Kaku Shokupan (角食パン, Pullman loaf)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Lidded shokupan mold (shokupan-gata) or a 9 x 4 x 4 inch Pullman pan, about 2 liters capacity
• •Stand mixer with dough hook, or patient hands and a steady bench
• •Digital scale
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Wire cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the yudane

   Put 80g of the bread flour in a heatproof bowl. Pour the 80g boiling water over it all at once and stir hard with chopsticks or a stiff spatula until no dry flour remains. It will be thick and a little glossy. Cover it directly and let it cool, then refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. The boiling water pre-gelatinizes the starch, so it holds water before the dough is even mixed. That held water is why the loaf stays moist instead of turning dry by breakfast tomorrow.

   Use boiling water, not merely hot water. Lukewarm water makes paste; boiling water changes the starch.
2. 2

   Start the dough

   Tear the chilled yudane into small pieces. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the milk, 35g water, sugar, and yeast, then add the remaining 320g bread flour and the torn yudane. Mix on low until a shaggy dough forms, then rest it for 15 minutes. This short rest lets the flour drink before you knead, and the dough becomes calmer under your hands.

3. 3

   Knead and butter

   Add the salt and knead on low to medium speed until the dough gathers around the hook, about 5 minutes. Add the softened butter in small pieces, waiting until each piece disappears before adding the next. Butter goes in after some gluten has formed because fat coats flour and slows that structure if it arrives too early. Knead 8 to 12 minutes more, until the dough is smooth, elastic, and a small piece stretches thin without tearing at once.

   Finished dough should feel tacky but not wet, and it should sit around 25 to 27 C. If it is much warmer, the butter softens too much and the crumb loses its fine order.
4. 4

   First rise

   Shape the dough into a ball, set it in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let it rise in a warm room until doubled, 60 to 90 minutes. Press a floured finger gently into the dough. The dent should fill back slowly, not spring shut at once. Time is a poor master here; dough tells the truth better than the clock.

5. 5

   Divide and rest

   Turn the dough onto the bench and press it gently to remove the largest bubbles. Divide it into 3 equal pieces, about 255g each, and round each piece into a tight ball. Cover and rest 15 to 20 minutes. This bench rest relaxes the gluten so the final shaping rolls smoothly; if you fight tight dough, it answers with tunnels in the crumb.

6. 6

   Shape the rolls

   Grease the Pullman pan and its lid well. Roll one dough ball into an oval about the width of the pan, fold the left and right sides toward the center, then roll it up firmly from the short end into a neat cylinder. Pinch the seam closed. Repeat with the other two pieces and set all three cylinders seam-side down in the pan, lined up along the length. The even rolls help the dough rise into the corners instead of making one proud hump in the middle.

7. 7

   Proof for kaku

   Cover the pan and proof at warm room temperature until the highest point of the dough sits about 1 to 1.5 cm below the rim, usually 60 to 90 minutes. This is the detail that decides kaku shokupan. Close the lid too early and the loaf bakes with shy corners. Wait too long and the lid compresses the dough, giving you a tight crumb and a top that sulks.

   For a different pan size, think in volume rather than minutes: the dough should fill about 80 to 85 percent of the mold before the lid slides shut.
8. 8

   Bake the loaf

   Heat the oven to 190 C, or 375 F, with a rack in the lower third. Slide the greased lid fully closed and bake 32 to 35 minutes. The covered pan browns by contact and trapped heat, so don't open it early to admire your work. The loaf is done when it reaches about 93 C, or 200 F, in the center and the crust is matte gold rather than dark brown.

9. 9

   Unmold at once

   Take the pan from the oven, tap it once firmly on the counter, slide off the lid, and turn the loaf out onto a rack immediately. Leaving it in the pan softens the crust and wrinkles the sides. A square loaf should look composed, not like it slept in its clothes.

10. 10

    Cool and slice

    Let the loaf cool at least 2 hours before slicing. The crumb is still setting while it cools, and a warm knife will compress the softness you worked for. For toast, cut thick slices, about 3 cm. For sandwiches, cut thinner, about 1.2 to 1.5 cm, the konbini way.

Chef Tips

• •Use bread flour around 11.5 to 12.5 percent protein. Shokupan needs enough strength to hold a square shoulder; weak flour gives you softness without posture.
• •ストレート (straight) is the quicker method: mix all the flour and liquid at once, with no scald. For this pan, use 400g bread flour, 170g milk, 75g water, 35g sugar, 7g salt, 5g yeast, and 35g butter. It will be good bread, but it will dry sooner than the yudane loaf.
• •Kaku and yamagata are not two names for the same thing. Use the lid for kaku, proofing just below the rim. Leave the lid off for yamagata, proof until the dough rises slightly above the rim, and expect a rounded crown and a lighter bite.
• •Hokkaido milk bread is the dairy-rich cousin, named for the island's milk and butter. This loaf is plainer on purpose: soft enough for sandwiches, not a cake wearing square corners.
• •If your kitchen is cold, let the dough take its time. If it is hot, use cool milk and water. Yeast is not impressed by your schedule, which is one of its better qualities.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the yudane the night before. It keeps 24 hours refrigerated, tightly covered, and the dough is better for the wait.
• •For a morning bake, shape the dough, set it in the greased pan, cover, and refrigerate 8 to 12 hours once it has begun to rise. Finish proofing at room temperature until it reaches the 1 to 1.5 cm mark below the rim, then bake.
• •Keep the cooled loaf wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days. Do not refrigerate it; cold storage stales bread quickly. Freeze sliced bread for up to 1 month and toast from frozen.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 60g)