Food - Drink
This LA Japanese Bakery's $18 Loaves Of Milk Bread Sell Out In Minutes
By ANNA BOISSEAU
Restaurants that offer a wide variety of options are becoming less common, with those that specialize in doing just a few things really well having their moment in the sun as the food industry deals with rising costs since the pandemic. Los Angeles' Ginza Nishikawa bakery takes it a step further and offers exactly one baked good — a loaf of Japanese milk bread.
Milk bread, also known as Shokupan, is fluffier than typical white bread, with a lightly golden exterior and rectangular shape. Ginza Nishikawa’s milk bread loaves sell out minutes after being posted online due to their focus on high-quality ingredients; as the bakery notes on their website that they use alkaline ionized water to create "a sweet, silky, and soft texture.”
The bakery doesn’t rely on preservatives, using only fresh cream and butter to make Kokyu Shokupan, or "luxurious bread" in Japanese. Noriko Okubo, the Chief Operating Officer, suggests eating the bread as is on the first day for its silky-smooth texture, with toppings on the second day when it turns sweeter, and on the third, “toast the bread for a crispy crust.”