Kare Pan (Curry Bread)
Japan’s wildly popular savory bakery item. A soft, slightly sweet yeast dough is stuffed with a thick, deeply spiced, and savory beef curry filling. It is then coated heavily in Panko breadcrumbs and deep-fried until incredibly puffy, crunchy, and golden brown.
Ingredients
- For the Dough: 2 cups Bread flour
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Active dry yeast
- 3/4 cup Warm milk
- 1 tbsp Butter
- For the Filling: 1.5 cups Leftover thick Japanese curry chilled until solid
- For the Coating: 1 egg beaten
- 1.5 cups Panko breadcrumbs
- Vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Make the Dough: Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm milk. In a mixer, combine the flour and the yeast mixture. Knead until a dough forms, add the butter, and knead until smooth. Let the dough rise in a warm place for 1 hour until doubled in size.
- Prepare the Filling: Ensure your leftover Japanese curry is completely chilled and extremely thick (almost solid). If it is runny, it will burst out of the bread during frying.
- Shape and Stuff: Punch the dough down and divide it into 8 equal balls. Flatten each ball into a 4-inch circle. Place a generous spoonful of the cold, thick curry in the center. Pinch the edges of the dough together incredibly tightly to seal the curry entirely. Shape into an oval.
- Bread the Dough: Dip each stuffed dough oval completely into the beaten egg, then roll it firmly in the Panko breadcrumbs until heavily coated. Let them rest on a tray for a 20-minute second rise.
- Deep Fry: Heat vegetable oil to 320°F (160°C). Carefully drop the breaded dough into the oil. Fry slowly for 3 to 4 minutes per side until the bread puffs up massively and turns a deep, dark golden brown. Drain on a wire rack and serve warm.
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