Japanese matcha bread is what you need to excite your taste buds. Each slice of this matcha milk bread is light, fluffy and also full of delicate green tea flavour. Hence, making it a perfect treat for breakfast, lunch, and even tea time.
Our easy home recipe is perfect for bread lovers who are getting bored of the same old regular loaves.
Our experience with making this treat has shown that a straightforward and easy recipe is still the best. So, get ready to learn how to make matcha bread, a vegan version as well as ones with fillings!
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What Is It Made Of?
This Japanese-style milk bread (shokupan) is made of matcha powder, whole milk, all-purpose flour, active dried yeast, egg, butter, salt, honey, or granulated sugar.
The loaf's spongy and springy signature texture is partially thanks to an Asian technique. The method, named Tangzhong, calls for incorporating a cooked mixture of flour and liquid into a yeasted dough to impart fluffiness as well as moisture. Tangzhong may also be called water roux or yudane.
This sweet matcha bread yields a saccharine flavour with a subtle bittersweet vegetal note. Hence, it is ideal for all types of applications, from pudding to French toast.
What makes it better is that Japanese green tea powder is known for its anti-inflammatory properties and also antioxidants that help to improve metabolism and boost energy levels. So, you can organise a green tea themed tea time party by whipping up matcha milk tea to accompany your freshly-baked green tea loaf.
Matcha Bread Fillings
Our easy matcha bread recipe is such an impressive versatile template. Beyond making it plain, you can also take the pliable, soft dough and swap in your favourite fillings. For example, the following are some of the most common Japanese matcha bread filling types.
Red beans
Matcha bread with red beans is essentially shokupan filled with red bean paste. It’s also a perennial favourite among the shokupan fans. The bitter-umami profile of the green tea complements so well with the sweetness of red bean paste, creating a complex yet enjoyable taste.
In Japan, most convenience stores and bakeries would have it on their shelves as a daily best seller.
Bananas
Have a bunch of browning bananas on the counter? If so, mush them up and bake them!
If you’re a banana pancake kinda person, then this banana matcha bread can be added to your breakfast rotation to break the boredom of having the same old thing every morning.
Moreover, bananas provide a natural fragrant sweetness to the pastry that many people love. In addition, bananas also help you add potassium and antioxidants to your daily diet.
Chocolate
Chocolate is also a fan favourite filling for this green tea pastry. You may come across an adorable turtle green tea shokupan that uses white and dark chocolate as its ingredients.
This version of shokupan combines a yeast-based green tea loaf topped with a layer of dark chocolate cookie crumble, and filled with a decadent white chocolate filling. As a result, you get a turtle matcha bread that's almost too cute to eat! This pastry is surely inspired by another popular type of Japanese baked loaf called Melon Pan.
In our recipe below, we will be sharing with you how to make a simple and plain green tea loaf. However, you can certainly include any of the fillings above to spruce up your pastry!
Matcha Bread Calories
One slice of our easy matcha bread yields 148 calories compared to regular loaves, which contain 164 calories per slice. Our recipe also has a lighter texture and added antioxidant benefits derived from the green tea powder.
Matcha Bread Ingredients
This easy matcha bread, sometimes known as tangzhong matcha bread, requires several simple ingredients:
- Matcha powder
- Whole milk
- All-purpose or bread flour
- Active dried yeast
- Large egg
- Unsalted butter
- Honey or granulated sugar
The quality of the Japanese green tea powder will inadvertently affect the flavour of the loaf. A general guideline is the brighter the green, the better the quality. So, we recommend using ceremonial-grade matcha powder. Check out our matcha powder review for a few inexpensive options.
For calorie counters and the health-conscious bunch, you can also use zero-calorie sweeteners. For example, stevia or monk fruit sweeteners are suitable to add a touch of sweetness.
Equipment Required
You would only need several pieces of equipment easily attainable to make this simple and sweet matcha bread:
- Loaf pan: You need a loaf pan to mould this shokupan into a rectangular shape. We highly suggest using a regular 8 ½” x 4 ½" loaf pan, or 9” x 5” loaf pan or a 9” x 4" Pullman pan to get the job done.
- Stand mixer fitted with a hook attachment
- Rolling pin
- Wire rack for cooling
- Bread machine: While it’s not a necessity for baking this green tea loaf, a bread machine comes in handy when you’re short on time as you can leave it all day to knead and bake the dough by just simply pressing a few buttons.
How to Make Vegan Matcha Bread
If you are looking for an easy matcha bread recipe that is also eggless and dairy-free, no worries, we have also got you covered. You can swap the butter for vegan butter, and whole milk for any plant-based milk. Moreover, you can skip the egg for this version of vegan matcha bread as it does not majorly affect the taste and texture of the loaf. No egg, same deliciousness.
Following is the list of vegan matcha bread ingredients and measurements:
For the Tangzhong (Water Roux) Starter:
- 2 1/ 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons water
- 3 tablespoons oat milk
For the Japanese Matcha Bread:
- 0.5 cup warm oat milk
- 0.25 cup vegan butter
- 2.5 teaspoons (1 packet) instant yeast
- 2.75 cups bread flour
- 2 tablespoons coconut milk powder
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
- 1 tablespoon matcha powder
How To Make Matcha Bread Without Yeast
Yeast or no yeast, you can still do the baking without much hassle. If you’re running out of yeast, we have the right solutions for you.
There are three methods to bake an easy matcha bread with no yeast and they fall into the following three categories:
Physical leaveners: Egg and steam
If you have eggs and butter as well as like working with your hands, use this method. You can make this easy matcha bread by simply beating a whole egg or egg whites until it’s fluffy (think souffle).
For the Tangzhong (Water Roux) Starter:
- 2 1/ 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons water
- 3 tablespoons whole milk
For the loaf:
- 1/ 2 cup warm whole milk
- 1/ 4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 whole large egg or 3 large egg (whites only)
- 2 3/ 4 cups bread flour
- 2 tablespoons milk powder
- 1/ 3 cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon matcha powder
Chemical leaveners: Baking powder and baking soda
When chemical leaveners come into an acid or any liquid, they produce carbon dioxide, creating tiny bubbles that aerate the dough. You can choose to use either baking powder or baking soda to bake this sweet matcha bread.
For the Tangzhong (Water Roux) Starter:
- 2 1/ 2 tablespoons bread flour
- 3 tablespoons water
- 3 tablespoons whole milk
For the loaf:
- 1/ 2 cup warm whole milk
- 1/ 4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon baking powder or 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 3/ 4 cups bread flour
- 2 tablespoons milk powder
- 1/ 3 cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon matcha powder
Biological leaveners: Wild yeast and friendly bacteria
Wild yeast permeates around us: on surfaces, in the air, and in flour. You can draw in wild yeast by building a sourdough starter and then feed and maintain it. But this method is more time-consuming compared to the other two mentioned above. Thus we do not suggest going this route.
Cooking Tips
Oil-free Japanese matcha bread
To make Japanese matcha bread oil free, you can substitute the butter in our recipe for more applesauce or even plain plant-based yoghurt.
However, it will make the loaf slightly denser and a little less fluffy.
Why did my bread not rise?
There are two possible reasons for this:
- The yeast you are using is no longer active. Check the expiration date on the packages of your instant yeast before you start baking. Or, you might have also accidentally killed the yeast by using water that’s too hot to activate the yeast.
- Climate conditions. If you are living in a place with high humidity, it might result in the dough over-absorbing moisture which contributes to over-proofing. Overproofing is when your dough has grown too big and burst, resulting in a denser loaf.
Why has my sweet matcha bread turned brown?
If your easy matcha bread did not turn out to have that vibrant green hue, then either the Japanese green tea powder you are using is a very low-quality one or it has been oxidised in time.
Therefore, we always recommend you to use ceremonial grade or culinary grade green tea powder if colour and presentation matter a lot to you.
Easy Matcha Bread Recipe
Ingredients
For the Tangzhong (Water Roux):
- 2½ tbsps all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsps water
- 3 tbsps whole dairy milk
For the sweet matcha bread dough:
- ½ cup cold milk whole preferred
- 2 ½ tsps instant yeast
- 2 tbsps white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsps salt
- 4 tbsps unsalted butter softened
- 2 tbsps matcha powder
- 1 tablespoon water
Equipment
Instructions
For the Tangzhong (Water Roux):
- Begin by taking a portion of flour and mixing it with water milk in a small saucepan.
- Heat the concoction over medium heat on the stove. Stir constantly until a thick paste is formed. Switch off the heat.
- Cover the tangzhong tightly with plastic wrap and let it cooldown.
For the Japanese matcha bread dough:
- Add yeast, sugar, egg, and milk to the tangzhong. Whisk thoroughly until the mixture is well-blended together.
- Add your measured flour and salt to the mixture. Knead the mixture until it turns into a loose but not sticky dough.
- Next, incorporate one tablespoon of butter at a time into the dough while slowly kneading the dough. Continue kneading the dough until a smooth and stretchy dough is formed.
- Lightly flour a surface and then divide the dough in half. Take on half and knead it softly until it forms a tight ball. Put it in a greased bowl and cover it up.
- Place the other half into the mixer again and add the green tea powder and water. Knead until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Proceed to repeat step no.4.
- Leave the matcha bread dough to rise at room temperature. Typically, it takes one to two hours for the dough to double in size.
- Divide the matcha bread dough into three equal portions on a lightly floured surface. Knead them into three tight balls, set them aside, and cover. Repeat the same process with the plain dough.
- Roll one portion of plain dough into a 2 cm-thick oval with a rolling pin. Repeat with a portion of green tea dough. Place the green tea dough on top of the plain dough, and gently press these two doughs together with the rolling pin. Roll the dough up into a cylinder beginning with the short end. Set aside and cover it while you repeat the same process with the rest of the other dough. You should have three twisting cylinders.
- On the surface, place one cylinder with the short end facing you, and roll it out into a 22cmX 13cm rectangle. The plain dough should cover the green tea dough wholly, with a sliver of flattened green and white spiral peeking out at both ends.
- Roll the dough into a tight log, starting with the short end. Place the log with the seam side facing down into a buttered loaf pan. Repeat the same process with the remaining dough.
- Set the pan in a warm place with cover for about 40 minutes. Proceed to bake them for 45 minutes in the 175-degree celsius preheated oven.
- Remove the loaf from the oven and let it cool it on a wire rack for a few minutes. Once ready, cut your matcha bread into slices. Enjoy while still warm.
Nutrition
Calories have been calculated using an online calculator. Nutritional information offered on Honest Food Talks is for general information purposes and is only a rough estimate.
Variations To Try Next
Japanese green tea can be used in a very versatile way as it adds a bit of bitterness and also light grassy notes to any recipe without being overwhelming.
Check out these recipes below if you are craving other types of baked green goodness:
- bread roll
- matcha swirl bread
- mochi bread
- matcha sourdough bread
- matcha bread pudding
Are you constantly on the lookout for exciting dining experiences or matcha recipes to surprise your loved ones? If so, follow us on Instagram @honestfoodtalks as we strive to bring you the latest and hottest recommendations in the culinary world.
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