Tree Nut Free Classic Milk Bread

Total time3 hr 5 min

Prep time30 min

Cook time35 min

4.6

(8)

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, it's a straightforward process of kneading in butter, letting the dough rise, and shaping it into four snug rolls tucked side by side in the pan. The ingredient list is refreshingly clean: bread flour, whole milk, egg, butter, yeast, sugar, and salt — nothing more. That simplicity is genuinely good news for anyone navigating store-bought breads loaded with mystery additives or processed on shared equipment with nuts. Baking it yourself means you know exactly what went into every slice. Whether you eat it plain, toasted with butter, or piled high with your favorite fillings, this loaf delivers bakery-quality results right from your own oven.

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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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