Yudane Shokupan (湯種食パン)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Shokupan pan with sliding lid, or a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan for yamagata
• •Stand mixer with dough hook, or patient hands and a bench scraper
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Wire cooling rack

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the yudane

   Put 100g bread flour in a heatproof bowl and pour 100g boiling water over it all at once. Stir firmly until no dry flour remains and the paste gathers into a rough, elastic mass. Cover it and refrigerate overnight, at least 8 hours. The rest matters because the hot water has swollen the starch, and time lets that moisture settle evenly through the starter.

   Use truly boiling water. Warm water only makes a paste. Boiling water is what pre-gelatinizes the starch, the reason this loaf keeps its softness.
2. 2

   Wake the starter

   The next day, take the yudane from the refrigerator and tear it into small pieces. Let it stand 20 to 30 minutes while you measure the dough ingredients. Cold yudane can slow the dough unevenly, and small pieces disappear into the mix without leaving stubborn lumps.

3. 3

   Mix the dough

   In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the bread flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Add the milk, egg, and torn yudane pieces. Mix on low speed until a shaggy dough forms, then knead on medium-low for 6 to 8 minutes, until the dough begins to smooth and pull from the sides. Add the softened butter in two pieces and knead another 6 to 8 minutes, until the dough is glossy, elastic, and stretches thin without tearing at once.

   Butter goes in after gluten has started to form. Add it too early and the fat coats the flour, making structure slower to build.
4. 4

   First rise

   Shape the dough into a ball and set it in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and let it rise at warm room temperature until about doubled, 60 to 90 minutes. It should look swollen and feel aerated, not merely bigger. Press a floured finger in gently: the dent should fill back slowly. If it springs back at once, it needs more time.

5. 5

   Divide and rest

   Turn the dough onto a lightly floured counter and press out the large bubbles with a gentle hand. Divide into three equal pieces. Shape each into a loose ball, cover, and rest for 15 minutes. This rest relaxes the gluten, so the final shaping rolls cleanly instead of fighting you like a small argument with flour.

6. 6

   Shape the rolls

   Flatten one piece into a long oval. Fold the left and right sides toward the center, then roll from the short end into a snug cylinder. Repeat with the remaining pieces. Place the three cylinders seam-side down in a greased shokupan pan, lined up like sleeping logs. Even tension gives the loaf its fine, even crumb.

7. 7

   Proof the loaf

   Cover the pan and proof until the dough is light and high. For kaku shokupan, slide the lid on when the dough reaches about 80 to 85 percent of the pan height. For yamagata, leave it uncovered and let the rounded tops rise just above the rim. This is where the two loaves part ways: the lid restrains the dough into a square loaf, while the open pan lets the crown climb.

8. 8

   Bake the loaf

   Heat the oven to 190°C. Bake a lidded kaku loaf for 30 to 35 minutes, or an uncovered yamagata loaf for 28 to 32 minutes, tenting loosely if the top browns too quickly. The crust should be matte gold and the center should read about 93°C on an instant-read thermometer. That temperature tells you the starches have set and the crumb will slice cleanly once cooled.

9. 9

   Cool completely

   Remove the loaf from the pan at once and set it on a rack. Cool at least 2 hours before slicing. Cut too early and the crumb compresses under the knife, because the interior is still setting. For thick toast, pull apart one end by hand if you like; the torn face shows the softness better than any perfect wall.

Chef Tips

• •Use bread flour with enough protein to build structure, about 12 percent if the bag tells you. Soft flour makes a tender loaf, yes, but it won't hold the height shokupan needs.
• •The two foundation methods are ストレート, the straight method where everything is mixed in one dough, and 湯種, yudane, where part of the flour is scalded first. Straight dough is quicker. Yudane gives you the moist, chewy crumb that lasts.
• •A shokupan pan with a sliding lid gives kaku its square bakery shape. No lid? Bake yamagata. It is not a lesser loaf, only a different one.
• •If the loaf wrinkles badly after baking, it was likely underbaked or overproofed. Bake to temperature and watch the final rise. Bread is honest that way, sometimes annoyingly so.
• •Store the cooled loaf tightly wrapped at room temperature for up to three days. Refrigeration stales bread faster. Freeze thick slices if you want it longer.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the yudane 8 to 24 hours ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator.
• •The baked loaf keeps well at room temperature for 3 days, tightly wrapped once fully cool.
• •For longer keeping, slice the cooled loaf thickly and freeze the slices. Toast straight from frozen.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 72g)