Shokupan

Have you ever eaten Shokupan, the Japanese milk bread? You must try it! It’s that delicious, soft and fluffy white bread loaf that you can get in Japan. They are amazingly fluffy and keep moist for longer than ordinary bread because of the Yudane method.

Why is Japanese Bread So Fluffy?

Why is Japanese bread so soft and fluffy and has the mochi-like texture? The answer is because of the “Yudane” method. The Yudane method makes the bread pillowy soft and fluffy and also keeps the bread from drying out quickly. This is because the heated gelatinised starch in the flour keeps the moisture inside the bread.

Hands holding a freshly baked Shokupan Japanese milk bread loaf on a cooling wire.

So What is the Yudane Method?

Yudane is made by mixing bread flour and hot boiling water. Adding hot boiling water gelatinises the starch. The gelatinised starch not only allows the starch to take in more water, but also increases the sweetness of it. Therefore adding Yudane to a bread dough(yudane method), you can make soft, moist and sweeter bread which lasts longer.

Adding yudane to a bowl of other Japanese bread ingredients

Yudane vs Tangzhong roux

The Yudane method originated in Japan and it became widespread and the popular way to bake bread in Asian countries when Yvonne Chen introduced “Tangzhong” roux as a secret ingredient to bake the super soft and light Japanese milk bread in her book called “Bread Doctor”.
Yudane ratio of flour and water is usually 1:1 whereas “Tangzhong roux” is made by 1:5 ratio of bread flour to water. The Tangzhong mixture is made by heating up to 149°F(65°C) then cooled down to room temperature and added to the bread dough. I will explain how to make Yudane in a paragraph below.
I have often seen this type of bread also called “Hokkaido Milk Bread” or “Japanese Milk Bread” on social media platforms such as Pinterest. Those breads are made by the same principle either adding Yudane or Tangzhong roux to bread dough.

Making youdane in 4 photos, adding hot boiling water into a bowl of bread flour

How to Make Yudane?

We need to deduct 20% of total flour ingredient to make Yudane. So to make 1 standard loaf size dough, we need 250 x 0.2 = 50g bread flour. Yudane flour to water ratios is generally 1:1, but I found it is easier to make yudane with 1:08 ratio. Then simply add hot boiling water (should be above 194°F/90°C) and combine them with a wooden spatula. The ideal combined dough temperature will be around 122°F/50°C. When it is cooled down, wrap with a sheet of cling wrap and leave it on kitchen bench or in a fridge.

Milk in a jug, bread flour, salt, sugar, instant dry yeast, unsalted butter in bowl, and yudane in a cling wrap

Ingredients

You need to gather bread flour, milk, sugar, unsalted butter, Salt and Yudane that you made the night before. Some ingredients will be further explained as I have received many questions about this.

Flour

For making fluffy Japanese milk bread, we need to use bread flour that contains around 12% of protein. I use Japanese brand Nisshin flour. You can use all-purpose flour but all-purpose flour has around 10% protein content therefore the bread will not rise as high as the shokupan made with bread flour.

Yeast

I usually use LeSaffre Saf-Instant Yeast Gold

for making shokupan Japanese milk bread. If you cannot find instant dry yeast but can find fresh yeast, you can substitute. This recipe requires 1 teaspoon(5g) of dry yeast, so you would need 5g x 3 = 15g of fresh yeast.

fresh yeast in a container on the left and instant dry yeast in a bowl and package.

Butter

We need to use unsalted butter. Because the salt content of butter will affect the glutein formation. If you don’t have unsalted butter, and would like to use oil instead, you can. However it is a little bit tricky because butter is solid and oil is liquid. Generally speaking, you can replace 3/4 of the amount of butter with oil.

Milk

Some readers have asked if they can replace with other types of milk. Using different milk does not affect the fluffiness and lightness of the bread. I tested using coconut milk and almond milk. Read the result in the FAQ.

adding yudane to a bowl of other Japanese bread ingredients and mixing them all together in a stand mixer with a hook dough attachment

Bakers Percentages

Some readers have asked to change the amount of the ingredients to make bigger or smaller sized bread loaves. Baker’s percentage is great because it is universal when each country uses different units of weight. In the table below, is the bread ingredients mixing ratio. Each ingredient is shown as a % of the flour.

Ingredients	weight	percentage
Bread flour for Yudane	50g	20%
Hot water	40g/ml	16%
Bread flour	200g	80%
Milk	150g/ml	60%
Sugar	15g	6%
Instant dry yeast	3g	1.2%
unsalted butter	10g	4%
Salt	5g	2%

kneading Japanese bread shokupan dough with a standmixer with hook attachment, window pane and finger test

Using Cup Measurement

Ok, if you don’t have a kitchen scale, don’t worry. I have figured out measurements for using cups. However, you need to be as precise as you can. So for example, when you measure 1 cup of flour, you need to spoon flour to the measuring cup, then level the surface with the back of a knife. The cup measurements are included in the recipe cards’ note section.

panching the dough, dividing the dough and roll and shaping.

How to Make Shokupan Japanese Milk Bread?

This is the basic process of making the shokupan Japanese bread in 8 steps using Yudane method.

Make Yudane a night before. (8-12 hours)
Knead all ingredients using a stand mixer, bread machine or by hand (20min)
The first rise (45-60min depends on the temperature)
Divide & roll
Bench time (20min)
Shape
The second rise (30min)
Bake (30min)

Oil to bread tin and folding the bread dough to shape

Tips to Make Shokupan Successfully

Start making Yudane the night before with boiling hot water. When the mixture combines the temperature of the dough should be around 122°F/50°C.
Leaving Yudane longer will result in better Japanese bread.
The dough rising temperature should be around 86°F(30°C). My oven has a defrost function and I set the temperature set to 86°F(30°C), so I use that setting for rising. Or use a styrofoam box with 4 little cups with hot water in the corners of the box.

rising the dough in a styrofoam box with 4 cups of hot water in it

Other Recipes That Call for Shokupan Japanese Milk Bread

The fluffy, soft and moist Japanese milk bread is the basis of other delicious Japanese creations.

Three pieces of Japanese fruit sandwich using Japanese bread shokupan on a bamboo tray

an egg omelette sandwich and an egg salad sandwich in a cardboard take away container

How to Store the Bread?

Another tip that I can give you is that this bread is super soft, so it is better to slice it the following day. I bake the bread on a Saturday and slice it on Sunday. It will stay moist for a few days just sitting on the kitchen bench. In my household, the bread is eaten in a day or two. But if you wish, slice them and individually wrap and place them in a ziplock bag to freeze. It will last about a month.

Placing the two bread dough into a one loaf bread tin

FAQ

brushing beaten egg on the bread dough and baking, and removing from the tin in 4 photos

Stay Connected

This is not a popular effortless “No Knead” type of bread recipe, however, it is worth the effort to bake this bread especially if you love any Japanese baking stuff. This is the bread you must try!

Freshly baked Shokupan Japanese milk bread on a cooling wire rack

If you liked my recipe for Shokupan Japanese milk bread, please rate it and leave a comment below. Also, don’t forget to follow me on Youtube, Pinterest, Facebook , Twitter and Instagram to keep up to date with all the latest happenings on Chopstick Chronicles. Don’t forget to use the hashtag #ChopstickChronicles so I can see your wonderful creations!

Fluffy, soft and airy light Japanese milk bread loaf recipe using the Yudane method.

Prep Time: 2 hours

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Yudane resting time: 8 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Course: Bread, Breakfast

Cuisine: Japanese

Servings: 1

Calories: 1112kcal

Author: Shihoko | Chopstick Chronicles

Instructions

Make Yudane the night before. Place bread flour in a bowl and add boiling water and mix well. Put cling wrap and refrigerate overnight. *4
Pour the room temperature milk into a stand mixer bowl.
Add sugar,butter and yeast to the bowl then add the yudane as you tear it into small pieces.
Add the bread, flour and salt.
Attach the kneading hook onto the stand mixer and combine all ingredient on low speed 1.
When all ingredients are combined, turn the speed up to 5 or 6 and knead the dough for 20 min.
Roll the dough round and place the dough into a greased bowl. Wrap with cling wrap to rise for about 45 min to 1 hour at about 86°F(30°C) or until double the size.
Use your finger, to test if the dough has risen by dusting your finger with flour and poking the dough. If the dough doesn’t bounce back and the hole you poked stays there, it is ready.
Punch the dough down and cut the dough into two equal parts with a scraper and roll them.
Cover the rolled doughs with a wet cloth and stand it for 20 minutes bench time.
Roll out each dough to about 5.9×7.8inch (15 x 20 cm) rectangle with a rolling pin.
Fold the dough tightly not letting any air in towards the centre from left and right.
Rotate the dough 90 degrees and roll it from one end.
Spray one loaf bread tin lightly and place the rolled dough in the end of the tin facing the centre.
Cover it with a wet cloth and let the dough rise for a second time until the dough rises to the size of the bread tin about 30 min.
Start to preheat the oven to 365 °F(185°C).
When the dough has risen to be level with the tin, it’s ready to bake.
Bake the dough for about 25 -30 minutes in preheated oven.
Remove the bread from the tin and cool it down on a rack. * 5
Whisk an egg, rightly brush over the bread dough.(Optional)

Notes

*1 Choose the flour that contains around 12% protein. *2 Dry instant yeast can be substituted by 15g of fresh yeast. *3 You can use plant-based milk if you prefer. See the above post about milk. *4 Yudane should be made the night before but it can be prepared and rested in a shorter time. *5 This bread is super soft, therefore, it will be tricky to slice it when the bread is still warm. I usually slice it the next day. *6 It makes about 8 slices (2cm =0.78inch thick) and approximately 150cal per slice. *7 My bread form size is 3.9 x 7.9 x 3.5 inch (10 x 20 x 9 cm). *8 If you don’t have a kitchen scale, Use the following measurements. Yudane bread flour 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp Hot boiling water 2tbsp + 2tsp Bread Milk 1/2 cup + 2tbsp instant dry yeast 1tsp sugar 1tbsp unsalted butter 2tsp Bread flour 1 2/3 cup salt 1 tsp *9 Yudane resting time is not included in the total cooking time.

Nutrition

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This recipe was originally posted in 2017, since then had received so many questions and suggestions. So I have decided update the post and the recipe in order to answer all the questions asked. Thank you for those who left comments below and rate the recipe highly.

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