Step 1

Shokupan Loaf Pans: The rectangular loaf pan is 4.7 in. x 7.8 in. x 5.1 in. (12 cm x 20 cm x 13 cm) and can hold 3100 ml. The square loaf pan is 4.7 in. x 5.3 in. x 5.1 in. (12 cm × 13.5 cm × 13 cm) and can hold 2070 ml. I have written an extensive post about Japanese loaf pans and how to order them from Japan. If you're not particular about the size and shape, you can use this 1 lb loaf pan on Amazon and follow the recipe for the rectangular loaf.

Step 2

Stand Mixer: Please note that my instructions below are for a KitchenAid 5-QT Artisan Series Stand Mixer (325 watts). If you're using a KitchenAid Classic Series mixer, do not double the recipe as the 275-watt motor is not strong enough. If you're using a KitchenAid Professional Series mixer with a spiral dough hook, you must double the rectangular loaf recipe to succeed, as there won't be enough dough to engage the hook otherwise. With twice the dough, you must knead up to 1½ times longer at each step (as noted in the instructions). If you have a different brand of stand mixer, follow my steps the best you can to achieve a dough with the correct texture that passes the windowpane test. Please see the blog post for more details.

Step 3

Hand Kneading: I hope this video is helpful for the kneading technique to use.

Step 4

Oven Rack: Set the oven rack to a lower position where the top edge of your loaf pan is 6 to 7 inches (15-18 cm) away from the top heating element. This will allow enough space for the bread to rise during baking, especially if you plan to make a round-topped milk bread. Don’t get closer than 6 inches or the top may brown too fast.

Step 5

To Create a Warm Environment for Bulk Fermentation: If your oven has a Proof setting, turn it to 100ºF (38ºC). Tip: If your oven doesn't have a Proof setting, place small baking dishes of boiling water at the four corners on the lower-middle rack. Then, place your dough in a bowl in the center of the rack and close the door. The steam and heat from the boiling water will create a warm environment for bulk fermentation. There is plenty of online information on different ways to proof bread dough, such as using an Instant Pot (use the Yogurt function on Low or use the temperature setting). During the summer when humidity is high, you may not need to do this.

Step 6

Gather all the ingredients. Cut the butter into small cubes (I used a pair of scissors). Tip: Precise measurement is extremely important for this recipe; therefore, please weigh your ingredients with a digital kitchen scale. I strongly discourage measuring by volume.

Step 7

In a large bowl, combine the warm water, sugar, salt, and honey, and mix together.

Step 8

Then, add the yeast and whisk it all together. Set it aside in a warm place for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the dry ingredients.

Step 9

You want to see bubbly foam on the surface of the yeast mixture. If you don’t see any, maybe your yeast is old or the environment is not warm enough; wait another 5 minutes to see if any bubbles develop.

Step 10

Combine the bread flour and skim or nonfat dry milk powder in a stand mixer bowl. Mix it together with a silicone spatula or dough scraper.

Step 11

Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture. Once you confirm the foamy surface on the yeast mixture, pour it into the well of the flour mixture, scraping every bit of the liquid with the silicone spatula or dough scraper. Set aside the yeast mixture bowl.

Step 12

Using the silicone spatula or dough scraper, mix the dry and wet ingredients until combined.

Step 13

Lightly grease the empty yeast mixture bowl with neutral-flavored oil. Use a paper towel to wipe off any excess oil from the bowl and your oily fingers. We do not want a pool of oil in the bowl. Set it aside; you’ll be putting the dough ball in it later.

Step 14

Warning: KitchenAid does not recommend kneading dough at settings higher than Speed However, we can’t achieve a perfect texture without kneading aggressively. Hold your stand mixer down with your hand(s) when you’re kneading at Speed 6, and keep an eye on it at all times. Do not walk away. Don’t take this warning lightly, as my instructor’s mixer fell off the countertop onto the kitchen floor twice when she stepped away for just a few seconds. Please use it at your own discretion.

Step 15

Set up the stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Knead the dough on Speed 2 for 2 minutes (or 3 minutes if making double the rectangular loaf recipe using the Artisan or Professional series mixer). This is just to get started. The ingredients should be well combined after this step.

Step 16

Next, increase the speed and knead the dough on Speed 4 for 8 minutes (10 minutes for double). After 8 (or minutes, stop the mixer and check the texture of the dough. It should be a lot smoother, shinier, softer, and thinner when it’s stretched. At this stage, the dough is still attached to the bottom of the mixer bowl. Tip: These times are only a guideline. Check the condition of your dough to know when to move on to the next step. Tip: If your stand mixer is getting hot, place a cold damp towel on top of the mixer to cool while it kneads.

Step 17

Now, knead the dough on Speed 6 for 2 minutes (2 minutes for double). From here, you MUST hold down your stand mixer with your hand(s) since the machine will shake and move, and it could possibly fall off the countertop onto the floor. Japanese milk bread requires aggressive kneading to get that soft, tender texture. The goal here is to develop the gluten (elasticity) by lengthening and stretching the gluten strands in the dough.

Step 18

At this stage, the dough will start pulling away from the bottom of the bowl and eventually become a solid ball shape. The mixer will shake and wobble as the dough bangs around the sides of the bowl. Again, hold your stand mixer to keep it from falling and monitor it at all times.

Step 19

Add the butter cubes to the dough. Knead the dough again on Speed 2 for 2 minutes (3 minutes for double), or until you can no longer see any streaks of butter.

Step 20

Then, knead the dough on Speed 6 for 4 minutes (4½ minutes for double). After kneading on Speed 6, stop the mixer. The dough should look really shiny, silky, soft, and smooth (not sticky). When you lift the dough hook, it should pick up all the dough in one piece, separating easily from the bottom of the bowl. Tip: If the dough becomes slack and gooey, you've kneaded for too long.

Step 21

Now, it’s time for the windowpane test. Either pull on a part of the dough or tear off a small piece. Hold the dough in both hands and gently pull it into a square with your fingers. It should be strong yet elastic, smooth, and shiny. If it's strong enough to stretch to a super-thin membrane without tearing and light can pass through the center, your dough passes the test. If it doesn’t stretch or it tears too easily, knead it again on Speed 6 for 2-3 minutes and test again.

Step 22

If you are checking the temperature of the dough, insert an instant-read thermometer into the center of the dough. The dough temperature should be 79-82ºF (26-28ºC) at this stage and not lower or higher than this temperature. The yeast will be most active at 82-95ºF (28-35ºC) during the bulk fermentation. If your dough temperature is higher than 82ºF (28ºC), let the dough slowly rise for the First Rise (Bulk Fermentation), instead of putting it in a Proof setting (100ºF/38ºC) or placing it in a warm place. You do not want to overproof the dough.

Step 23

Add the black sesame seeds to the dough in the stand mixer bowl. Slowly mix on Stir for 2 minutes until the sesame seeds are well incorporated into the dough.

Step 24

Lightly dust the work surface and your hands with flour to prevent sticking. Scrape the dough from the bowl with the silicone spatula or dough scraper and place it on the work surface. From this point, make sure to keep one smooth surface on your dough ball at all times. My nice smooth surface is currently on the bottom of the dough.

Step 25

Now, pick up the dough ball, keeping the smooth side up. Then, slam the smooth side onto the work surface. Bang!

Step 26

Then, hold one edge of the dough with your fingers in the 12 o’clock position and fold it over to the other side at the 6 o’clock position, revealing the smooth surface. Now, pick up the dough with the smooth side up.

Step 27

Once again, slam the smooth surface of the dough onto the work surface. Bang! Now, pick up the edge of the dough at the 9 o’clock position and fold it over to the opposite side at the 3 o’clock position, revealing the smooth surface. Again, pick up the dough with the smooth side up. Repeat this "slam and fold" process 5 times in total.

Step 28

Finally, go back to the dough and fold it over one last time. Pick it up and pull the edges of the dough from all sides to create a smooth, taut skin. Tuck and pinch the edges underneath to hide them at the bottom. Put the dough ball in the greased bowl and cover it with plastic.

Step 29

Let the dough rise for 40 minutes. The dough will become 3 times bigger in size. If you live in a cooler climate, it may take longer (1-1½ hours). I use the Proof setting on my oven at 100ºF (38ºC). Please see the "Before You Start" section of the recipe for my proofing tips. The picture below is after 40 minutes.

Step 30

Once the dough has tripled in size, uncover and dust some flour on top. Use your index finger to poke the middle of the dough. If the hole does not close up, it’s ready. If the dough closes up immediately, proof the dough a little longer.

Step 31

Invert the dough bowl to release the dough onto your work surface. Using your fingers, gently press down and deflate the dough. Remember to keep one smooth surface on your dough at all times. My smooth surface is currently on the bottom of the dough.

Step 32

Collect and press all the edges into the middle, flip the dough, and form a round shape, tucking any loose edges underneath. Put the dough on a kitchen scale and remember the total dough weight.

Step 33

Transfer the dough to the working surface. Divide it with the dough scraper into 3 equal pieces and weigh each piece with a digital scale. For a square shokupan loaf, divide it into 2 equal pieces.

Step 34

If you have a piece that's bigger than the others, tear off some dough from the edge, keeping its smooth surface intact. Attach the torn dough to the edge of a piece that's smaller than the others.

Step 35

Form each piece into a ball with a smooth, taut skin: Hold the dough with the smooth surface on top. Gently pull and tighten the dough down from all sides to create tension on the outside. We want all three dough balls to rise equally, so limit the pulling action to roughly the same for each ball, about 3-4 times total. Tuck and pinch the loose dough at the bottom. Place the dough on the work surface and repeat this process for the rest of pieces.

Step 36

Alternatively, you can place the dough on a non-floured surface. Place both of your hands behind the dough and drag the dough ball along the surface toward your body. The bottom of the dough sticks to the dry surface, creating tension and tightening the ball. Keep the dough ball upright and don't allow the top of the dough to roll over as you pull (see this video). Rotate the ball a quarter turn and perform another gentle drag toward your body. Continue rotating and dragging a few more times until the dough is sufficiently taut and uniformly round.

Step 37

Cover the dough balls with a damp towel and rest the dough for 15 minutes.

Step 38

Meanwhile, using a pastry brush, grease the pan (and the lid, if you're making flat-topped shokupan) with butter (or cooking oil spray). It should be a thin coating.

Step 39

After 15 minutes, take out one dough ball, keeping the rest under the damp towel. Gently handle the dough without stressing it. Dust just enough flour so your dough does not stick to the work surface and rolling pin, but not so much that your dough slides around. As you practice, you will know how much flour is just enough.

Step 40

Place the rolling pin in the middle of the dough and press it down. First, roll out the dough away from you, rolling all the way through the top edge. Rolling releases gas in the dough.

Step 41

Next, roll out the dough toward you, rolling through the edge closest to you. If the dough slides around, you dusted too much flour. Next time, reduce the flour. Tip: I love this non-stick rolling pin (I bought it at the same time as my Japanese loaf pans). You can buy a similar one from Amazon.

Step 42

Pick up the dough and flip it over, and then rotate it 90 degrees. It's now laid out in front of you in a horizontal oval shape.

Step 43

Press the four corners of the dough to shape the oval into a rectangle.

Step 44

Place the rolling pin in the middle. Roll out the dough away from you and then toward you, rolling through all the edges.

Step 45

Next, roll out the upper two corners, so they are squared rather than rounded. Then, roll out the lower two corners.

Step 46

Lift the dough to loosen up and pull the four corners to create a nice vertical rectangle. Make sure the dough is an even thickness from the center to the edges. If the edges are slightly thick or have any air bubbles, use the heel of your hand to press down the edges or pop the bubbles. The rectangle should be roughly 18 cm x 21 cm (7 in. x 8 in.). Tip: I noticed from my own experience that if I don’t roll out the dough evenly at this stage, it affects the shape when I roll up the dough later.

Step 47

Fold the dough in thirds, starting with the right third. Bring the dough to the left one-third line, lightly and gently pressing the edge down so it stays in place. Tip: If the dough sticks to the work surface, gently detach; do not pull, or else the surface of the dough will not become smooth. Always gently handle your dough with care and do not stress the dough.

Step 48

Next, fold the left third of the dough, overlapping the edge of the right third by two-thirds. The edge of the left third should be slightly past the center line. Press down and seal this edge with your fingers, from top to bottom.

Step 49

Place the rolling pin in the middle. First, gently, without pressing down too much, roll out the dough away from you.

Step 50

Next, roll out the dough toward you. At this stage, the folded dough should have an even thickness.

Step 51

Fold down the two upper corners toward the center line, so the top now looks like a triangle tip. Then, tuck the tip down toward you, making sure it is right in the middle.

Step 52

Start rolling the dough slowly toward you, gently pulling the dough downward as you roll to create a smooth, taut skin, but don't roll too tight. Keep rolling all the way to the end, making sure the shape of the roll is even. Tip: Use the same amount of tension when making all of your dough rolls. This helps them rise at the same rate during the final proof and results in an ideal round-topped shokupan shape.

Step 53

Now, pinch the dough at the edge to seal. Keep the rolled-up dough under the damp towel and repeat this process with the rest of the dough balls. Remember which piece of dough you rolled last.

Step 54

Now, place the dough rolls in the shokupan mold, starting with the first two pieces you rolled. Place the first dough roll, seam side down, on one side of the mold. Make sure that the seam is on the bottom, the direction of the swirl goes toward (and not away from) the middle of the pan, and the rolled edge touches the pan's side.

Step 55

Now, place the second dough roll on the opposite end of the mold, seam side down. Again, the direction of the swirl should go toward the loaf's center.

Step 56

Finally, place the last piece of dough you rolled between the first two, seam side down. The direction of the swirl can go either way.

Step 57

Gently press down on the tops of the rolled dough to make them the same height. Cover the mold with plastic.

Step 58

If you are using the square shokupan loaf pan, two rolls should go in just like the rectangular loaf pan (without the middle rolled dough). The picture below is a regular shokupan without black sesame seeds.

Step 59

Place the loaf pan in a warm environment for 1 hour or until the dough has risen to 80-90% of the height of the mold (see the next step). Tip: For the first 30 minutes, I use the Proof mode of my oven. I then take out the mold and place it in a warm area in the house to finish proofing.When you have 30 minutes of proofing time left, start preheating the oven to 425ºF (220ºC). For a convection oven, reduce the baking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). Tip: My oven usually preheats in 15 minutes; however, it is very important that the oven is thoroughly preheated, so I plan 30 minutes of preheating time.

Step 60

To make a round-topped shokupan (山型食パン), let the dough rise to 85-90% of the height of the mold. When the highest point of the dough touches the plastic wrap, it’s ready to bake. Note: The volume for each shokupan mold is very different. My 90% may not be the same as yours if we use a different mold.

Step 61

To make a flat-topped shokupan (角型食パン), let the dough rise to 75-80% of the height of the mold. Then, remove the plastic and close the lid. If your proof was a bit too long and you exceed 80%, change to a round-topped shokupan. Tip: Don't force the lid closed on the dough. Even if the lid closes, the dough will continue to rise in the oven and the lid will get stuck. The picture below is a regular shokupan rolled dough without black sesame seeds.

Step 62

Remove the plastic and spritz the surface of the round-topped shokupan dough with water. Place the loaf pan in the oven and close the door. Immediately lower the heat to the correct baking temperature: For the round-topped shokupan, bake at 385ºF (195ºC) for 30 minutes. For the flat-topped shokupan, bake at 415ºF (210ºC) for 25-30 minutes (in my oven, it’s 28 minutes). For a convection oven, reduce the baking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). For a square loaf, the baking temperature and time should be the same or slightly less.

Step 63

If you are baking two loaves at the same time, bake 1-2 minutes longer and make sure to have plenty of space between the pans so the heat can circulate. Tip: If the loaf has come out lighter in color, you may also want to increase the oven temperature by 5ºF (2-3ºC) next time. To bake both the flat-topped and the round-topped shokupan together, bake at 400ºF (200ºC). The picture below is two flat-topped shokupan loaf pans.

Step 64

When it’s done baking, take out the loaf pan and drop it 1-2 times on the work surface (I use a grate on the stovetop) to prevent the shokupan from shrinking. This will let the water vapor in the bread escape. Tip: If water vapor remains in the bread, it will weaken the bread's structure and make it easier to deflate. The sides of the loaf will wilt and bend as well. For the flat-topped shokupan, open the lid carefully. If you struggle to remove the lid, close it and drop the shokupan mold one more time. If you still can’t open it, note that you need to stop the second proof earlier next time. Maybe instead of 80%, try 75%.

Step 65

Give a few thrusts and let the shokupan slide out of the mold onto a wire rack. Let the shokupan cool completely on the wire rack; it may take 2-3 hours. Do not cut or open the loaf while it’s hot; the steam will escape and the bread will lose moisture.

Step 66

After baking, do not wash your Japanese shokupan loaf pan. Simply wipe it off with a paper towel and store it completely dry to prevent rust.

Step 67

Slice the Black Sesame Shokupan and toast it to enjoy with butter and jam or honey, or use untoasted slices for Japanese-style sandwiches.

Step 68

If you plan to eat the shokupan within 1 to 2 days, put the whole loaf, completely cooled, in a bag and slice as needed. If you don't consume the shokupan within 2 days, slice and freeze the rest for a month to preserve its quality. If you don't plan to eat the shokupan within the next 2 days, slice and freeze it. I use these clear plastic bags for loaves.