bread 1 edamame cheese

Now, we may be passionate about rice here in Japan, but we’re also quite fond of bread too. Indeed, breads of all shapes and sizes can be found, from the utterly adorable to the disturbingly realistic, and it seems the various types and flavors of bread available here are a subject of interest for foreigners as well. A YouTube video posted earlier this year by Osaka resident Ryan Boundless, which features a tantalizing selection of  unique breads has apparently attracted attention online recently, and we thought we’d take a look at the video with you to see what the buzz is about. So be prepared, because the video is bound to make you hungry for some good wholesome bread!

The actual video is titled “30 Crazy Japanese Pastries in 1 minute!” and is one among many that Ryan has posted which offers a look at his life in Japan. Well, we’re sure a picture, or a video in this case, is worth a thousand words, so first, here’s the one-minute video filled with baked goodness:

Now, didn’t we tell you it would make you hungry for bread? And since we didn’t want to leave you with the video alone, here are pictures of just some of the tasty looking breads introduced in the clip.

▼Here’s the mentaiko france, which involves a french bread with a creamy paste containing spicy cod roe (mentaiko) sandwiched inside.
bread 3 mentaifrance

▼This bread contains a whole menchi-katsu, or a deep-fried cutlet made of ground meat. Plus, the menchi-katsu here contains chopped cabbage, making it extra flavorful.
bread 4 menchi

▼This kanoko matcha bread is flavored with red bean paste and matcha green tea. bread 5 kanoko matcha

▼This is the edamame cheese bread — the edamame soybeans are a good match with the rich flavor of cheese.bread 1 edamame cheese

▼This bread is an interesting one. It contains grilled minced chicken balls (tsukune) on a skewer, yakitori-style.
bread 6 yakitoritsukune

▼This bread also features chicken, but teriyaki style, with onions. Teriyaki and onions, mmm … getting hungry yet?
bread 7 teriyaki onion

▼If you want something with a little zest, why not try the tortilla with cheese and spicy cod roe?bread 13 cheese mentai tortilla

▼And if you’re in the mood for something sweet, how about a sweet potato apple pie?
bread 8 sweet potato apple pie

▼This creamy and delectable looking creation is a baked cheese bread that almost looks like a cake.bread 9 panyasanno baked cheese

▼They had to include the popular melon bread, of course. And this one is not just any ordinary melon bread, but the “King’s Muskmelon Bread”. If it’s fit for a king, it’s got to be good, right?
bread 2 melonpan

▼And here they have a slightly different version of the melon bread, the “saku-saku melon pan“, or “crispy melon bread”. Mmm… flavorful melon bread baked crisp to a golden brown is hard to beat! bread 12 sakusaku melon pan

▼And this bread filled with creamy chocolate is called by the fancy name, the “Prince’s chocolate Ganache Coronet”.bread 10 ojisama no choco coronet

▼The simple, traditional an-pan, or bread filled with red bean paste, is always a favorite. bread 11 Tokachi Azuki tsubu anpan

The video has attracted comments from foreign viewers who have been taken with the images of the breads. The idea of a “sweet potato bread” seemed to fascinate one viewer, while others commented that this must be “pastry heaven“. Another Internet user mentioned that he gained 6kg (13 lb) in 3 months while in Japan, and of course, quite a few commented that the images made them seriously crave bread, and lots of it, too. 

So, did the video get your appetite worked up? Some of the ingredients, like the cod roe, may seem somewhat unusual, but bread and spicy cod roe are now quite a widely accepted and popular combination in Japan. Whatever your preference, it’s nice to see so many bread choices out there. Hmm … I just might take a break from the usual rice balls or pasta and have a pastry for lunch today!

Source: YouTube (Ryan Boundless) via Otaho
Images: YouTube (Ryan Boundless)