Shokupan, a milk bun, is a very tender and fluffy bread typical of Japan, popularized internationally as Hokkaido bread . The unique characteristic of this bread is that, prior to making the dough, a mixture of flour and liquid called tangzhong is cooked. This mixture is then incorporated into the dough, resulting in a particularly fluffy bread.
When you cook the flour with water and milk, in our case, the starch gelatinizes, causing the dough to retain more water. This results in a very soft and fluffy bread that stays tender for longer. You might also be familiar with the name yudone , which is a similar technique also used to prepare shokupan. It differs from tangzhong in the proportions: yudone uses a 1:1 ratio, while tangzhong uses more liquid.
The remaining ingredients for this Japanese bread are those typically found in a milk bread recipe : wheat flour, milk, sugar, salt, yeast, and butter. Ideally, this recipe calls for a high-protein flour, between 12% and 14%, known as strong flour, which will help the bread rise.
If you don't have strong flour in your pantry, you can achieve good results with all-purpose flour as long as it has a protein content of at least 11%. Keep in mind that, depending on the type of flour used, you may need to adjust the amount of liquid in the dough, as generally, the higher the protein content, the greater the dough's capacity to absorb liquid.
Another important aspect of shokupan is its characteristic shape . To achieve this, we divide the risen dough into three portions, roll them up, and place them together in the pan so the bread rises evenly, as a single unit. We can also use a lidded pan to ensure the bread is perfectly square.
If you like, you can freeze the sliced shokupan in an airtight bag so you can enjoy it at any other time, as it defrosts quickly at room temperature.
This bread is perfect for preparing delicious tender sandwiches like the Japanese egg sandwich tamago sando , although it is so tasty and tender that alone or with a little butter and jam to accompany a breakfast it is irresistible.
Recipe Information
- Preparation time : 15 minutes
- Cooking time : 40 minutes
- Total time : 55 minutes (plus rising times)
- Servings : 24 slices
- Category : breads
- Type of cuisine : Japanese
- Calories per serving (kcal) : 102
Shokupan ingredients
For the tang zhong :
- 35g of strong flour
- 60 ml of water
- 60 ml of milk
For the dough:
- 175 ml of lukewarm milk
- 8 g of dried baker's yeast
- 450g of strong flour
- 40g of sugar
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- The entire tangzhong
- 50g of butter at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon of olive oil
Necessary utensils
- Oblong mold of about 30 x 11 cm
How to make the Shokupan Japanese Milk Bread
We begin by preparing the tangzhong . To do this, heat 35g of strong flour in a saucepan with 60ml of water and 60ml of milk, stirring over medium-low heat until the mixture thickens and reaches a smooth porridge consistency. Let it cool slightly while we begin with the dough.
In a bowl, mix 175 ml of lukewarm milk with 8 g of dried baker's yeast and let the mixture rest for 10 minutes.
In a bowl, we have 450g of strong flour, 40g of sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, all the tangzhong prepared first and the milk and yeast mixture.
Knead by hand until you obtain a smooth dough, or for about 5 minutes in a stand mixer at medium speed. Add 50g of room temperature butter and knead for another 5 minutes until fully incorporated.
Grease a bowl with 1 teaspoon of olive oil, form a ball with the dough, cover it with a clean cotton cloth and let it rise for 1 hour or until it doubles in size.
After that time, the ball of dough will have doubled in size.
We divide the dough into three equal portions and shape them into balls. We let them rest for 10 minutes.
We flatten the balls with the rolling pin, giving them an elongated shape. We fold the ends of the long part towards the center and then loosely roll them up as shown in the following images.
Arrange the three portions of dough seam-side down and in the same position in a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Cover with a clean cotton cloth and let rise for 1 hour.
After this time, the dough will have doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 190°C.
Bake the shokupan for 30 minutes at 190°C (375°F), using the top and bottom heating elements, until golden brown. Remove from the pan and let it cool completely on a wire rack before serving.
Easy-to-prepare summary
- We heat the flour with the milk and water in a saucepan to obtain the tang zhong
- We mix the milk with the yeast from the dough
- We put the flour, sugar, salt, tangzhong and the milk and yeast mixture into a bowl
- We knead for 5 minutes, add the butter and knead for another 5 minutes.
- We let the shokupan dough rise
- The mass will double in size
- We divided the dough into three round portions
- We flatten them, seal the edges, and roll them up.
- We arrange the portions of formed dough in a mold
- We let the formed shokupan rise for 1 hour
- We bake the shokupan for 30 minutes and let it cool before serving.
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