Heard of Matcha Shokupan? It’s a soft traditional Japanese milk bread filled with delicious Matcha powder. But first – a key word you should know below.
Tangzhong – This is a method that consists of pre-mixing and cooking part of the flour and the liquid of a bread formulation until it becomes a porridge or precooked starch gel.
Keen to try it? Let’s get into it!
Ingredients
Tangzhong:
- 20ml water
- 20ml whole milk
- 15g bread flour/all-purpose flour
- 5g Matcha
Dough:
- 255g bread flour or all-purpose flour (+ more if needed)
- 30g granulated sugar
- 2g sea salt
- 6g active dry yeast
- 113ml whole milk
- 1 large egg
- 20g unsalted butter
Method
Make the tangzhong:
- Combine milk, water, flour and matcha together in a small saucepan.
- Stir with a spatula or whisk over medium-low heat, until it becomes a thick paste. (It will thicken up very quickly!)
- Remove from the heat and transfer the tangzhong to a stand mixer bowl to cool.
Make the dough:
- Add in the flour, salt and egg to the stand mixer bowl fitted with a dough hook.
- In a small bowl, combine warmed milk, sugar and yeast. Stir to activate the yeast and set aside for a few minutes.
- Once bubbly, add the yeast mixture into the stand mixer bowl.
- Turn on the mixer and knead until the dough comes together. It might look dry at first, but it will soon come together! If the dough is sticky, it might be due to how large your egg is. Add a little more flour until it feels less sticky.
- While the mixer is running and once the dough is smooth, add the butter (use small pieces)
- Wait until each piece is fully mixed into the dough before adding the next one.
- Continue kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic – about 15 minutes in the mixer.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap/cloth. Place in a warm location and let it double in size, about 60-90 mins.
- Deflate the dough and divide into 3 equal portions.
- Flatten out and roll each piece of dough with a rolling pin into a rectangular shape about 3″ wide and 6-7″ long.
- Coil the dough up (like a snail) and pinch the seams closed.
- Flatten it out again with a rolling pin and roll it out the other way, (about 2.5″ wide and 6-7″ long).
- Repeat by coiling up the dough again and pinching the seams closed.
- Place the dough seam-side down in the loaf pan. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Slide the lid on the loaf pan on and place in a warm location to rise again.
- Preheat the oven to 177°C.
- Once the loaf has almost risen to the top of the pan, bake at 177°C for 30-35 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 93°C.
- Before slicing, let the milk bread cool completely.
