Japanese milk bread

Chen’s shokupan is a soft Japanese milk bread made with bread flour, milk powder, honey, sugar and butter. This selected current recipe makes a flat-topped loaf from three dough rolls in a lidded pan, without a precooked flour starter.

Water, sugar, honey and instant yeast are combined before joining the flour, salt and selected nonfat dry milk powder. The dough is kneaded in stages, and the butter is added only after it begins to smooth and clear the bowl.

Once the dough stretches into a thin membrane, it is shaped into a taut ball and left to double in a lightly oiled bowl. It is then divided into three equal pieces and rested under a lightly dampened towel.

Each piece is rolled into a rectangle, folded and shaped into a log. The three logs sit seam-side down in a separately buttered pan and rise again before the lid is closed for baking.

The loaf is released onto a rack and cooled completely before slicing. Chen describes a milky-sweet flavour and delicate pull-apart crumb, enjoyed in Japan as breakfast toast or soft bread for sandwiches.