The Baking Industry: Shikishima Baking Company and Fujipan are eyeing the absolute champion, Yamazaki Baking Company, with an eagle eye on them.

The battle for supremacy in the world of bread, which is becoming a staple food

Three different kinds of bread sold by three different companies are now lined up in front of a FRIDAY reporter. They are “Chojuku” by Shikishima Baking (Pasco), based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture; “Honjikomi” by Fuji Pan, also based in Nagoya; and “Royal Bread” by Yamazaki Baking, based in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. Each of these three products has gained a strong fan base and is vying for supremacy in the bread world.

The oldest of the three, “Honjikomi,” launched in 1993, is characterized by its chewy texture. When toasted, the bread offers a contrast in texture: crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Japanese people, who eat rice as their staple food, tend to prefer bread with a high moisture content because they produce less saliva than Westerners. Honjikomi” is designed to meet this need, and is intended to be a bread that can be eaten like freshly cooked white rice.

Unlike “Honjikomi,” which emphasizes texture and is easy to eat, “Royal Bread,” the last bread to be released in 2012, has a rich flavor with a mellow buttery aroma that spreads in the mouth as soon as you bite into it, and you can taste the delicious wheat flavor as you chew it. The price is also higher than the other two products.

Chozojuku,” released in 1998, is the overwhelming number one bread in the world at the moment, surpassing Honjikomi and Royal Bread. The greatest feature of this bread is its outstanding wheat aroma. Like “Honjikomori,” when toasted, it maintains the same crispy outside and chewy inside texture, and has both an aroma and a hint of sweetness. The result is a supreme bread that is delicious both baked and as is.

In 2011, the consumption of bread per household exceeded that of white rice on a sales price basis, and this year there was a historic rice shortage dubbed the “Reiwa rice riots. Bread is now becoming a staple food for the Japanese people.

Shikishima Baking, the leader in the bread industry, is a long-established company founded in 1920. Until the launch of “Chojuku,” the company had been at the forefront of the bread-making industry for about 80 years. So what makes “Chojuku” so “supreme”?

The most distinctive feature is Pasco’s (Shikishima Baking Company’s brand name) originally developed and patented “Cho-Riu” method. When the “Super Ripe” was first developed, Shikishima Baking adopted the “Yudane method” to achieve the moist and chewy texture that Japanese people prefer. This method involves kneading flour, sugar, salt, and other ingredients into a paste by boiling water to prevent moisture from escaping from the dough.

However, this method had its drawbacks. It was not suitable for mass production at bakeries because of its inconsistent quality. To improve this situation, Shikishima Baking’s development team spent six months adjusting the ratio of flour and boiling water, and developed a method of baking bread that allows it to mature slowly at a low temperature. This is the ‘super-ripening method.

The revolutionary product development has made Shikishima Baking Company a huge company with annual sales of 161.7 billion yen, even though it is not listed on a stock exchange.