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Shokupan (white sandwich bread) recipe


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Has anybody found a tried-and-true recipe for baking Japanese-style white sandwich bread (i.e., shokupan)? Preferably one that is adjusted for North American flours and ingredients.

My wife and kids crave this stuff, although I prefer something more substantial. We can drive across town and buy a reasonable facsimile from our local Chinese bakeries, but I'd really prefer to master it and bake it myself.

Texture-wise, the closest I've come to achieving the same lightness and texture is with challah recipes (except for the yellow color, of course). I've tried a few Japanese recipes and haven't hit success so far. I'm also fairly new at baking bread, so maybe my technique is to blame.

Any tips or hints would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Baker of "impaired" cakes...
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No recipe to share.

sanrensho, I don't understand.  I assume you can read Japanese, so why not just google and get some recipes that sound good?

As I mentioned, I have tried a few Japanese recipes by Japanese authors and haven't been happy with the results. I am wondering if anybody has reworked or come up with recipes that come close to the shokupan texture/lightness. It's very possible that my technique is to fault, although I've generally had success baking various other types of yeasted bread.

Of course, I could keep experimenting and churning out shokupan failures, but I think my wife is close to killing me (if she doesn't choke on my bread first). :blink:

Edited by sanrensho (log)
Baker of "impaired" cakes...
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you could try some korean ones. I know that you can get the same stuff in korea, but I don't know what its called.

whats the exact translation of shokupan? white bread? If so you could try a search of hayunbang

eta: nevermind....my suggestion doesn't seem to work to well

Edited by SheenaGreena (log)
BEARS, BEETS, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
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Try a challah recipe, but use only the egg whites rather than the whole eggs. You may need to add some extra fat because you're removing the egg yolk, but it should give you the same texture without the color.

Thanks, I was thinking along the same lines but wasn't sure how to play with the formula. Ill add this to my list of shokupan experiments.

Baker of "impaired" cakes...
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Sanrenso, I'm having the same problem! It's so weird, I've tried tons of shokupan recipes too, and they never work.

I really like Nick Malgieri's challah recipe from A Baker's Tour. What challah recipes have worked best for you?

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Sanrenso, I'm having the same problem! It's so weird, I've tried tons of shokupan recipes too, and they never work.

I really like Nick Malgieri's challah recipe from A Baker's Tour. What challah recipes have worked best for you?

I'm relieved to hear that I'm not the only one with this problem!

The next recipe I'm thinking of trying is this one:

http://www001.upp.so-net.ne.jp/e-pan/pullman2/pullman.htm

I'll use the mixing method as it is written, rather than my usual simplified method. The only challah I've tried is the one from Baking w/Julia, which baked and tasted fine.

Baker of "impaired" cakes...
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Maybe you have to find Sake Lees instead of regular Yeast?

Somewhere I read that Sake Lees are used in Japanese bread, but that article could be wrong.

Sake lees are used in some recipes, regular yeast in some, and 'natural yeast' in others.

sanrensho, I feel that one of the easiest way to get around your difficulty is to get one of those bread baking machines and follow the instructions. I had no idea that shokupan making is so difficult...

whats the exact translation of shokupan? white bread?

It's 食パン, literally "eating bread", that is, bread meant to be eaten as part of a meal, as opposed to kashi pan (菓子パン), such as melon pan, anpan, and cream pan.

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sanrensho, I feel that one of the easiest way to get around your difficulty is to get one of those bread baking machines and follow the instructions.  I had no idea that shokupan making is so difficult...

You could be right, but I'm not interested in adding another appliance right now. Besides, anything that is doable by a bread machine should also be doable by hand.

I realize that this is more of a challenge for those of us outside of Japan. If I were living in Japan, I would have zero incentive to make shokupan myself. :laugh:

Baker of "impaired" cakes...
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I have a recipe from baking class that I really liked. If I can find it (I might have brought it back to Canada), I'll add the recipe to RecipeGullet, though I'm not sure it was much different from other published recipes. Also, have you been using the right kind of flour? I think the flour we used in baking class had 12g tampaku per 100g of flour.

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Also, have you been using the right kind of flour?  I think the flour we used in baking class had 12g tampaku per 100g of flour.

Thanks Rona, that's helpful. I'll shoot for 12% protein with the recipe I posted. Although it might be a week, since my wife now shudders when she sees me bring out the loaf pans.

Baker of "impaired" cakes...
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Try a challah recipe, but use only the egg whites rather than the whole eggs. You may need to add some extra fat because you're removing the egg yolk, but it should give you the same texture without the color.

Thanks, I was thinking along the same lines but wasn't sure how to play with the formula. Ill add this to my list of shokupan experiments.

I'm used to having to tweak recipes because of food allergies, and typically when you're dealing with eggs, you have the protein component (the egg white) and the fat component (the yolk). In egg breads, the egg is there as a leavener.

When I was adapting recipes to eliminate eggs, I was always having to add a little extra fat to make up for the lack of egg yolks.

Cheryl

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Thanks Cheryl, that's quite helpful actually. I have a test batch from the Japanese Pullman recipe rising as we speak, so I'll report back later.

Baker of "impaired" cakes...
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I'm pleased (and relieved!) to report that the Japanese Pullman bread recipe worked out pretty well. I definitely overproofed it after shaping, which resulted in unnecessary holes and a slightly open crumb. However, it definitely had that familiar shokupan texture and crumb where the bread pulls apart into "threads."

I'll continue working with the recipe and experimenting with overnight proofing and different flours. In the meantime, I'll post the English recipe and instructions when I get some time.

Baker of "impaired" cakes...
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I'm pleased (and relieved!) to report that the Japanese Pullman bread recipe worked out pretty well. I definitely overproofed it after shaping, which resulted in unnecessary holes and a slightly open crumb. However, it definitely had that familiar shokupan texture and crumb where the bread pulls apart into "threads."

I'll continue working with the recipe and experimenting with overnight proofing and different flours. In the meantime, I'll post the English recipe and instructions when I get some time.

glad to know that you have success with this recipe...would you be so kind as to translate the ingredients ?

I would like to make this bread too.

peony

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Here is the translated Pullman bread recipe that I promised, with notes and adapted for a stand mixer. The original recipe and incredibly detailed instructions (in Japanese) can be found here:

http://www001.upp.so-net.ne.jp/e-pan/pullman2/pullman.htm

Notes:

1. I use smaller than normal loaf pans so you might want to scale up by 50% or double this recipe. Also, I did not use a pullman pan (don't have one yet).

2. I omitted one extra step from the Japanese instructions, between the 2nd rise and shaping.

3. I used 50/50 Canadian pastry (10%) and bleached A-P (13.3%) flour for a 11.65% protein content. This is roughly equivalent to Nissei Camelia flour (11.7% protein), which appears to be a popular flour for home bread bakers in Japan.

Japanese Pullman Bread Recipe

Flour (570 g)

Active dry yeast (6 g)

Sugar (35 g)

Salt (11 g)

Skim or whole milk (12 g)

Whole eggs (57 g)

Unsalted butter, softened (29 g)

Water (348 g)

1. Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water and sugar. Add remaining ingredients EXCEPT BUTTER and mix on low (Speed: 2) for 14 minutes.

2. Add butter and mix for 12 minutes on LOW (Speed: 1 or 2). Test for windowpane.

3. Form dough around itself to form ball and place in greased container. Dough will be fairly slack and tacky, not outright sticky.

4. Cover and let 1st rise to 2.6-2.7 times original volume.

5. Degass and press out into rectangle. Fold in thirds top-to-bottom and side-to-side. Flip over and repeat. Place back in greased container.

6. Cover and let 2nd rise to 2.0-2.3 times volume.

7. Divide into four or six pieces and press out into rectangle while degassing. Images 4-2 to 4-8. Fold in thirds top-to-bottom and then fold over itself in the same direction. Seal seam with fingers and roll out into thick ropes (not too long). Form U or N shape with seam side down and place in greased loaf pans.

8. Cover and let 3rd rise until doubled. If you find any bubbles at this point, pop them. Bake 10 minutes @ 160C and 15-20 minutes at 190C.

Edited by sanrensho (log)
Baker of "impaired" cakes...
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