Milk Bread

Make the softest, fluffiest milk bread at home with this easy recipe using tangzhong, whole milk, and butter. Great for sandwiches and more!

8 ingredients•Prep: 25 mins•Cook: 30 mins

Ryan Nordheimer•

October 28, 2025

If you’re searching for the softest, fluffiest, most pillowy loaf of bread you can make at home, this homemade milk bread recipe is the one. Inspired by traditional Japanese shokupan and beloved across Asian bakeries, milk bread is known for its rich, tender crumb and lightly sweet flavor. Whether you’re baking for breakfast, sandwiches, or a showstopping French toast, this easy milk bread delivers bakery-quality results every time.

At the heart of this recipe is the tangzhong method, a technique that involves cooking a bit of flour and milk into a paste before adding it to the dough. This method locks in moisture, resulting in an incredibly soft texture that stays fresh for days. Combined with whole milk, butter, and egg, the dough becomes silky and rich, easy to knead, and bakes into a light and airy loaf.

Easy milk bread dough with simple ingredients

This soft bread recipe uses pantry staples: all-purpose flour, instant yeast, sugar, salt, and the key ingredients of whole milk and butter. The dough is smooth and supple, and after a slow rise, it bakes into golden perfection with a cloud-like interior. You can make it in a standard loaf pan or shape it into rolls, buns, or pull-apart bread.

For extra flavor and shine, brush the top with milk or egg wash before baking. You can also sprinkle sesame seeds or add fillings like custard, red bean paste, or Nutella for a sweet twist. This milk bread is endlessly versatile and perfect for creative baking projects.

The perfect bread for any occasion

Whether you’re making toast for breakfast, using it as a base for gourmet sandwiches, or baking soft rolls for dinner, milk bread works for every meal. It’s ideal for meal prep, beginner-friendly, and satisfying to make from scratch.

Serve it fresh with butter and jam, or turn it into garlic bread, sweet buns, or French toast. With its ultra-soft texture, slight sweetness, and rich flavor, this milk bread is a baking staple you’ll come back to again and again.

Equipment

1 Stand mixer

Key Ingredients:

Bread Flour: Has a higher protein content, which gives baked bread its chewy texture and strong structure.
Dehydrated Milk Powder: Adds richness and a subtle sweetness to bread while helping it stay soft and tender.
Active Dry Yeast: Helps the dough rise, creating a light, airy texture in homemade bread.

Instructions

In a stand mixer fitted with a padel attachment, all all the ingredients except the butter. Mix on low at first, and increase to medium-low. Knead for 8-10 minutes. Add the butter (2 Tbsp) and continue to mix until incorporated.
Transfer dough to a greased bowl and cover. Refrigerate overnight.
Punch air out of the dough. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
Divide into 4 equal pieces (about 200g pieces). Working one piece at a time, stretch the piece into a rough rectangle. Flour your work surface and roll the dough until much longer than it is wider (exact measurements don’t matter). Brush off excess flour. Fold the dough in thirds to create one skinny, long dough. Then roll it up into a spiral. Repeat with remaining 3 pieces.
Place the 4 spirals seam-side down in a greased pullman loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until the dough has almost tripled in size and is just touching the plastic wrap, about 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 350F with an oven rack in the lower-third position. Bake loaf for 30 minutes, tenting with foil if needed to prevent the top from getting too dark. Let cool for 5-10 minutes, then turn out and let cool completely. Will stay fresh for 3-4 days.