Japanese Milk Bread Recipe

5 from 4 votes

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By: Jill Mills Updated: Apr 6, 2024

This Japanese Milk Bread recipe creates the softest, fluffiest loaf of bread you’ve ever tried, with a slightly sweet flavor and golden crust. A simple, straightforward recipe that anyone can make!

Best Japanese Milk Bread

If you’ve never tried milk bread before you’re in for a treat – and if you have, you know exactly how wonderful it is! Milk bread is popular in Asian cuisines and this particular version is Japanese milk bread.

Milk bread is a white yeast bread known for being ultra light, airy, and fluffy with a slightly sweet flavor. As you can guess from the name, it’s made with milk which is part of the reason it’s so light and fluffy. Bread flour also helps make it super tender.

And the best part of this recipe is, all you need is a mixer with a dough hook. It’s a simple, straightforward recipe that requires nothing else besides time!

Why You’ll Love This Milk Bread Recipe

What makes this Japanese milk bread recipe so special? Here are a few things!

• Ultra soft and airy. One thing that makes milk bread stand out is how soft and light the texture of the bread is and this recipe is no exception.
• Slightly sweet flavor. Another hallmark of milk bread is the slightly sweet flavor – not enough to make it a sweet bread but just enough to make it a bit sweeter than other white bread recipes.
• Golden crust. An egg white wash just before baking creates a shiny golden crust on the loaf, making it look like something straight from the bakery.

What You’ll Need

This milk bread recipe is made with milk (obviously), yeast, and a few pantry staples. Scroll down to the recipe card below for measurements.

• Water
• Bread flour – Bread flour helps to create a softer, more tender dough as it contains more yeast than regular flour.
• Milk – A key ingredient in milk bread. It helps the bread fluff up like a cloud and have a softer texture. We use whole milk.
• Sugar
• Egg – Room temperature.
• Active dry yeast – Double check the expiration date, as yeast does expire!
• Egg white – For brushing the bread. You can also use additional warm milk.
• Salted butter

How To Make Milk Bread

Making milk bread is a bit time-consuming but the good news is that most of that time is hands-off proof time – a total of 2 to 4 hours, depending on the temperature of your kitchen. Scroll down to the recipe card below for measurements.

• Make the bread starter. Whisk 1/3 cup of bread flour with 1/2 cup of water until there are no lumps then whisk in 1/2 cup of milk. Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it reaches a thick, pudding-like consistency. Pour into a bowl and cover with plastic. Cool to room temperature.
• Activate the yeast. Dissolve a teaspoon of sugar into 1/2 cup of lukewarm milk. Sprinkle the yeast over the top and gently mix. Let stand for 10-20 minutes, until bubbly and frothy.
• Make the dough. Add the rest of the sugar, the bread starter, egg, and flour to the yeast. Mix with a spatula until a dough forms then knead for 5 minutes using a dough hook attachment. Add the butter in 3-4 increments, mixing for about 20 seconds between each addition. Turn the speed to medium and knead for 5-7 minutes more, until smooth and satiny.

• Let rise. Form the dough into a ball on a lightly floured surface. Place in a greased bowl and cover with plastic. Keep in a warm place until it doubles in size, approximately 1-2 hours.
• Form the loaf. Butter and flour the sides and bottom of the loaf pan. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and press the air out of the dough. Divide into 4 portions and roll each one into a 6-inch square. Fold the opposite corners into the middle. Shape each piece into a small loaf then fold the pointed edge in and pinch to seal. Place each roll in the pan, seam side down.

• Let rise. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to double in size, approximately 1-2 hours. The dough should be just slightly below the top of the pan.
• Bake. Brush the top of the bread with an egg wash made of egg white and water. (Use milk for a non-glossy crust.) Bake for 30-35 minutes. Cool in the pan for a few minutes then turn out on a cooling rack until cooled completely.

Serving Suggestions

You can use this soft milk bread in place of regular white bread in most recipes. A few of my favorite ways to use it are to make brisket grilled cheese sandwiches and in overnight French toast casseroles.  It would be great for hot ham and cheese sandwiches too or you can serve it with your favorite soup or stew.

Proper Storage

• Room temperature. Milk bread can be stored in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days before it begins to go stale.
• Freezer. You can also freeze Japanese milk bread. Wrap the cooled loaf tightly in plastic then place in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter.

More Bread Recipes

• Amish White Bread Recipe (4-ingredients)
• Homemade White Bread Recipe
• Texas Roadhouse Rolls with Cinnamon Honey Butter
• 30 Minute Dinner Rolls

5 from 4 votes

Japanese Milk Bread Recipe

This Japanese Milk Bread recipe creates the softest, fluffiest loaf of bread you've ever tried, with a slightly sweet flavor and golden crust. A simple, straightforward recipe that anyone can make!

Servings: 10

Prep: 40 minutes mins

Cook: 40 minutes mins

Proof Time: 4 hours hrs

Total: 5 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

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Ingredients

  

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Milk Bread Starter

• ▢ ½ cup Water
• ▢ ⅓ cup Bread flour
• ▢ ½ cup Milk

Milk Bread Dough Mixture

• ▢ 2 ⅔ cup Bread flour
• ▢ ¼ cup Sugar
• ▢ 1 large Egg room temperature
• ▢ 1 pkg Active dry yeast
• ▢ ½ cup Warm milk
• ▢ ¼ cup Warm milk or 1 egg white (for brushing bread)
• ▢ 4 tbsp Salted butter

Instructions

Milk Bread Starter

• Fill a small saucepan with 1/2 cup water. Add the 1/3 Cup of bread flour and whisk until smooth with no lumps. Add in the 1/2 cup milk and whisk together until combined.
• Heat the mixture over medium heat, continuously whisking until you have a thick, pudding-like consistency.
• Pour the mixture into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the plastic wrap to touch the surface of the starter so that skin doesn’t form on top.
• Cool the starter to room temperature.

Milk Bread Dough Mix

• In a mixing bowl pour ½ Cup lukewarm milk and dissolve 1 tsp of the sugar in the liquid. Sprinkle the yeast over the milk and mix gently until combined. Allow the mix and yeast mixture to stand for about 10-20 minutes to activate the yeast. The mixture should be bubbly and frothy on the surface.
• Once the yeast has become activated you can add in the rest of the sugar, the starter, egg, and flour.
• Use a spatula to mix the dough and combine the ingredients, forming a raggedy dough.
• Using the dough hook attachment on your mixer, knead the dough for about 5 minutes at a low speed. The dough will be very sticky, but if you keep kneading it will come together.
• After 5 minutes of kneading the dough, add in the butter in 3-4 increments. Mix about 20 seconds between each addition. Scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl to make sure it is mixing well.
• Once all of the butter has been added, turn the speed on the mixer up to a medium speed and continue kneading for 5-7 minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl once or twice while kneading.
• The dough should become smooth, satiny, and pull cleanly from the bowl sides.
• Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and form into a ball. Put the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
• Keep the bowl in a warm place and allow it to double in size. This will take approximately 1-2 hours depending on the temperature of the room.

Form the Milk Bread Loaf

• Once the dough is proofed, prepare the loaf pan. Using a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan, butter, and flour the sides and bottom. Or you can use a non-stick cooking spray and flour lightly.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly flour-dusted surface and press all of the excess air out of the dough.
• Divide the dough into 4 equal portions.
• Roll out each portion into an approximate 6-inch square.
• Fold the opposite corners into the middle.
• Roll or shape each piece of dough into a small loaf shape.
• Once the dough has been rolled to the top, fold the pointed edge in and pinch the seam to seal.
• Place the rolled dough into the pan, with the seam side facing down. There will be four rolls in the pan.
• Repeat with all the dough portions and place them in the loaf pan.
• Cover the pans with plastic wrap and allow to proof in a warm place, until doubled in size. This will take approximately 1-2 hours. The dough should be just slightly below the top of the pan.

Baking the Bread

• Preheat the oven to 350°.
• Once the oven has preheated and the dough has proofed, brush the top with an egg white and 1 tbsp. water wash (for a glossy crust). You can choose to use milk for a crust that is not glossy. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
• If the bread begins to brown too much in the oven, place a piece of foil on the surface to keep it from burning.
• If using a thermometer, bake until the internal temperature is about 190°-205°F.
• Remove the loaf pan from the oven and cool for a few minutes.
• Turn the dough out onto a cooling rack to continue cooling.
• The bread will cut easier when completely cool.

Last Step:

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Nutrition

Serving: 10g | Calories: 223kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 56mg | Potassium: 98mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 217IU | Vitamin C: 0.002mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 0.4mg

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