Yudane Shokupan (authentic Japanese recipe)
This shokupan is made the authentic Japanese way with the yudane method. It's easier than tangzhong and just as good.
- Prep time
- 30 min
- Cook time
- 25 min
- Yield
- 1 serving
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 360 g bread flour (3 cups)
- 60 ml boiling water (1/4 cup)
- 30 g granulated sugar (3 tbsp)
- 4 g salt (1 tsp)
- 15 g milk powder (2 tbsp)
- 6 g instant yeast (2 tsp) (see notes)
- 200 mL warm water (1 cup)
- 56 g softened unsalted butter (4 tbsp)
Instructions
- 1
Make the yudane: Put 50g of the bread flour into a heatproof mixing bowl. Pour in the 60ml of boiling water and mix until a gelatinous dough is formed.
- 2
Wrap the yudane in plastic wrap and allow to cool to room temperature. This can be done immediately before making your bread dough OR you can stick it in the fridge to rest overnight and make your shokupan the next day.
- 3
Make the shokupan: Mix the remaining 310g of flour and all the sugar, salt, milk powder, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer.
- 4
Add the 200ml of warm water and mix using the dough hook attachment. When the mixture starts to come together as a craggy dough, add in the softened butter in small chunks.
- 5
Remove the yudane from the plastic wrap. With your hands, rip apart the yudane into very small chunks. I like to squish the chunks flat with my fingers to ensure no lumps will remain in the finished dough. With the stand mixer running, add in the yudane a piece at a time until it is completely incorporated into the dough.
- 6
Set a timer for 10 minutes and let your stand mixer knead the dough (I usually do speed 4 or 6). After 10 minutes use the windowpane test to see if the gluten has developed enough.
- 7
Shape the dough into a ball and lightly oil the sides of the bowl. Return the dough to the oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place (I use the warming setting on my oven) until the dough has tripled in size, about an hour to an hour and a half. Note: This could take up to two or even three hours if your kitchen is cold.
- 8
After the rise, divide dough into three equal pieces. Roll each piece into a roughly 8 inch long rectangle. Fold the rectangle in thirds lengthwise and then roll into a tight swirl.
- 9
Repeat with the other two pieces and place into a greased shokupan tin (mine is 1.5kin size or roughly 8”x5”x4.5”).
- 10
Cover tin with plastic wrap and let rise again until the tops of the dough is in line with the edge of the tin. This takes about 40 minutes.
- 11
While your dough is doing its second rise, preheat your oven to 410F. When dough is ready, uncover and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
- 12
Carefully remove the bread from the tin and allow to cool on a wire rack on the kitchen counter before slicing.