Japanese Milk Bread

Gather the ingredients.

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.

To make the dough, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.

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.

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.

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).

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.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9-inch loaf pan. 

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.

Turn the dough once clockwise, then roll the dough out into a 4 x 10-inch rectangle. Roll each piece into a cylinder. 

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.

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.

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.