What happens when you take your favorite milk bread recipe and upgrade it by using brown butter in the dough instead? Brown butter milk bread is my upgraded take on the light and fluffy Japanese shokupan that I previously shared. The brown butter is a next level upgrade and makes the loaf delicious to eat on its own.

What is milk bread?

Milk bread (shokupan) is a Japanese style white bread loaf that is known for it’s soft and fluffy interior. It’s made of a simple mixture of flour, milk, sugar, yeast, eggs and butter. Milk bread is different from other white breads because it is typically made using the tangzhong method, where you cook a roux of flour and water together that is added to the dough mixture. This technique is what makes milk bread loaves incredibly soft and fluffy.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Here is a complete overview of all the ingredients you will need. Follow the full recipe card below for detailed amounts and instructions.

Flour: this recipe uses bread flour. Bread flour is needed in this recipe because of its higher protein content which gives the bread its structure.

Eggs: the recipe calls one large egg at room temperature, and another egg for the egg wash.

Sugar: use granulated sugar to make this recipe.

Butter: it is crucial to use good quality butter such as European or European-style butter with higher fat content. This recipe calls for unsalted butter. I typically use Kerry Gold or Straus Family butter.

Instant Yeast: the recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of yeast. I use SAF Instant Yeast.

Milk: it’s important to use full fat whole milk for maximum flavor and richness. However, if in a pinch you can always use milk alternatives.

Dry milk powder: this is another secret ingredient to this dough. Don’t skip this! Nonfat dry milk powder is easy to find in all grocery stores and makes all your baked goods extra soft and tender. I use Carnation nonfat dry milk.

Tips for Making Brown Butter Hokkaido Milk Bread

I suggest using a 9″x5” loaf pan that is extra deep. Mine was a regular loaf pan depth so the bread did not have the chance to rise as high as it could have and instead spilled over the edges of the pan.
Measure your ingredients by weight, not by volume. This is especially important in yeasted bread recipes.
It’s important to knead the bread dough thoroughly until it passes the windowpane test. Grab a piece of dough and stretch out until it’s thin enough that light shines through the layer but remains strong enough to be stretched out without tearing.
This is a versatile bread dough that can be used for dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, babkas, you name it!

How to Make Brown Butter Hokkaido Milk Bread

To make the tangzhong, combine all of the ingredients in a small saucepan and whisk until no lumps remain.

Place the saucepan over low heat and cook the mixture, whisking constantly, until thick and the whisk leaves lines on the bottom of the pan, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Transfer the tangzhong to a bowl of a stand mixer.

To make the dough, pour the cold milk over the tangzhong to help it cool to lukewarm.

Weigh out all the remaining dough ingredients and add it to the bowl of the stand mixer. Mix and knead until a smooth elastic dough forms. This could take at least 15 minutes in a stand mixer.

Using my Kitchenaid Artisan Stand Mixer, I knead the dough at speed 2 for 5 minutes, speed 4 for another 6 minutes, and speed 6 for nearly 10 minutes. It takes me that long of mixer kneading in order to get the dough to pass the windowpane test.

Shape the dough into a ball, and let it rest in a lightly greased bowl, covered, for 60 to 90 minutes, until puffy but not necessarily doubled in bulk.

After the dough has risen, gently deflate the dough and divide it into four equal pieces, approximately 170g each.

Flatten each piece of dough in a rectangle, then fold the short ends in toward one another like a letter. Then you’ll repeat, flatten the folded pieces into a rectangle again. Roll them each into a 4” log.

Place the logs in a row of four, seam side down, side by side in the prepared loaf pan.

Cover the loaf and allow it to rise for 50 minutes, until puffy.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Once ready to bake, brush the loaf with an egg wash and bake it for 30-35 minutes, until it’s golden brown on top.

Remove the loaf from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan before transferring it. Bread should be cooled down completely before slicing.

This bread is delicious with butter, honey or jam, or simply by itself.