Last week you made Japanese Milk Bread. The week before that, cinnamon rolls. Both of those bakes taught you something specific: how to handle enriched dough. How butter, eggs, and milk change everything about how dough feels, how it ferments, and how it bakes. This week, we’re putting all of that to work. We’re making Star Bread. If you’ve never seen one, picture this: a soft, buttery, filled bread shaped into a beautiful twisted star pattern that looks like it came out of a professional bakery. It’s the kind of bread people set in the center of a table and just stare at before they tear into it. Here’s the thing. It looks complicated. It’s not. If you made milk bread last week, you already have the hands for this. The dough is familiar. The technique is new, but I’ll walk you through every fold, every cut, every twist. Here’s how the week breaks down: https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/henrys-savory-star-bread?utm_source=skool&utm_medium=community&utm_campaign=recipe-share Tuesday - We talk about laminating fillings into enriched dough. What works, what doesn’t, and why your filling choice matters more than you think. Wednesday - The geometry of star bread. I’ll break down the shaping method so it makes sense before you ever touch dough. Circles, stacking, cutting, twisting. We’ll cover it all. Thursday - Filling options and flavor combinations. Sweet, savory, and a few you haven’t thought of yet. Friday - Prep day. Get your dough made, your filling ready, and your workspace set. We go live Saturday morning. Saturday - Bake-along. You know the drill. I’m here all day. Yeasted and sourdough versions will both be available on the Recipe Pantry. A few weeks ago, some of you had never made enriched dough. Now you’ve done cinnamon rolls and milk bread. Star bread is the next step, and it’s the one that’s going to make people ask “you made that?” when they see it on your counter.

This is it. We're making Japanese Milk Bread today. If you've never worked with tangzhong before, today's the day you learn why this technique changes everything. We cook a small portion of flour and milk into a paste before it goes into the dough. That paste traps moisture and keeps this bread impossibly soft for days. It's the reason Japanese bakery bread feels like a cloud and your regular sandwich loaf doesn't. This dough is enriched: butter, eggs, milk, sugar. It's going to feel different from lean doughs. Softer. Stickier. Richer. Don't panic and don't add extra flour. Trust the process. The stand mixer does the heavy lifting here, and the dough will come together. 📱 Recipe Pantry Tip: At the top of every recipe page, look for the little chef's hat icon on the right side of the nav bar. Click it. That keeps your screen awake so you're not tapping your phone with floury elbows. The crescent moon next to it toggles dark mode if your kitchen is bright. 🔗 The Recipe: https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/japanese-milk-bread?variant=yeasted Before you start: - Take your butter, eggs, and milk out of the fridge NOW. Room temperature ingredients matter today. - Make your tangzhong first. It needs to cool before it goes into the dough. If you made it last night, even better. - Clear your counter. You'll need space for shaping. Post your questions, your progress photos, your tangzhong shots, your shaped loaves, your finished bread. Everything goes here so we can all learn from each other. I'm here all day, start to finish. Whether you're mixing right now or pulling your loaf out tonight, this thread stays open. Let's see those milk breads. 👇

Don't forget about the scaling feature. Got a bigger pan? Need a smaller batch? You can scale the recipe up or down right on the page. No math required. Crusty is built right into the recipe if you need help. He's a great resource for answering questions while you're baking. And if sourdough is more your thing, there's both a yeasted and sourdough version available. Check it out here: Japanese Milk Bread on Recipe Pantry While you're there, a few things worth knowing about the Pantry: If you see a term or technique that's highlighted in a recipe, tap on it. That links directly to our built-in glossary, so you get an explanation right there without leaving your recipe. No Googling, no guessing. Up at the top of the page in the navigation bar, you'll see a little chef's hat icon. Click that and it keeps your screen awake. So if you're in the middle of a bake and your hands are covered in dough, your phone or computer won't go to sleep on you. Your recipe stays right there. And you can print any recipe. It generates a clean, beautiful PDF formatted for your kitchen. No ads, no clutter, just the recipe. Does anyone have any questions?

I checked all the flours in my pantry and this is what I discovered in protein percentages: All Purpose. King Arthur 11.7% Bread Flour. King Arthur 12.7% Whole Wheat King Arthur 13.8% Gold Medal All Trumps High Gluten Flour 14.2% Tipo "00" Flour 13% Semolina. King Arthur 14.2% Organic Rye Flour King Arthur 10%

Tomorrow we’re baking Japanese Milk Bread together in the Saturday Bake-Along, and I’m going to be honest with you, I’ve been walking around today looking for excuses to make a sandwich. Toast. Anything. You see that crumb? Those layers? That’s what tangzhong does, and once you know how to make it, there’s no going back. The recipe is live in the Recipe Pantry right now. https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/japanese-milk-bread?variant=yeasted Get your ingredients together tonight so you’re ready to bake with us in the morning. Are you baking with us tomorrow? 👇 Dropw your answer below: