Soft & Fluffy Japanese Walnut Bread Recipe (Kurumi Pan)

Soft & Airy Japanese Walnut Bread （くるみパン）

Hard, crusty bread is great and all, but nothing beats that ultra-soft and pillowy texture of Japanese bread! With this super easy hand-kneading recipe, even beginners can easily bring that cozy cafe vibe right into their own kitchen.

These rustic walnut buns have a gentle, natural sweetness that comes through with every bite. They’re amazing with your morning coffee, but I also highly recommend slathering them with cream cheese or adding a dollop of orange marmalade!　

The Secret Behind the Softness: Japanese vs. Western Bread

Ever wonder why Japanese bread is so unbelievably soft? It all comes down to the ingredients.

Traditional European bread is as simple as it gets—made mostly from flour, water, and salt. Japanese bread, on the other hand, takes a much richer approach!

What makes Japanese-style dough unique is the generous addition of fats and dairy, like milk, butter, or shortening. These rich ingredients coat the proteins in the flour, gently softening the gluten network to completely transform the texture.

Comparison at a Glance

Feature	Western Style (Traditional)	Japanese Style (Shokupan/Cafe-style)
Core Ingredients	Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast	Flour, Milk, Butter, Sugar, Yeast
Texture	Crusty, airy, and chewy	Soft, and “mochi-mochi”
Flavor Profile	Savory and wheaty	Rich, milky, and subtly sweet

The Journey to This Bread Dough Recipe

At one time, I was completely obsessed with baking bread. Being naturally clumsy, I faced countless failures along the way. However, through constant trial and error, I finally perfected this dough recipe. Even if you aren’t particularly handy, you can make this easily once you grasp a few simple “knacks.”

Once you master this dough, the possibilities for customization are endless:

• Savory: Wrap it around sausages or bacon, then top with mayonnaise or ketchup.
• Mix-ins: Swap walnuts for chocolate chips, raisins, or black sesame seeds.
• Sweet: Fill it with rich custard cream.

While hand-kneading takes time, it offers unique benefits:

• The joy of watching the fermentation process and the immense satisfaction of the finished product.
• The ability to bake larger batches at once compared to a bread machine.
• Total control over the ingredients, ratios, and mix-ins.

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Pro-Tips for Delicious Bread Dough

• Temperature Control:
  • Temperature is everything. If the milk or eggs are too cold, they inhibit the yeast, resulting in a stiff dough. Aim to keep the dough temperature around 37°C.
• The “Hand-Sticking” Solution:
  • One of the biggest hurdles I faced was dough sticking to my hands. I solved this by wearing snug rubber or nitrile gloves. Having dough get stuck in the creases of my palms or under my fingernails was incredibly stressful. Switching to gloves was a total game-changer for my baking experience.
• The Timing of Fats (Butter and Eggs):
  • Fats have a tendency to inhibit gluten formation. If you add them too early, the flour particles get coated in fat, making it difficult for the gluten structure to develop. Therefore, you should wait until the dough has come together before adding the eggs and butter. The best time to add the fats is when the dough has become somewhat smooth and can be stretched thin without tearing.

Nutrition Facts (Per Loaf)

• Calories: 1,326 kcal
• Protein: 34.6 g
• Total Fat: 53.5 g
• Total Carbohydrates: 172.5 g
• Salt Equivalents: 3.2 g

Nutrition Facts per Serving (Serves 6 / 1 piece)

• Calories: approx. 221 kcal
• Protein: approx. 5.8 g
• Fat: approx. 8.9 g
• Carbohydrates: approx. 28.8 g
• Salt Equivalent: approx. 0.5 g

Ingredients : Yields 1 loaf (using a 21cm pound cake mold)

• 150g Milk (warmed to approx. 40°C)
• 180g Bread flour
• 20g Cake flour
• 15g Sugar
• 3g Salt
• 15g Unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 5g Cooking oil
• 2g Dry yeast (I highly recommend Saf-Instant by Lesaffre!)
• 40g Walnuts (roughly chopped)

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How to make Japanese Walnut Bread Recipe (Kurumi Pan)

Preparation

1. Prep the Mold: Line your 21cm pound cake mold with parchment paper. You can skip this step if you are using a Teflon-coated pan.
2. Pro-Tip: Put on a pair of tight-fitting rubber or nitrile gloves. This is a game-changer—no more dough sticking to your fingers!

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Instructions

1. Mixing the Dough
   • In a large bowl, combine the bread flour, cake flour, sugar, salt, and dry yeast.
   • Crucial Step: Keep the salt and yeast on opposite sides of the bowl initially, as direct contact with salt can inhibit the yeast.
   • Pour half of the warm milk directly onto the yeast. Let it sit for a few minutes, then stir with chopsticks.
   • Add the remaining milk and mix until a shaggy dough forms.
2. Kneading & Adding Fats
   • Once the dough comes together, add the oil and begin kneading.
   • Once the dough becomes elastic, incorporate the unsalted butter. Continue kneading until the dough is soft, smooth, and passes the “windowpane test” (you can stretch it into a thin sheet without it tearing).
3. First Fermentation & Shaping
   • Shape the dough into a ball and let it rise (1st Fermentation): 40 minutes at 35°C (or until doubled in size).
     • If you’re using around 300g of flour in total, using a bread machine for kneading and proofing works totally fine! But when it comes to baking, you’ll definitely get much better results if you use a regular oven.
   • Gently press down on the dough to release the gas (degassing), reshape into a ball, and let it rest for 10 minutes.
   • Roll the dough out into a 21cm square. Evenly sprinkle the walnuts over the surface.
   • Roll the dough up tightly from the front edge. Pinch the seam firmly to seal it.
4. Second Fermentation & Baking
   • Place the dough into the mold.
   • Let it rise again (2nd Fermentation): 40 minutes at 35°C.
   • Preheat your oven to 170°C. Bake on the middle rack for 25 minutes.
5. Finishing Touches
   • The “Shock”: Immediately after removing from the oven, drop the mold from a height of about 20cm onto a flat surface. This “shocks” the bread and prevents it from shrinking as it cools.
   • Remove the bread from the mold and place it on a wire rack to cool completely.　

Bread Dough Recipe Comparison & Conversion Chart

Ingredients	Base Recipe (1.0x)	For Shokupan (approx. 0.83x)	For 21cm Pound Cake Pan (approx. 0.66x)
Bread Flour	270g	224g	178g
Cake Flour	30g	25g	20g
(Total Flour)	(300g)	(249g)	(198g)
Sugar	20g	17g	13g
Salt	4g	3.3g (approx. 3g)	2.6g (approx. 3g)
Instant Dry Yeast	3g	2.5g (approx. 2.5g)	2g
Milk	230g	191g	152g
Vegetable Oil	10g	8g ※ Omit when using bread maker	7g ※ Omit when using bread maker
Unsalted Butter	20g	16g ※ 25g when using bread maker	13g ※ 20g when using bread maker

Read the Japanese version of this article here! [ふわふわのくるみパンのレシピ]　

食パン #朝ごはん #パンスタグラム #Shokupan #JapaneseMilkBread #BreakfastLovers #FluffyBread

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