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Homemade sourdough shokupan, Japanese milk bread, partly sliced on a wooden board
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Sourdough Milk Bread (Shokupan)

Soft Japanese-style milk bread raised with sourdough starter only, no commercial yeast. The tangzhong, a cooked paste of milk and flour, keeps the crumb tender for days. Bake it the same day, or shape it in the afternoon and bake it the next morning.
Prep Time50 minutes
Cook Time55 minutes
Rising and resting8 hours 35 minutes
Total Time10 hours 20 minutes
12 slices

Equipment

  • Small saucepan For the tangzhong
  • Stand mixer or large bowl By hand works too
  • Kitchen scale The recipe is built on grams
  • Loaf pan, about 10 x 25 cm (4 x 10 in) An 8½ x 4½ in or 9 x 5 in pan also works, or a baking dish of similar size
  • Rolling Pin For rolling out the strips
  • Instant-read thermometer Highly recommended
  • Aluminum foil For the foil tent
  • Plastic wrap To cover the tangzhong
  • Wire rack For cooling

Ingredients

For the tangzhong

  • 125 g milk (½ cup)
  • 25 g bread flour (3 tbsp)

For the dough

  • 165 g milk (⅔ cup), at room temperature
  • 1 egg medium in Europe, large in the US
  • 60 g sugar (¼ cup + 1 tbsp)
  • 435 g bread flour (3⅔ cups), spooned and leveled; a scale is much more accurate
  • 120 g sourdough starter (½ cup), active and at its peak, 100% hydration
  • 10 g fine salt (1¾ tsp), fine sea salt or table salt
  • 60 g unsalted butter (4 tbsp), very soft but not melted

For greasing and brushing

  • butter or neutral oil for the bowl and the pan
  • melted butter optional, for brushing the baked loaf

Instructions

The tangzhong

  • Make the tangzhong. In a small saucepan, whisk the 125 g of milk and 25 g of flour together while cold, until there are no lumps. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly: in 2 or 3 minutes it turns into a thick paste.
  • Cover it and let it cool. Transfer it to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap so it doesn't dry out. It must be lukewarm or at room temperature when you use it, because heat can harm the starter. If you're in a hurry, a few minutes in the fridge helps, without letting it get cold.

The dough

  • Mix the liquids. In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl, stir the 165 g of milk, the egg and the 60 g of sugar for a few seconds. Add the tangzhong and mix until smooth.
  • Add the flour. All 435 g, mixing only until no dry flour remains, with a large whisk or your hands. The dough will look rough and sticky: that's normal.
  • Rest for 20 minutes. With the bowl covered. The flour hydrates and the dough becomes much easier to work.
  • Add the starter. All 120 g, active and at its peak, and knead for a few minutes. With a stand mixer, 3 or 4 minutes on low speed.
  • Add the salt. The 10 g, then knead for 2 more minutes, until the dough looks even.
  • Work in the butter in three parts. Very soft but not melted. Don't add the next part until the previous one has disappeared. At first the dough looks like it's falling apart: keep kneading until it's smooth again. By hand, stretch the dough up and fold it over itself; with a mixer, on low speed. If the butter won't go in, rest the dough for 10 minutes, and if it gets warm and sticky, chill it briefly.

Rising and shaping

  • Let it ferment in bulk. Move the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover it. After an hour, do one set of folds on all four sides. In total, 3 to 6 hours depending on the temperature, until it has grown by about 60%, looks airy and jiggles when you shake the bowl.
  • Divide and pre-shape. On a lightly floured counter, into 3 equal pieces of about 350 g (12 oz). Shape each into a ball by pushing the dough away and pulling it back toward you, cover and rest for 15 minutes.
  • Shape the rolls. Flatten each ball into a rectangle, fold the long sides into the middle, roll it out into a long strip and roll it up tightly, with no air inside. Place the rolls in the greased pan, seam side down.
  • Let it rise in the pan. Covered: 3 to 6 hours at room temperature, or in the fridge overnight and then at room temperature until ready. It's ready when a gentle press with a wet or oiled finger springs back slowly and leaves a small dent.

Baking

  • Bake covered for 25 minutes. In an oven preheated to 190 °C (375 °F), conventional setting (no fan), under a loose foil tent that doesn't touch the dough.
  • Uncover and finish baking. Lower the oven to 175 °C (350 °F) and bake for 30 more minutes, until the center reads 93 to 96 °C (199 to 205 °F). Without a thermometer, until deep golden and firm.
  • Unmold and cool. Within the first few minutes, so it doesn't turn damp. Brush with melted butter if you like. Cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours before slicing.

Video

Notes

  • The tangzhong must be lukewarm or at room temperature when you add it. Hot tangzhong can harm the starter.
  • Use an active starter at its peak. This dough has sugar, egg and butter, which slow the starter down, so a tired starter makes the rise very long. We explain how to get it ready right below the recipe.
  • Rising times depend on your kitchen's temperature. Follow the signs: in bulk, about 60% growth and a gentle jiggle; in the pan, the poke test.
  • To bake it the next day, put the covered pan in the fridge right after shaping.
  • The total time is for the same-day version, with average rising times. It doesn't include feeding the starter or the 2 hours of cooling.
  • No loaf pan? A baking dish of similar size works: divide the dough into more pieces and trust the thermometer.
  • Want to use commercial yeast instead of sourdough? We explain how to adjust the recipe in the variations below.
  • Don't have a sourdough starter yet? Here's how to make one from scratch.