Anpan (sweet red bean buns)
Contains egg (no meat or fish)
あんパン · anpan
Soft, glossy Japanese bakery buns wrapped around sweet azuki bean paste and topped with sesame seeds. A small, lightly sweet bun that is good with green tea.
Anpan (sweet red bean buns) is a Japanese bread, ready in about 2 hours 45 minutes and made with bread flour and sweet red bean paste. It serves 8 and is rated intermediate to cook.
No licensed photograph of this dish yet.
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Rest
- 1 h 50 min
- Total
- 2 h 45 min
- Serves
- 8
- Level
- Intermediate
- Calories
- 266
Method
Step 1
Beat the egg (opens in a new tab); weigh out 35 g for the dough and keep the rest. Roll the bean paste into 8 balls of 40 g and chill while you make the dough.
Step 2
Mix the flour, sugar (opens in a new tab), yeast and salt; add the milk (opens in a new tab) and 35 g egg (opens in a new tab) and knead 5 minutes. Add the butter and knead 10 minutes more to a smooth, elastic dough. Cover and leave until doubled, about 60 minutes.
How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels Step 3
Divide into 8 pieces (about 55 g), round and rest 10 minutes. Flatten each to a 10 cm disc with a thicker centre, set a bean ball on top and pinch the dough closed around it. Place seam-down on a lined tray and press gently to flatten slightly.
- 15 min
Step 4
Proof, covered, about 40 minutes until 1.5 times the size. Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 180 °C.
- 40 min
- 180°C
Step 5
Brush with the reserved egg (opens in a new tab), press a floured finger or small cup into the centre of each and sprinkle sesame (opens in a new tab) into the dent. Bake 13–15 minutes until glossy and deep golden. Cool on a rack.
About this dish
- Origin
- Japan · Commonly attributedWidely credited to the Kimuraya bakery in Tokyo during the Meiji era.More food from Japan
- Dish
- Breakfast · Snack · Breads & flatbreads · Sweets & confectionery
- Cooking method
- Oven-baked, Fermented
- Taste
- sweet, mild, earthy
- Diet
- Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredientsWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
All labels
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · DASH-style - Good for
- Child-friendly · Portable / lunchbox · Freezer-friendly
- Cook more with
- Bread flour · Sweet red bean paste · Sugar · Instant yeast · Egg · Milk
- Techniques
- Baking · Kneading · Fermentation
Allergens
- Contains: Milkfrom milk, unsalted butter
- Contains: Eggsfrom egg
- Contains: Wheatfrom bread flour
- Contains: Glutenfrom bread flour
- Contains: Sesamefrom sesame seeds
Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.
Nutrition
266 kcal per serving
Estimated1 serving ≈ 95 g · recipe makes 8
Where the energy comes from
- Protein 10%
- Carbohydrate 75%
- Fat 15%
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 266 kcal | 280 kcal |
| Protein | 6.8 g | 7.2 g |
| Carbohydrate | 49.5 g | 52.1 g |
| Net carbohydrate | — | — |
| Sugars | — | — |
| Added sugars | 15.8 g | 16.6 g |
| Fibre | — | — |
| Fat | 4.4 g | 4.6 g |
| Saturated fat | 2.2 g | 2.3 g |
| Trans fat | — | — |
| Cholesterol | 31 mg | 33 mg |
| Sodium | 298 mg | 313 mg |
| Salt equivalent | 0.7 g | 0.8 g |
Vitamins & minerals per serving
- Potassium
- 115 mg
- Calcium
- 39 mg
- Iron
- 2 mg
- Magnesium
- 24 mg
- Vitamin A (RAE)
- 38 µg
- Vitamin C
- 0 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.3 µg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.1 µg
- Folate (DFE)
- 149 µg
How these numbers were made
- Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
- Sweet red bean paste: Canned sweetened adzuki beans (FDC 173729) used as a stand-in; home-made or bought anko is usually a little drier and sweeter.
- “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
- Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
Good to know
Tips
- Chilled, firm bean paste is much easier to wrap neatly.
Common mistakes
- Getting bean paste on the seams stops them sealing and the buns split.
Serve with
- Eat with green tea or a glass of cold milk.
Storage
- Airtight 2 days; freeze up to 1 month.
Reheating
- Warm at 160 °C for 5 minutes.
Variations
- Cream pan (Japan): Fill with thick custard instead of bean paste.
Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated
Recipe DNA
How this dish is built
Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.
What the dish is built around
Main ingredient
- Bread flour250 g
- Egg1 piece · 50 g
- Milk120 g
- Unsalted butter, softened25 g
Baker’s notes
Customise in Bread & BakeryTimeline and readiness cues
Mix and knead · about 40 min
Weigh everything. Knead until smooth and elastic: a small piece stretches thin enough to see light through (the windowpane test).
First rise (bulk) · about 1 h
About doubled, domed, jiggly, with bubbles on the sides. A floured finger poked in leaves a dent that fills slowly.
Rest · about 10 min
Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.
Final proof · about 40 min
Poke test: the dent springs back slowly and only partly. Springs back fast = needs longer; doesn't spring back = over-proofed, bake now.
Bake · about 15 min at 180 °C
Deep golden; bread sounds hollow when tapped underneath, or reads 93–96 °C inside (enriched breads 88–90 °C).
- Start to finish: about 2 h 45 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.
The dough
| Ingredient | Role | Weight | Baker’s % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bread flour | Flour | 250 g | 100% |
| Milk | Other liquid | 120 g | 48% |
| Sugar | Sugar | 30 g | 12% |
| Unsalted butter | Fat | 25 g | 10% |
| Instant yeast | Yeast | 4 g | 1.6% |
| Salt | Salt | 4 g | 1.6% |
- Total flour
- 250 g
- Hydration
- —
- With milk, eggs…
- 41.8%
- Wholegrain
- 0%
Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.
- Salt 1.6% — normal for bread.
- Sugar 12% — an enriched, sweet dough; rises more slowly and browns quickly.
- Fat 10% — a rich, tender dough.
If something goes wrong
Dense, heavy loaf
Likely causes
- Under-kneaded (weak gluten)
- Under-proofed
- Old or dead yeast/starter
- Too much wholegrain flour without extra water
What to do
- Knead to the windowpane stage
- Proof by the poke test, not the clock
- Test yeast in warm water with sugar; feed the starter and use it at its peak
- Add 5–10% more water for wholegrain flours and give them a rest
Gummy or wet crumb
Likely causes
- Under-baked
- Sliced while hot
- Hydration too high for the flour
What to do
- Bake to 93–96 °C inside (cakes: clean skewer)
- Cool completely on a rack before slicing
- Reduce water by 3–5% or use a stronger flour
Spreads flat / no oven spring
Likely causes
- Over-proofed
- Weak shaping (no surface tension)
- Oven not hot enough
- Too much water for the flour
What to do
- Shorten the proof; bake when the poke springs back slowly
- Shape tightly so the skin is taut
- Preheat fully (30+ minutes; with a stone or Dutch oven, 45)
- Lower hydration or use bread flour
Collapsed or sunken middle
Likely causes
- Oven door opened too early
- Too much leavening or sugar
- Under-baked centre
- Over-proofed yeast dough
What to do
- Don't open the oven for the first two-thirds of baking
- Measure leaveners exactly with spoons, levelled
- Test the centre before removing
- Proof less
Pale crust
Likely causes
- Oven too cool
- Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
- Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)
What to do
- Check the oven with a thermometer
- Brush with egg wash or milk
- Shorten the fermentation
Burnt bottom
Likely causes
- Tray too close to the heat
- Dark tray absorbs more heat
- Too much sugar in the dough
What to do
- Bake on the middle shelf
- Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
- Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
Cracked or domed top
Likely causes
- Oven too hot (crust sets before the centre rises)
- Too much leavening
- Overmixed batter
What to do
- Lower the oven 10–15 °C
- Use the exact leavening amount
- Fold just until combined
Big holes or tunnels
Likely causes
- Overmixed batter (cakes, muffins)
- Air trapped while shaping bread
- Uneven proof
What to do
- Mix quick breads only until no dry flour shows
- Degas gently and shape tightly
- Proof covered in an even, warm place
Dough didn't rise
Likely causes
- Dead yeast (expired or killed by hot liquid)
- Kitchen too cold
- Salt in direct contact with fresh yeast
- Starter not active
What to do
- Liquid should be lukewarm (no hotter than 40 °C)
- Proof somewhere warm (an oven with just the light on)
- Mix the salt into the flour, not onto the yeast
- Feed the starter until it doubles in 4–8 hours
Over-proofed (sour smell, collapses when scored)
Likely causes
- Too warm
- Too much yeast
- Left too long
What to do
- Knock back, reshape and proof again briefly (yeast doughs)
- Use less yeast or a cooler proof
- Set a timer and check early with the poke test
Dry or crumbly
Likely causes
- Too much flour (scooped, not weighed)
- Over-baked
- Too little fat or sugar
What to do
- Weigh flour, or spoon it into the cup and level
- Check 5 minutes early
- Don't cut fat or sugar by more than a quarter without another moisture source
Reviews & corrections
Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.
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