The bread culture in Taiwan was deeply influenced by Japan, so I grew up eating sweet an soft white bread and custard pan. In my forth year after moving to New York, which was still during pandemic, I couldn’t go back to Asia. I stayed here for over three years without visiting my family. During that time, I missed shokupan intensely. Soft, moist, pillowy shokupan. (And yes, the corn soup from McDonald’s in Taiwan too.)
I searched everywhere in New York City, but I couldn’t find a loaf that felt right. And don’t tell me that Japanese grocery store has them. I have never liked grocery-store bread cause the long expiration dates scare me, and they don’t even taste good. Eventually, I started making them myself. It was surprisingly easy and incredibly good. The texture was just as soft and comforting as I remembered.
This is how my journey of shokupan began. Not when I lived in japan for over a year, not back in Asia. It started here, from craving something familiar and realizing I couldn’t find a version that satisfied me. This hojicha shokupan recipe is very easy and straightforward. No Yudane needed, yet it is still pillowy soft and moist.
You might also like Hojicha Brownie or Matcha Creme Brûlée Pie.
Jump to:
What is Shokupan (食パン)?
Shokupan (食パン), also called Japanese milk bread, is the classic Japanese soft white bread loaf. According to Dime, 食パン isn’t just a casual name. Its formal name likely comes from 「主食用パン」(shushoku-yō pan), which literally means “bread for use as a main food.” In other words, it’s bread meant to be eaten as a main part of a meal, not as a sweet snack or bakery treat.
The name 食パン doesn’t originally describe the shape—it describes the role (bread for use as a main food). But because bread needed to be easy to slice, toast, and portion, the rectangular loaf pan became the iconic shape of shokupan.
Ingredients of Hojicha Shokupan
- Bread Flour - Bread flour builds a resilient gluten network that traps air well, giving shokupan its tall rise. That gluten strength creates the signature springy, elastic bite of bread.
- Hojicha Powder - Use 100% hojicha powder. Not Hojicha leaf or powdered hojicha drink mix. The one I used isn’t available on amazon anymore, but here are some other options you can get from Amazon.
- Sugar - Sugar is hygroscopic, meaning it binds water and helps keep bread moist. However, in this recipe, a strong gluten matrix retains moisture efficiently, allowing the shokupan to stay soft without relying on excessive sugar. I tested a shokupan recipe with half the sugar, and while the texture was still good, the gentle sweetness of shokupan is part of its charm, so I prefer mine slightly sweet.
- Salt - Kosher salt. Salt tightens and organizes the glute, making the dough stronger and more elastic.
- Instant Yeast - I love using instant yeast because of the convenience. You can also use fresh yeast, just triple the amount of the yeast here.
- Milk - I prefer whole milk, but you can also use 2% milk or plant milk.
- Egg - Eggs bring both water and fat, slightly changing hydration and gluten development.
- Butter - In many shokupan recipes, butter is not necessary. Shokupan can be made without butter if gluten is well developed and hydration is right. Adding butter here does help with tenderness, flavor, and keeping the bread soft for longer.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Hojicha Shokupan?
Put bread flour, hojicha powder, salt, sugar, yeast, egg and milk in the mixing bowl, and with the dough hook, mix on low for 3 minutes.
Once the dough comes together, increase the mixing speed to medium-high and knead until you can stretch a thin, translucent film with your fingers (windowpane stage), about 15 minutes.
Add butter, keep mixing until the dough is smooth, elastic, and fully incorporated. Cover and rest the dough for 30 minutes or until doubled the size.
Divide the dough into 4 equal portions, about 132 grams per portion.
Shape each portion by gently flattening the dough.
Fold the dough like a letter
Turn the dough 90 degrees, roll it out with a rolling pin to release air bubbles, then roll it up tightly.
Place the doughs in the mold. Make sure you leave some space in between for it to rise.
Cover and proof at somewhere warm, or you can also DIY a proofer, for 1 to 2 hours until the dough rises to about 80% of the mold’s height.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place the shokupan in the oven, then lower the temperature to 350°F and bake for 5 minutes. Reduce the temperature again to 338°F and bake for another 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway if needed.
When it’s done baking, drop the mold firmly once to allow the remaining humidity to escape from the bread, then demold the shokupan. Let the bread cool down completely before slicing.
Storage
This Hojicha Shokupan can last in the room temperature for up to 4 days. If you already know that you won’t finish within 2 days, I recommend just slice, wrap and freeze the bread. Toast it before serving.
Recipe Tips
Follow the recipe, but always adjust based on the humidity and temperature of your environment! This is why I’ve always felt that bread making is harder than pastry making. To make a good cake, pie, or mousse, you mainly need solid technique and temperature control—but bread is alive and constantly responds to its surroundings. For example, the amount of water needed can vary each time, whether because the air is dry or because you’re using a different brand of flour. The baking time can also vary because of your oven or the material of the molds.
Recipe FAQ
This recipe can make 2 loaves with pound cake mold 6.8”(L) x 3.25”(W) x 2.5”(H), about 1810 ml in total. Or 2 square loaves with 4” x 4” x 4” molds.
Yes, and I will share more recipe that I make with this recipe.
You can knead the dough by hand, but it might take a while for you to reach windowpane stage.
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Recipe Card
Hojicha Shokupan
Equipment
Ingredients
- 260 g bread flour
- 12 g hojicha powder
- 30 g granulated sugar
- 3 g salt
- 4 g instant yeast
- 165 g milk
- 50 g egg
- 30 g unsalted butter
Instructions
- Mix: Put bread flour, hojicha powder, salt, sugar, yeast, egg and milk in the mixing bowl, and with the dough hook, mix on low for 3 minutes.
- Knead: Once the dough comes together, increase the mixing speed to medium-high and knead until you can stretch a thin, translucent film with your fingers (windowpane stage), about 15 minutes.
- Add: Add butter, keep mixing until the dough is smooth, elastic, and fully incorporated.
- Rest: Cover and rest the dough for 30 minutes or until doubled the size.
- Portion: Divide the dough into 4 equal portions, about 132 grams per portion.
- Shape: Shape each portion by gently flattening the dough and folding it like a letter. Turn the dough 90 degrees, roll it out with a rolling pin to release air bubbles, then roll it up tightly.
- Mold: Place the doughs in the mold. Make sure you leave some space in between for it to rise.
- Proof: Cover and proof at somewhere warm, or you can also DIY a proofer, for 1 to 2 hours until the dough rises to about 80% of the mold’s height.
- Bake: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place the shokupan in the oven, then lower the temperature to 350°F and bake for 5 minutes. Reduce the temperature again to 338°F and bake for another 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway if needed.
- Demold: When it’s done baking, drop the mold firmly once to allow the remaining humidity to escape from the bread, then demold the shokupan. Let the bread cool down completely before slicing.
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