Day 1. Make Yudane

• Measure flour for yudane (65g) in a small bowl
• Bring water to boil in a small pot or kettle. Add 65g boiling water to flour. Stir together with a spoon. Once it's cool enough to handle, knead dough for thirty seconds. Store in a small container, cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge.

Day 2. Make Shokupan

Combine dry ingredients

• In bowl, combine flour (260g), yeast, sugar and salt

Mix dough

• Heat milk to room temp using stovetop or microwave. Bring the milk to a temperature that feels neither hot or cold (somewhere near 80℉). Add milk and yudane to KitchenAid bowl. Place dry ingredients on top of milk and butter on top of dry ingredients.
• Mix on low speed until there are no visible traces of butter or flour. Increase speed to medium/medium-high.
• After a few minutes, stop mixer and scrape down sides of bowl. Continue to mix on medium/medium-high until the dough is no longer sticking to the sides and bottom of bowl. The dough should be smooth and pass the windowpane test (image #2 under "Pay Careful Attention" section).

Bulk Ferment (1st rise)

• Round dough to create a smooth top and place into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and allow dough to rise to 2.5 - 3x it's original size. This could take 1 to 3 hours depending on the final temperature of the dough and temperature of the room. An hour-and-half is about average for a moderately warm room. Use visual cues and the poke test to determine if the dough is sufficiently proofed⁽²⁾.

Divide & Preshape

• Dust flour onto a clean surface and invert bowl, allowing dough to fall onto dusted area. Square off the dough then cut in half, each piece should weigh around 320g. Pre-shape each piece into a loose ball, cover and rest 15-20 minutes

Shape (please see "Technique" section for visuals)

• Flour counter and, working with one dough at a time, flatten each piece into a rectangle.

  Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out until the length is roughly 2x the width

  Fold so the sides meet in the middle

  Starting at one end, roll the dough to the other end

  Pinch the seam to seal

  Place rolls in oiled pan, seam side down

Final Fermentation (2nd rise)

• Cover and allow dough to rise to about 2x it's original size. This could take 1 to 3 hours depending on the temperature of the dough and room. An hour-and-half is about average for a moderately warm room. Use visual cues and the poke test to determine if the dough is sufficiently proofed ⁽²⁾. If using a 1 lb loaf pan, the dough should dome up as pictured in image #4 under the "Pay Careful Attention" section.

Bake

• About 15 - 20 minutes before your your loaf is ready to go into the oven, turn on oven and heat to 350℉ (oven rack placed second spot from bottom). When the loaf and oven are both ready, place pan directly on oven rack and bake for 25-35 minutes (my loaf took 32 minutes). Careful not to remove from the oven too early or the bread will sink in on itself (internal temperature should read 195-200℉).

Cooling, Eating and Storing

• Remove shokupan from pan and allow to cool on wire rack.

  Shokupan is really good when still warm from the oven, especially with a little butter and jam. For sandwiches and toast, it's best to slice on the second day (it's very difficult to cut on day one because it's so soft).

  I like to slice shokupan the day after baking, place in a plastic bag and freeze for future toasts and sandwiches.