Asian bakeries have a specialty called Japanese Milk Bread. It is wonderful – slightly sweet with a light, pillowy texture. The secret to this delicious bread is a tangzhong, which is a mixture of flour and milk that has been thickened over the stovetop. Traditional recipes have you make the tangzhong, let it cool, and add it to the bread ingredients; a time consuming project. After several tries, I adapted the dough to be made in an automatic bread machine; it works perfectly and goes together quickly. I use my magicBullet blender to mix the flour and milk, so there are no lumps; if you don’t have one, you can whisk it until it is smooth.

The texture of this bread is perfect for shaping into hamburger and hot dog buns, as well as light dinner rolls.

2 loaves

Tangzhong:
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup flour

Dough:
1 1/3 cups cold water
1/2 cup powdered milk, or 1 1/3 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup softened butter
4 1/2 - 5 cups flour
1 tablespoon dry yeast

1 egg, for brushing the top

1. Make the tangzhong: measure the milk into a small blender or magicBullet; add the 1/3 cup flour and blend until there are no lumps.
2. Place the mixture in a small skillet and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens.
3. Remove from the heat and dump it into the pan of the bread machine.
4. Place the cold water and powdered milk in the pan over the tangzhong to cool it and add the eggs, salt, butter, 4 1/2 cups flour and yeast.
5. Turn the machine to the dough setting and let run for 5-10 minutes. Check to make sure the ingredients have formed a very soft dough. If the dough is stiff, add a bit of milk; if it is too soft, add flour.
6. Let the machine run.
7. When the machine has finished, transfer it to a lightly floured surface.
8. Divide the dough in half, then each half into thirds.
9. Spray two 8” x 4” loaf pans liberally with non-stick spray.
10. Shape each piece of dough into a ball, then press the balls down; place three of the pressed balls into each loaf pan.
11. Beat the egg and brush both loaves; let the loaves rise until doubled in bulk.
12. Bake 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.
13. Let sit 5 minutes, then invert onto cooling racks.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 162 Calories from Fat 44
Percent Total Calories From: Fat 27% Protein 11% Carb. 62%

Nutrient Amount per % Daily
Serving Value
Total Fat 5 g 8%
Saturated Fat 3 g 14%
Cholesterol 38 mg 13%
Sodium 258 mg 11%
Total Carbohydrate 25 g 8%
Dietary Fiber 0 g 0%
Sugars 4 g
Protein 4 g

Vitamin A 5% Vitamin C 0% Calcium 0% Iron 2%