Japanese Milk Bread

Japanese milk bread uses a different method, called the Tangzhong method. Essentially what this is is a roux made with milk, water, and some of the flour. It’s cooked and thickened to a pudding-like consistency, then cooled and added to the bread dough. Cooking the flour like this makes the starches in the flour gelatinous without developing the gluten, which allows it to take in more water while still remaining very stable, thus creating a moister, softer loaf. For example, if you were to just add more water to a bread dough, you’d end up with something too soft to hold a shape, so by making a tangzhong, you add more water without compromising the structure. You can add a tangzhong to any bread recipe to create a softer and moister loaf. The magic ratio is 5 parts liquid to 1 part flour. There’s also quite a bit of milk in this bread. Milk (or dairy of any kind) adds a lot of flavor to bread. That’s one reason you see powdered milk in a lot of dinner roll recipes. The milk also helps with the soft texture. Typically, you’ll see tall loaves of Japanese milk bread. Tall bread pans are not too easy to find (around here, anyway), but I happened to have a sandwich bread pan…one with the lid that makes perfectly square loaves. The one I have is thisUSA Pan Pullman Loaf Pan. I baked my milk bread in it without the lid on and it turned out nice and perfectly tall. I also highly recommend usingbread flourfor this bread. It contains more gluten than all-purpose flour and helps with the structure and the chewy soft texture. Kitchen Kneads is your one-stop shop for quality grains, flour, kitchen appliances, and other ingredients. Kitchen Kneads is your one stop shop for quality grains, flour, kitchen appliances and other ingredients. We are Utah’s premiere baking and cooking resource! Questions?
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