Japanese Milk Bread Loaf - Brown Sugar Cinnamon

Japanese milk bread, known as shokupan, is famous for its light, fluffy texture and subtle sweetness. Its softness is achieved using the tangzhong technique, where a portion of flour and liquid is pre-cooked into a paste that helps the bread retain moisture and stay tender. 

This loaf includes a brown sugar cinnamon swirl, and tastes like a glorious, if less sweet cinnamon roll. No one would judge you if you made some cream cheese frosting to go on top, but it surely doesn't need it.

Please Note: I bake these loaves on parchment inside the pan, to keep the melting brown sugar right where we want it, ie. coating the bread and caramelizing! I do leave this paper on inside the packaging, just to make it cleaner to remove from the bag. It is not, however, good eats, so please remove before chowing down.