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Japanese milk bread is unlike any other bread out there. Extremely soft, fluffy and flakey texture that is a product of the tangzhong method. The first time I tried making it I failed terribly, but after a few tweaks to the recipe it is now perfect. I will be going through two ways to make this recipe. One will be to make the perfect dinner rolls, and the other will be to make the softest loaf of bread.
Japanese milk bread 2 ways: dinner rolls vs loaf
The only difference between how the dinner rolls are made vs a loaf is in the second proofing portion. You will need to portion them into different weights and also shape them differently.
Dinner roll
Portions: For dinner rolls we will separate the dough into 75g pieces.
Shaping: After you have separated them into 75g pieces, you will want to shape them into balls, making sure you create surface tension so that they are smooth looking.
Here is the video for dinner roll method:
Loaf
Portions: For the loaf method, you will need to separate our dough into three equal pieces which will end up being about 250g.
Shaping: After you have separated the dough into 3 equal pieces, first flatten into a rectangle, then fold the long ends towards the middle, and finally roll it up from the short side. Make sure to seal and tuck the dough on the bottom. This will create a thick roll of dough which we place into our loaf pan to proof in.
Here is the video for our loaf method:
Key steps and ingredients for Japanese milk bread
Tangzhong method: The tangzhong method uses flour, water, and milk, cooked down into a paste like substance which is then added as a dough ingredient. You want to cook it down until you can pick all of it up in a spoon. What this does is make the bread softer and more springy. This is an essential step and you definitely don’t want to skip it. Even after a few days, my bread is still really soft and springy.
Active dry yeast/instant yeast: With active dry yeast you will need to activate it in lukewarm before using. Alternatively, you can use instant yeast which does not require any activating. However, I would still add the 2 tbsp of water to maintain hydration level.
Softened butter: Make sure your butter is softened, not melted and be patient when mixing the butter in. When you initially try to add the butter, the dough will break, but after a couple minutes, you will see the butter incorporate into the dough better.
Japanese Milk Bread
Ingredients
Tangzhong
- 2 tbsp flour, 20g
- 2 tbsp water, 27g
- 4½ tbsp milk, 60g
Yeast mixture
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast or instant yeast, 10g
- 2 tbsp lukewarm water, 20g
Dough
- Tangzhong
- Yeast mixture
- 2⅓ cup AP flour, 380g
- ¼ cup sugar, 60g
- 1 tsp salt, 3g
- ½ cup milk, 130g
- 1 large egg
- 3 tbsp softened unsalted butter
Instructions
- Add the active dry yeast into the lukewarm water, mix and allow to sit for 10 minutes. You know the yeast is active if it blooms. If you are using instant yeast, skip this step.1 tbsp active dry yeast or instant yeast, 2 tbsp lukewarm water
- In a saucepan, add the tangzhong ingredients and cook, continuing to stir over low heat until a paste forms. Should be thick and you will be able to pick all of it up with a spoon.2 tbsp flour, 2 tbsp water, 4½ tbsp milk
- Add your yeast mixture and tangzhong along with the remaining dough ingredients except for the softened butter in a stand mixer bowl. If you are using instant yeast, add the yeast and water in at this stage as well. Mix on low speed for 5 minutes or until a proper dough forms.Tangzhong, Yeast mixture, 2⅓ cup AP flour, ¼ cup sugar, 1 tsp salt, ½ cup milk, 1 large egg
- Add your softened butter, 1 tbsp at a time and mix on medium speed until the butter is fully incorporated and the dough is very smooth. If your dough is too sticky, add more flour 1 tbsp at a time until manageable.3 tbsp softened unsalted butter
- Allow your dough to proof in a bowl, covered with plastic wrap for 1.5 hours or until doubled in size.
Dinner roll method
- Portion the dough into 75g pieces and place into a 9 inch cake pan giving them 1cm of space. When shaping, you want to make sure to form surface tension on the dough balls to make sure they come out looking smooth. Allow it to rest another 1 hour
- Brush with egg wash which is just 1 beaten egg and bake in the oven at 350F for 20 minutes.
- Top with garlic butter and enjoy.
Loaf method
- Separate your dough into 3 equal pieces, it should be about 250g each.
- Flatten each piece into a rectangle.
- Fold the long sides towards the middle.
- Roll it up and seal the edge towards the bottom.
- Place into an oiled 9 inch loaf pan leaving 1 inch of space between each roll.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let proof for 1 hour.
- Brush with egg wash which is just 1 egg.
- Bake 350F for 25-30 minutes. I like to immediately brush with butter and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting into.
If you enjoyed this, check out some more bread recipes here:
I am so excited to try this recipe over the weekend, thank you for sharing! Is there a substitute for eggs? Can I leave out the eggs altogether? Thoughts and tips please?
Oh M G! Thanks for this and all of your other recipes! I found via Insta and decided to follow. We often get into dinner ruts and fall into the same old grub week after week.
I tried my hand at this today and my dough was pretty wet but it did was it was supposed to and is in the oven now.
So excited to try more of your fun recipes in the coming weeks!
Just made these and loved it!!
I was just wondering if there is a way I can “scandinavify” them using less sugar? Any suggestions please #amateur
yep you can use less sugar, I like y rolls slightly sweet though.
I made this recipe for my son and grands, they al liked it, but weren’t thrilled, just hungry. I tried a small piece and knew why. It just wasn’t all that flavorful.
So I went over the recipe, did the math and realized that the salt amount was really off. Granted, I’m sort of a baking geek, though I’ve only been doing it for a few years and NOT consistently. Still, I’m just a pretty good at math. So here’s my 2 cents’ worth.
The part that salt plays in bread isn’t just for flavor, if there’s yeast in the recipe, it’s also there to regulate its growth.
With the amount of yeast in the recipe, and the sugar, it needs more salt. In this case I’d suggest 2% of the flour (baker’s math, right?) which comes to 8g. The 3g amounts to 3/4 of 1%, much too small of an amount to be of any use for flavor or as a yeast regulator.
Just in my very humble opinion. I’m not a chef, or pro baker, just read enough to get into trouble.
Most sincere apologies if I’m way off.
Question about using instant yeast..should the water be mixed with the yeast separately or just add both yeast and water into the mixer with the rest of the dough ingredients?
If using instant yeast no need to activate with water.
If using instant yeast mix all your dry ingredients together along with yeast. Then add wet ingredients to the bowl of your stand mixer and mix. Mixing instant yeast straight with water can kill it.
I haven’t made the bread yet but is it possible to make this even if I don’t have that mixer?
Yep, you would have to hand knead it for longer until the dough is smooth though.
This is the softest most delicious bread I’ve ever eaten!! And it was so easy to make (and I hand mixed it)!! I saw this on your TikTok then came to your site for the full recipe, and I hope you never take this down! This will be my go to bread from now on. I also supplemented half granary bread flour and they still came out amazingly soft. Looking forward to exploring your other recipes. Thank you!!
Love to hear it! glad it turned out great 🙂
Why did my top not turn golden brown even with egg wash?
I’m loving the recipie but I keep struggling when I add the softened butter a chunk of the dough will stick to the bottom of my bowl while I mix it in
Mix over high speed and until combined! might take some patience.
I’ve tried this recipe a few times now and I always end up with thick heavy bread, not light fluffy bread. Could someone please tell me what I’m doing wrong…