This Japanese bread using fresh milk, thick double cream and pure honey has an extra-soft fluffy white crumb with a slightly rich and sweet flavour: it’s sometimes called Hokkaido Milk Bread 北海道生クリーム食パン, or more simply, Shokupan. This recipe is inspired by a version from the renowned Japanese baking school Mamapan. It has become very popular lately as a counterpoint to sourdough and is arguably - in flavour and texture - the complete opposite. Milk, cream, and butter give the crumb richness, and the honey and sugar help it toast extra-fast. And by baking it in one of our sturdy metal BakeryBits Pullman loaf tins you'll get the perfect square sandwich loaf too.

The stay-soft texture is due to the addition of cooked starch – you can read more about it here – in a method known as yu-da-ne (pronounce it ‘ne’ as in net), a Japanese water roux 湯種 method. To make this yudane, wheat flour is cooked with boiling water to a very thick gelatinised paste, then left overnight in a cool place (the refrigerator) before adding to the dough. By mixing the dough until the gluten has developed before adding the butter and the yudane water roux, the crumb takes on a lighter result.

Now mixing two stiff mixtures together evenly together is difficult to do by hand (we have a hand mix recipe here for a Stay-Soft White, Rye and Wholemeal Milk Loaf recipe here) but easy with our IGF Fornitalia 3100 mixer giving you an exceptionally light soft crumb because of the way the fast spiral action stretches the dough effortlessly. The other essential for this recipe is steady warmth as the dough rises, as this keeps the enzymes and yeast very active and keeps the rising time short (important if you want to keep the crumb flavour clean and neutral) and for this the Brød & Taylor Folding Proofer & Slow Cooker is ideal, especially in winter. You just set the temperature, it’s that easy.

If you have a sturdy mixer then give this recipe a go and make the most incredible pillow-soft white bread you’re ever eaten.

Method

Put the water in a saucepan with the flour, whisk together then stir with a spatula until very thick and stiff. Spoon into a container, press a sheet of baking paper or other covering into the surface to stop a crust forming then chill overnight (min 12 hours or up to 3 days) in the refrigerator. Note: the mixture does turn grey, this is natural oxidisation and does not affect the whiteness or flavour of the baked loaf.

The following day pour the warm water into a bowl, sprinkle on the yeast and whisk until dissolved, then stir in the honey, milk and cream.

Pour the liquid into the mixer, add the flour, sugar and salt and mix for 2 minutes on slow speed then 6 minutes on medium speed until the dough is starting to become extensible. Add the butter then mix until incorporated.

Add the water roux paste, in small pieces, then mix thorough evenly until the dough is very elastic.

Remove from the bowl, place in an oiled container, and leave to rise at 27-30C (using our Brød & Taylor Folding Proofer & Slow Cooker) until doubled in volume. Then divide the dough into three equal pieces, shape into a ball, cover and leave to rest for 30 minutes.

Line the base of your tin with a neat snug-fitting rectangle of non-stick paper, and oil or butter the sides of the tin well and the lid if you’re using it. Roll each piece of dough out to about 30cm long and 15cm, fold in the long sides so that they overlay 1-2cm in the middle, then roll the strip of dough up into a tight scroll. Place the scroll with the end facing down in the tin and the coil of the scroll facing the long sides of the tin. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, then cover and leave at 27-30C until just up to the top of the tin. At this point you can bake it with or without the lid.

Bake at 150C fan for 40 minutes then increase the heat to 160C and bake for a further 30 minutes until a rich light golden brown on the outside of the tin. Remove the loaf from the oven, quickly remove it from the tin, place on a tray and bake for a further 10 minutes to firm the crust. Then remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.