The Science of Starch: Why Japanese Milk Bread Stays Soft for Days

Henry Hunter

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2d • Saturday Bake Along

The Science of Starch: Why Japanese Milk Bread Stays Soft for Days

Last week you stood at your stove stirring milk and flour into a thick paste for your cinnamon rolls.

Most of you did it because the recipe said to.

That paste is the only reason your rolls were still soft on Sunday.

Today we're breaking down what actually happened in that saucepan, why it matters for every enriched bread you'll ever bake, and how a five-minute step gives you four to five days of softness without a single preservative.

You'll learn:

What starch gelatinization actually is (and why 65C changes everything) The difference between tangzhong and yudane, two methods that solve the same problem Why enriched doughs go stale faster than lean breads, and how tangzhong fixes it A universal rule you can apply to sandwich bread, dinner rolls, burger buns, anything you want to stay softer longer

This is the science behind Saturday's bake-along. Understanding why your bread works is what separates someone who follows recipes from someone who actually knows how to bake.

Watch the full lesson above, then tell me: did you notice how long your cinnamon rolls stayed soft? Drop your answer below.

Recipe for Saturday: https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/japanese-milk-bread

Tomorrow: The Three-Piece Shaping Method. The technique that gives shokupan its signature layered crumb.

You aren't building a recipe collection. You're building a skillset.

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