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Given that bread was hardly a staple in Japan until recent decades, it’s impressive how the Japanese have become masters at baking. The country has won the Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie (Bakery World Cup) twice over, in 2002 and 2012. It’s worth noting that, historically, breads have come out of the Japanese bakery or panya in two waves. The first arose in the late 19th century with the creation of the anpan, which has since birthed numerous pillowy offshoots with fillings from kare (curry) to kuri (chestnut). The second wave swept the nation only in the last fifty years or so with the invasion of French baking. Here in Singapore, Japanese-style bakeries have cleverly combined classic European baking techniques with their own yudane method of making soft, fluffy breads while incorporating other Asian ingredients to appeal to local taste buds.