Store leftover bread in a zip-top bag or wrapped tightly in plastic film for up to 5 days.
The Spruce / Jennifer Perillo
Tip
- Precision is key with bread making, so we strongly suggest using a kitchen scale (we’ve provided weights to make it easy).
- If you don’t have a scale, then measure your flour as follows: whisk the flour in the bag to aerate it, then scoop it out with a measuring cup and use an offset spatula or butter knife to sweep away any excess from the top (this is called the “scoop and sweep” method).