Cinnamon Free Classic Milk Bread
Soft, pillowy, and impossibly tender, this Japanese-style milk bread is the kind of loaf that makes you want to clear your whole afternoon just to sit and eat warm slices straight from the rack. 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 and staying power. For anyone navigating a sensitivity to warming spices, this recipe is a genuine win because the ingredient list is completely straightforward: flour, milk, butter, egg, sugar, salt, and yeast — nothing hidden, nothing surprising. So many enriched breads and sweet rolls come loaded with spice blends, but this one keeps things beautifully clean without sacrificing any of the richness or depth you'd want from a bakery-quality loaf. The butter gets worked in gradually during kneading, which builds a smooth, elastic dough that bakes up with a gorgeous deep-golden crust and a feathery interior that tears apart in satisfying ribbons. A final egg wash gives the top that glossy, bakery-window finish that makes it almost too pretty to cut into — almost. Whether you're toasting thick slices for breakfast or pulling it apart at the dinner table, this is the kind of bread that earns a permanent spot in your rotation.
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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.
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