Satoshi Narusawa's Japanese Character Bread Buns Featured in New Cookbook

Satoshi Narusawa, a baker, shares a recipe for Japanese character bread buns (dobutsu pan) in his cookbook Japanese Bakehouse, published by Smith Street Books, priced at $59.99 and available from 3 October 2026. The recipe involves a two-day process: a sponge dough made with bread flour, raw sugar, osmotolerant instant dry yeast, and lukewarm full-cream milk, proofed for about 1 hour then refrigerated overnight. The final dough incorporates cream, egg, water, bread flour, fine sea salt, raw sugar, and unsalted cultured butter, mixed to a glossy finish and windowpane stage. After a 30-minute proof and a fold, the dough is divided into 7 portions of 70g each, with small pieces reserved for ears and noses. These are shaped, attached with water, and proofed at 30°C for 45 minutes. An egg wash is applied before baking at 180°C fan-forced for 9 minutes. Faces are piped using dark chocolate melted with coconut oil. The buns are best enjoyed fresh, can be frozen undecorated for up to 2 weeks, and are ideal for making with children. Narusawa was inspired by the picture book Karasu No Panyasan (Mr Crow’s Bakery) by Satoshi Kako and his experience at a neighbourhood bakery in Japan. Food photography is by Daniel Hermann-Zoll.