Soft and Fluffy Hokkaido Milk Bread Recipe

Same time last year, my husband and I traveled to Hokkaido for spring vacation. We spent eight days sight seeing and eating famous Japanese food. Our itinerary covers Sapporo and Otaru, we just included the northern part of Hokkaido where the Blue Pond, Shirahige falls, and Asahiyama zoo are located. Hokkaido is well-known for its delicious and high-quality milk and dairy products. In fact, Hokkaido produces 50% of total Japan's milk and 90% of Japan's natural cheese. A visit in Hokkaido would not be complete without trying Hokkaido ice cream, chocolates, bread and pastries.

Homemade Hokkaido Milk Bread

Le Tao, a famous shop in Otaru is one of the bakeshops we visited during our trip. I also love the ambiance and the coffee served at Otaru Cafe. Every night, before going back to our Airbnb, we would passed by the grocery to buy snacks and breakfast. I always pick Hokkaido milk bread. They are fluffy and tasty.

Sapporo Japan Vacation 2019

During the community quarantine, I learned a new skills in baking. Good thing that I've started collecting baking supplies since last year. Our oven was stored and never used until ECQ. We usually buy bread in the supermarket and some favorite bakeshop. However, due to lockdown, there's a limited availability of some basic commodities including bread and eggs.

My first attempt in baking was pandesal but they were so hard. So I tried baking pandesal for the second time but the texture was like sourdough. I gave up and search for other kinds of bread. I thought of making Japanese milk bread instead.

This soft, fluffy and buttery Hokkaido Milk Bread is definitely one of my favorites. I never thought I can recreate this recipe at home after merely watching several tutorials on YT and reading recipe books. I had to make adjustment with the ingredients like the amount of sugar and salt to use. I found Stevia in the cabinet and use it instead of regular refined sugar.

Ingredients in Making Hokkaido Milk Bread

Hokkaido Milk Bread Recipe

Hand kneading for 10 minutes, make sure the dough is smooth.
Let it rest after an hour or until it double in size.
Cut into three pieces and start molding according to your desire,

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Procedure in Baking Hokkaido Milk Bread

1. Heat milk in the microwave for less than 10 seconds. It should be warm and not too hot. Proof yeast by adding 1 tbsp sugar and 2 tsp of active dry yeast in warm milk. Mix and wait until the mixture forms tiny bubbles or foam.

2. In a bowl, mix all wet ingredients. Beat 1 medium egg then add the yeast mixture and melted butter. Little by little, add Maya all purpose flour. Mix all the ingredients.

3. Prepare the kneading mat by sprinkling flour on the surface. Start kneading. Work with the dough for ten minutes or until it becomes smooth. You can add about 1 to 2 tsp of oil while you work on the dough.

4. Transfer to a bowl and cover with cling wrap or kitchen towel. Let it rest for an hour until the dough doubles in size.

5. After an hour, remove the cling wrap and press the dough to remove air.

6. Transfer to the kneading mat. Cut the dough into three and form a shape according to your liking.

7. Place the dough in the baking tray. Let it rest for another 30 minutes covered with kitchen towel until they double in size.

8. Brush with milk and egg mixture (egg wash).

9. Bake in preheated oven at 180 degrees centigrade (356 F) for 20 minutes. Check if it's slightly brown on top.

10. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Serve while hot.

Here are the following products I used in this recipe - Maya Kitchen's All Purpose Flour, Eagle Dry Active Yeast and Dari Creme classic butter. For filling, I use Eden cheese.

Bread smells good. It's soft and fluffy.

I guess the secret to a perfect dough is working on the dough gently. Try to be calm and more relax especially when preparing the dough. In short, prepare the food with love. I also add butter whenever I feel that the dough is too dry.

This Hokkaido Milk Bread smells and taste good, buttery, and soft. It's also best to use fresh ingredients so check for expiry dates of all the baking ingredients you'll use. Store them in air-tight container away away from direct sunlight. Store yeast in a container and in the refrigerator.

Homemade Hokkaido Milk Bread 

Left-over bread should be kept in the fridge especially now that the weather is too hot. Reheat in toaster before serving with butter and jam. I hope you will try this recipe at home. Now, you can have a soft and fluffy Japanese bread anytime you want. Next time, I'll apply the TangZhong method in making Hokkaido Milk Bread. They say it makes bread fluffier and softer. Stay tuned for another recipe.