Beef Free Classic Milk Bread
Soft, pillowy, and impossibly tender, this Japanese-style milk bread is the kind of loaf that makes you want to bake every weekend. The secret is the tangzhong — a simple cooked paste of flour and milk that gets folded into the dough and gives the finished bread its signature cloud-like crumb. From there, the dough comes together with butter, egg, and a touch of sugar, producing a slightly sweet, rich loaf that's nothing like your average sandwich bread. Everything in this recipe is straightforward pantry and dairy — no meat-based fats, broths, or animal-derived additives to navigate around, just clean, simple ingredients doing beautiful work. The shaping step, where you roll each dough portion into a tight log and nestle them side by side in the pan, is what creates those gorgeous pull-apart layers once baked. Patience pays off here: letting the loaf cool before slicing gives the crumb time to set so every slice is as fluffy as the last. Whether you're toasting it, using it for French toast, or eating it plain straight off the rack, this loaf is genuinely hard to resist.
About FigFig is a food discovery app that helps you find foods and recipes that fit your dietary needs. Whether you have food allergies, intolerances, or follow a specific diet, Fig makes it easy to eat with confidence.
Learn more →Ingredients
10 servings
For the tangzhong
- 3 tbsp bread flour
- ½ cup whole milk
For the dough
- 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast (1 packet)
- ¼ cup warm whole milk (about 110°f / 43°c)
- 2 ½ cups bread flour
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp fine salt
- 1 large egg
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces
For the egg wash
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tbsp whole milk
Instructions
- 1
Make the tangzhong: whisk together the 3 tbsp bread flour and 1/2 cup milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens into a smooth, pudding-like paste and leaves a trail when you drag a spatula across the bottom, about 3–4 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
- 2
Combine the yeast and 1/4 cup warm milk in the bowl of a stand mixer and let stand until foamy, about 5–10 minutes.
Want the full recipe?
Create a Fig account for step-by-step instructions, access to our full recipe library, and more!