Do you like baking bread? Then you probably baked milk bread already, right? Unfortunately, it took quite a while for me to realize that making milk bread at home is a very nice thing to do. Well… sometimes I am just a bit slower than others at learning stuff ;P Milk bread aka. breakfast bread is quite similar to a toast – obviously – and if you make it yourself at home you can do much more with it than with those pre-cut bread from the supermarket. A popular version of a milk bread is this Japanese “Shokupan” Milk Bread here. Easy to prepare, really nice and fluffy. Just the way a milk bread should be.

I don’t know how widespread milk bread is in Germany – you can definitely get milk bread rolls at almost any bakery, but can you get a whole milk bread loaf in the bakery around the corner? It’s quite rare, isn’t it? Well, our baker doesn’t carry such things. But maybe that’s actually a good thing because otherwise, I would buy it far too often. I have to limit the consumption of white bread a bit – unfortunately, bread with a high percentage of wheat flour is not ideal for diabetics.

But of course, you can treat yourself to some white bread like this from time to time – even with diabetes. Maybe I should develop a version with spelt flour… that would be a little bit better for me plain old wheat flour ;) Anyway. I wanted to tell you something about Shokupan and not about my diseases :P

Shokupan is a popular type of bread in Japan. Basically, the word “Shokupan” means “eat bread”, but when you talk about Shokupan, everyone there will automatically associate it with a soft and fluffy white bread even though you could probably also call dark whole wheat sliced bread “Shokupan”. My version is a bit too dark for Shokupan lovers I assume, but I like it like that. It is perfect for French Toast, for example, if it has a bit of a crust… also you don’t have to follow all the rules all the time, right?! ;P

Shokupan is a universal bread. The Japanese love it for sandwiches – no matter if your sandwich is sweet or savory. The best-known sandwiches are probably Katsu Sando (a sandwich with breaded schnitzel) or Tamago Sando (a sandwich with egg salad). You can also make “Arme Ritter” aka. “French Toast” with bread, as well as bread pudding or grilled cheese sandwiches. Shokupan can, of course, also be used as a simple toast for breakfast – this is probably the most common use. Cut a slice to the thickness you like, put it in the toaster and enjoy with some butter and jam. If you don’t want to eat much in the morning, this is the perfect breakfast for you.

I used Shokupan in another recipe here, but that one was baked in a special baking tin which gives the bread a more “commercial looking” shape – similar to the ones you can get in a supermarket. But baking it without that particular baking tin and using a regular loaf pan is also fine for the Shibuya Honey Toast I was referring to. A delicious and sweet monster dessert ;)

INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN

Easy Japanese Shokupan Bread | Bake to the roots

Easy Japanese Shokupan Bread | Bake to the roots

DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG

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Easy Japanese Shokupan Milk Bread

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• Author: Bake to the roots
• Prep Time: 20m
• Cook Time: 40m
• Total Time: 3h 30m
• Yield: 1
• Category: Bread
• Cuisine: Japanese

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Description

Easy peasy bread to make – Japanese Shokupan Bread aka. White Bread. A fluffy bread perfect for your sandwiches.

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Ingredients

17.6 oz. (500g) bread flour (plus more if needed)

2 tbsp. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast

1 tsp. salt

9.1 fl. oz. (270ml) lukewarm water

3.4 fl. oz. (50ml) milk

1.8 oz. (50g) butter, at room temperature

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Instructions

1. Add the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt to a large bowl and mix to combine. Add the water and milk and let knead by the kitchen machine for about 4-5 minutes until you get a nice smooth dough. Add the butter and let knead for about 10 minutes more. Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a clean bowl and cover – let rise about 1 hour in a warm place until doubled in size.

 

2. Place the risen dough on a lightly floured surface and punch several times to get some air out. Divide into three equal portions and shape into balls. Cover with a damp towel and let rest/rise for another 20 minutes.

 

3. Grease a 4.5×9 inches (ca. 12x23cm) loaf pan lightly and line with a strip of baking paper. Set aside. Flatten and stretch the dough balls to get oval shapes that are slightly larger than your hand. Roll them up from the longer side to get thick short logs – place those three logs next to each other (seam side down) in the prepared loaf pan and cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise again in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.

 

4. Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Place the pan in the middle of the oven and reduce the heat to 390°F (200°C). Bake the bread for 35-40 minutes until golden brown. Take out of the oven and remove from the pan immediately. Let cool down completely on a wire rack.

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Notes

Enjoy baking!