Japanese Milk Bread

This recipe uses a tangzhong, or water roux, to pre-form gluten and partially gelatinize some of the flour, giving the finished bread a very soft and chewy texture. This recipe produces about 700g of bread dough, which can be baked as a loaf as shown or broken into 120g balls to make Hong Kong-style buns.

Japanese Milk Bread

Equipment

Pre-heat Oven to 350°F

Ingredients

Tangzhong (Water Roux)

  • ½ cup Water
  • 2 tbsp Bread Flour

Dough

  • 2 cups Bread Flour
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 2½ tbsp White Sugar
  • 2 tsp Instant Dry Yeast
  • 2 tbsp Melted Butter
  • 1 Egg
  • ½ cup Evaporated Milk

Egg Wash

  • 1 Egg
  • ½ tsp Water

Procedure

Tangzhong (Water Roux)

  1. Combine the 2 tbsp Bread Flour and ½ cup water at room temperature in a small saucepan
  2. Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and stir with a spatula until a thick glue-like paste forms
  3. Scrape the paste into a small bowl and place in the fridge until cooled to room temperature

Bread Dough

  1. Combine all dry ingredients (Flour, Salt, White Sugar and Yeast) in a mixing bowl and whisk together so they're evenly distributed
  2. Add the remainder of the ingredients (Butter, Egg and Evaporated Milk) as well as the entire tangzhong paste prepared earlier
  3. Knead the mixture using a dough hook on a stand mixer for at least 15 minutes, or until dough pulls together in a tight, smooth ball
  4. Place the dough ball in a lightly greased bowl and set aside for 1 hour
  5. Split the dough into 4 even parts. Roll each portion flat with a rolling pin, then fold each edge of the flat into itself and roll up into a spool
  6. Place the 4 rolled dough spools into a lightly greased loaf pan and set in a warm place to rise for at least 1 hour, or until doubled in size
  7. Just before baking, whisk together an egg and ½ tsp of Water to form an egg wash. Brush this mixture evenly on the top of the risen loaf of dough, then bake at 350°F for about 25 minutes