Japanese Milk Buns

5 from 1 vote

Japanese Milk Buns are like clouds you can eat — only fluffier, sweeter, and possibly stuffed with red bean, custard, or chocolate. Soft, pillowy, and always hiding a sweet surprise inside just like the ones from Hokkaido bakeries.

Prep Time2

Cook Time20

Total Time2 40

Course: Bread and Buns, Breakfast

Cuisine: Asian, Japanese

Servings: pcs

Calories: 207kcal

Author: Claudia

Equipment

1 baking pan 8x8 inch baking pan

Ingredients

120 gr potato steamed and mashed
500 gr bread flour
80 gr sugar
30 gr milk powder
50 gr condensed milk
10 gr instant yeast
60 gr whipping cream
210 gr milk
60 gr unsalted butter
8 gr salt

Instructions

Peel and cut the potatoes into small pieces, then steam until soft. Mash them with a fork until smooth (Images 1, 2), then sift through a fine sieve for an extra silky texture. In a mixing bowl, sift in the bread flour and milk powder. Add sugar, instant yeast, and the mashed potatoes (Image 3). Pour in the whipping cream, condensed milk, and milk (Image 4). Mix until everything comes together into a smooth, elastic dough.
Once the dough is fairly smooth, add the butter and salt (Image 5). Continue kneading or mixing until fully elastic and smooth (Images 6, 7)—this usually takes about 20 minutes in total. To check, stretch the dough gently: if you can pull it thin without tearing (a.k.a. the "windowpane test"), you're good to go. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased glass bowl, cover with cling wrap, and let it rise for 1 hour (Image 8).
After one hour, the dough should have doubled in size (Image 9). Punch down to deflate, knead briefly on a lightly floured surface, and divide it into 4 equal portions (Images 10, 11). Add food coloring if you’d like—most Japanese milk buns have soft, pastel shades. Mix the color in evenly (Image 12). Cover the dough pieces with cling wrap and let them rest for 10 minutes.
Prepare a 20x20 cm baking pan. Divide each colored dough into 4 smaller pieces (Image 13). Flatten one piece with a rolling pin, flip it so the smooth side faces down, and add your filling of choice (Images 14, 15). Pinch tightly to seal, then shape into a round bun (Image 16). Place it onto the baking pan, grouping by color if desired.
Cover the shaped dough with a clean cloth and let them rise again until doubled in size (Image 17). Dust the tops lightly with flour (Images 18, 19). Bake in a preheated oven at 338°F (170°C) for 17–20 minutes, or until the tops are just golden. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack (Image 20).
Enjoy your soft, fluffy Japanese milk buns—they’re as cute as they are delicious!

Video

Notes

Steam and mash the potatoes while they’re still hot — they blend more smoothly that way. A food processor makes the job even easier.

Use cold whipping cream and cold milk to help keep the dough cool and manageable, especially in a warm kitchen.

Room-temperature butter is ideal—soft enough to mix easily, but not melty. Too soft and your dough may get greasy.

To color your dough, you can use a mixer for convenience or knead by hand until the color is evenly incorporated.

After the first rise, gently flatten the dough to release the trapped air. This helps ensure a fine, even crumb.

Seal the buns tightly after filling—pinch the edges well so the filling stays put during baking. So there is no filling explosions.

Let the bread cool completely before storing. Wrap it in plastic and keep it in an airtight container; it stays fresh for up to 5 days in the fridge.

Nutrition