Very Moist and Soft Japanese Milk Square Toast Bread / Shokupan 食パン

As mentioned at here, remember I said that the enzymes in milk can break down gluten and prevent the bread dough from rising. Due to this reason, some bread recipes prefer to use scalded milk because scalding milk deactivates these enzymes.

It is true. I have baked this recipe many times with either pasteurized milk (not scaled) or milk powder with water and the different ingredients used produce significant differences in bread rising.

Ultimately, this is one of the most perfect shokupan that I had baked...

A very moist and soft Japanese shokupan

At first, I baked two square loaves with 600g bread flour, 60g milk powder and 430ml of water and yielded these two perfect square loaves! Lovely!

Shokupan made with milk powder and water

However, the original recipe from from Cookpad uses milk that doesn't require scalding and so, the curious me baked another two square loaves with 600g bread flour and 430ml of milk and yielded two almost square loaves!!!

Shokupan made with un-scalded milk and didn't rise maximally

See! This bread theory is right! There is something in un-scalded milk that can break down gluten and prevent the dough from rising!!!

However, the bread made with milk is moister and softer than the ones made with milk powder and so, I have scaled up this recipe slightly to bake these two perfect square loaves.

Can you imagine that un-scaled MILK is actually the magic ingredient to make this bread extra moist and fluffy? Geez! I'm loving these baking sciences and theories.

To be honest, we really don't mind baking eating these breads with either milk powder or pasteurised milk. All are nice and fluffy but ultimately, I like to highly recommend this recipe as it is ...

This recipe uses a combination of oil (or shortening) and butter.

Using a breadmaker, I have kneaded this dough with smooth and white surfaces.

Then, I shaped portions of it into rolls.

... and placed them into greased loaf pans for final proving.

After baking ...

Besides using different oven temperature, I have noticed that the use of non-stick pan yields fairer crust.

... but both are as moist, soft and fluffy!

Here's the recipe that is mostly adapted from Cookpad

Make one 10cm x 20cm or 450g loaf

Recipe that uses pasteurised milk - This is the one that I would highly recommend!!! - slightly denser but very moist and soft
350g bread flour
20g caster sugar
6g salt
255ml milk*, at room temperature
15g unsalted butter, soften at room temperature plus extra to grease
12ml vegetable oil, preferably something healthy with no trans fat and low in saturated fat
1 1/4 tsp instant dry yeast

*The milk in this recipe doesn't require scalding but need to be lukewarm or at least room temperature for efficient proving.

To clarify further, the pasteurised milk that I'm referring is NOT UHT (Ultra Heat Treated). It is also known as fresh milk that we store in the fridge for a limited period of time as they are pasteurised (or heated) to 72°C for 15 secs and are found in the fridge sections of all supermarkets.

Recipe that uses milk powder - This recipe is good too which yields slightly fluffier bread with slightly darker crust
300g bread flour
18g caster sugar
5g salt
30g milk powder
215ml water, at room temperature
10g unsalted butter, soften at room temperature plus extra to grease
10ml vegetable oil, preferably something healthy with no trans fat and low in saturated fat
1 tsp instant dry yeast

Using a breadmaker, mix all dough ingredients and knead into a smooth and elastic dough and allow it to prove for 1 hr.

If breadmaker is not available, kneading by electric mixer with a dough hook is possible. Using an electric mixer with low mixing speed, mix all dough ingredients (except butter) to form a dough first. Then, mix in the unsalted butter and keep kneading at medium low speed until dough is smooth and elastic. Transfer dough into a large bowl and cover it with a cling wrap. Allow the dough to rise for 1 hr or until doubled in size.

Grease Pullman loaf pan with butter or spraying oil.

To shape, divide dough into 3 portions and shape each into balls. Allow them to rest at room temperature for about 10 mins

Roll each portion into long and flat oval shape (about 20 cm). Fold the left and right sides to the middle overlapping the edges slightly. Then, roll it again into a Swiss roll shape.

Place three of the shaped dough with their seams side down into the prepared pan. Press the top of the dough lightly to form an even surface.

Cover the loaf with a cling wrap and allow it to prove for another 1 hr or until it has 2 cm more to reach the maximum height of the loaf pan.

Options for baking:

1) If you use a square (shokupan) loaf pan, close the lid of the pan. For a rounded-top bread, leave as it is as no brushing of egg wash or milk is required.

2) If you prefer bread with slightly darker crust, preheat the oven to 200°C or 180°C fan forced and bake the bread for 15 mins. Then, decrease the temperature to 180°C or 160°C fan forced for another 15 mins.

3) If you prefer bread with lighter crust, preheat the oven to 180°C or 160°C fan forced and bake the bread for 30 mins.

4) If you prefer bread with the lightest crust, use loaf pans with non-stick surface.

When the bread is baked, unmould the bread immediately. Transfer bread on a wire rack to cool it completely. Slice and serve!

Happy Baking

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