Google searches, external for this slightly sweet Japanese loaf have been rising steadily in the UK over the last five years.
TikTok is teeming with recipe videos too, including one with almost 400,000 likes , externalby Great British Bake Off alum, Edd Kimber.
In May, The Times described this once-niche bread as a growing trend in London’s high-end restaurant scene.
Waitrose has seen searches for milk buns – a related product with a similar enriched texture – jump 2,000% year-on-year, according to its press office. It links this jump with the rising popularity of Asian-inspired food.
Made with (you guessed it) milk, this enriched bread has a soft, pillowy texture, thanks in part to its cooked tangzhong or yudane starter of flour and liquid.
Jo, AKA This Mum Cooks, regularly films herself trying new supermarket foods. The Manchester mum of three is especially keen on yellow-sticker items, which led her to try a discounted loaf of Japanese milk bread, external recently, with her video racking up 41,000 views on Instagram.