Hokkaido Bread: a Simple, Sweet Treat from Japan

Bread. One of the world's simplest foods and one that many of us have a love/hate relationship with. Homemade bread is a pleasure to make and eat, and if you fancy yourself a baker, you've probably made different kinds. My family loves making (and, of course, eating!) bread, so Italian bread, baguettes, sourdough, pizza dough, and whole-grain loaves are routine for us. We whip up pita and English muffins, naan, and focaccia and wouldn't even consider getting them at a grocery store anymore. They're all delicious, and you could plan a month's worth of meals from around the world using these kinds of bread.

My daughters and my husband prefer to make bread by hand. They stir ingredients with a wooden spoon until it forms a dough and then dig in with their hands, kneading it well. They gleefully fling flour over the countertop, spilling a good amount on the floor for fun. They never mind flour on their clothes or how it works its way under the canisters or the cake plate. They "clean up," but I usually follow behind, moving the crocks of popcorn and rice, the fruit basket, and the big jars of oatmeal, flour, and sugar so I can spray and scrub up. I'm the one with the vacuum, cleaning up the floor.

Don't get me wrong. I want to like using my hands to make bread...I just don't. I like to put all the ingredients into the KitchenAid, snap on the dough hook, and turn it on. I'll let it mix and mix till I have a soft ball of dough that works just as well as the hand-mixed kind. I prefer to avoid a floury kitchen and sticky dough under my fingernails. Working the dough after it rises is still a job I'll do by hand, but after that first rise, it's easier. Less messy.

During the pandemic, after I'd scored a 25-pound bag of King Arthur flour by the miracle of online shopping, I came across a recipe for a bread I'd never heard of. This bread comes from Japan (I didn't even know that bread was a traditional feature of Asian cuisines!) and is known there as Hokkaido bread. Elsewhere it's sometimes called Japanese milk bread or condensed milk bread. Whatever you call it, you will be addicted once you taste this indescribably soft, fluffy bread.

Hokkaido bread seems fancy, but it's actually simple to make. You don't even need to slice it; the loaves pull part into perfect fat slices. The recipe makes two loaves, but don't count on leftovers. The hardest part is waiting for it to get to the table! You'll need about two and a half hours to make it, but most of that is rising time.

Recipe:

• 1 cup milk (warmed in the microwave 15-20 seconds, not too hot)
• 1/4 cup condensed milk
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 TB yeast
• 3 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt

For the glaze, if desired:

• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1/4 cup condensed milk
• Vanilla and/or cinnamon to taste

1. Sprinkle yeast over warmed milk in a mixing bowl. Add sugar, condensed milk, and egg. Mix. Add in flour and salt and mix till the dough forms a ball. (You may add up to 1/2 cup more flour if it's too sticky.) Cover the bowl with waxed paper and a towel and let rise one hour till doubled.
2. Prepare two greased loaf pans. Punch down the dough and cut it in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll one dough half into a rectangular shape about 1/4" thick. Roll it up from the long side as you would cinnamon buns (with nothing inside) and cut the roll into 8 pieces. Place them into the loaf pan to look like the roll before you cut it up. Repeat with the other half of the dough and the second loaf pan. Cover both pans with waxed paper and towel and let rise another 45 minutes.
3. Preheat your oven to 350. Brush each loaf with an egg wash and bake 25 minutes, till golden. While baking, make the glaze if you are using it. Brush that onto the bread right before serving. Adding vanilla and cinnamon to the glaze mimics a cinnamon bun flavor, but it's delicious plain as well.

One of the best things about Hokkaido bread is its versatility. Unglazed, this simple, downy soft bread makes a great sandwich, side dish, or French toast. Adding the glaze makes an extra special treat for brunch or dessert. Enjoy! Your guests will assume you spent hours making it, but the only thing faster than making it is watching it disappear.