Japanese Milk Bread (Hokkaido Style)
Pull-apart Japanese milk bread rolls, brushed with garlic butter straight from the oven.
Ingredients
Tangzhong
- 25 g bread flour
- 125 g whole milk
Dough
- 375 g bread flour bread flour gives more structure and chew than plain flour
- 25 g sugar
- 15 g milk powder
- 4 g instant yeast fast-action yeast works perfectly here
- 6 g salt add this after the initial mix not at the start with the yeast
- 140 g milk
- 60 g cream
- 35 g condensed milk
- 1 egg
- 40 g unsalted butter softened — kneaded in gradually for that classic enriched bread texture
Garlic Butter Finish
- 50 g butter melted
- 4 small garlic cloves finely grated
- 1-2 tsp fresh parsley chopped
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Start with the tangzhong. In a small saucepan over low heat, whisk together the 25g bread flour and 125g whole milk until no lumps remain. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens into a smooth, pudding-like paste. This takes about 3-5 minutes on low heat. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool completely before using.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl), combine the bread flour, sugar, milk powder, and yeast. Give everything a quick mix to distribute evenly. Add the milk, cream, condensed milk, egg, and all of the cooled tangzhong. Mix until a shaggy, rough dough comes together. Cover the bowl and leave to rest for 15-20 minutes — this rest period is important, it allows the flour to hydrate fully and makes kneading much easier.
- Add the salt to the rested dough. Begin kneading on medium speed (or by hand) for 5 minutes. Then, with the mixer running, add the softened butter a small piece at a time, waiting for each addition to be fully incorporated before adding the next. Once all the butter is in, continue kneading for 10-15 minutes until the dough is completely smooth, elastic, and passes the windowpane test — stretch a small piece between your fingers and it should be thin and translucent without tearing.
- Shape the dough into a smooth ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with cling film and leave to proof until the dough has grown by 80-90% — not a full double, just shy of it. This takes around 60-90 minutes depending on how warm your kitchen is.
- Once proofed, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide it into 9 equal pieces, aiming for 85-90g each — a kitchen scale makes this much easier. Roll each piece into a smooth, tight ball by cupping your hand over the dough and rolling in circular motions on the surface.
- Place the balls into a greased 9-inch springform pan — one in the centre and eight evenly spaced around the outside. Cover loosely and leave for the final proof of 45-75 minutes, until the rolls are puffy, touching each other, and spring back slowly when gently pressed with a finger.
- Preheat your oven to 175°C conventional (or 165°C fan). Brush the tops of the rolls gently with egg wash. Bake for 22-26 minutes until deeply golden on top. If the rolls start browning too quickly before the time is up, lay a sheet of foil loosely over the top and continue baking.
- While the bread bakes, mix together the melted butter, finely grated garlic, chopped parsley, and salt. The moment the bread comes out of the oven, brush this garlic butter generously all over the hot rolls. It will soak straight in. Don't hold back.