Best 2 Japanese Tangzhong Milk Bread Water Roux Recipes

JAPANESE MILK BREAD

Steps:

• Place the water in a small saucepan. Add the bread flour and whisk until you have a smooth mix with no lumps. Add the rest of the milk and whisk to combine.
• Heat over medium heat while whisking constantly until the mixture thickens. The resulting mixture should have a thick, pudding-like consistency.
• Scrape the mixture into a bowl and then cover with plastic wrap. Make sure the plastic wrap is touching the surface of the tangzhong to prevent a skin from forming on top.
• Allow the tangzhong to cool to room temperature.
• In your mixing bowl, place the lukewarm milk and dissolve about 1 tsp of the sugar in the liquid. Sprinkle the yeast over the milk and stir gently to mix. Allow the milk + yeast mixture to stand for about 10 - 20 minutes until the yeast is activated. The mixture should become bubbly and frothy on the surface.
• Once the yeast is activated, add the milk powder (if using), the rest of the sugar, tangzhong, the egg, flour, and finally the salt.
• Using a spatula, mix the dough to combine the ingredients and to help form a scraggly dough.
• With the dough hook attached to your mixer, knead the dough for about 5 minutes on a low speed (speed 2 or 3). The dough will be very sticky and stick to the sides, but continue mixing and the dough will start to come together.
• After 5 minutes of kneading, add the butter in 3 - 4 additions, mixing for about 20 seconds in between. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl to make sure the dough mixes well.
• Once all the butter is incorporated into the dough, turn up the speed to 4 - 5 (medium speed) and knead for a further 5 - 7 minutes. Scrape the bowl once or twice while kneading.
• The dough should become smooth, satiny and pull off cleanly from the sides of the bowl.
• Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and shape the dough into a ball. Then place the dough back in the mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap.
• Keep the bowl in a warm place and allow the dough to double in size (about 1 - 2 hours, depending on the weather/ambient room temperature).
• When the dough has proofed in a warm place, you can transfer it to the fridge for a couple of hours just to make it a little easier to handle. THIS IS AN OPTIONAL STEP.
• Alternatively, place the bowl in the fridge and let it slow proof for about 12 hours. The dough will also be easy to handle when chilled.
• Once the dough is proofed and you're ready to shape the dough, prepare the loaf pan. Butter 1 - 4.5 x 8.5 inch loaf pan and dust the pan with flour. If making dinner rolls, butter a 9 or 8 inch square cake pan, and dust the sides with flour. Set aside until needed.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press all the excess air out of the dough.
• Weigh the dough, and divide it into 4 equal portions.
• Roll out each dough portion into a six inch (approximately) square.
• Fold the opposite corners of the square in towards the middle.
• Roll up this piece of dough, starting from the pointed end. Make sure you roll up the dough firmly, and a little tightly. If it's too loose, you may end up with large holes in the baked bread.
• Once you've rolled up the dough to the top, fold the pointed edge in and pinch the seam to seal.
• Place the rolled up dough in the dough pan, seam side down. There will be 4 rolls per loaf pan.
• Repeat with all the dough portions and place them in the loaf pan.
• Cover the loaf pan with plastic wrap and let the dough proof in a warm place, until doubled in size. This can take about 1 - 2 hours depending on the ambient room temperature. The dough should rise to just below the top of the loaf pan.
• Divide the dough into 9 equal pieces.
• Roll each piece into smooth, round dough balls and place them in the square baking pan, with about ¼ - ½ inch of space between each ball. Each square baking pan should have 9 rolls each.
• Cover the baking pan with plastic wrap and let the dough proof in a warm place, until doubled in size. This can take about 1 - 2 hours, depending on the ambient room temperature.
• Preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C. Once preheated, AND the bread is proofed, brush the top of the bread dough with a milk wash (for a more matte crust), or an egg wash (for a glossy crust). Bake in the preheated oven for 30 - 35 minutes (for the loaf), or 20 - 30 minutes (for the bread rolls). If the bread starts to caramelize too much in the oven, place a piece of foil over the surface of the bread to prevent it from burning.
• If you have a thermometer, bake until the internal temperature is about 190 - 205°F (88 - 96°C).
• Remove the loaf pan / baking pan from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes.
• Turn the dough out onto a wire rack and let it cool down further.
• This bread is easier to slice when at room temperature, but can be enjoyed warm too.

SOURDOUGH HOKKAIDO MILK BREAD WITH TANGZHONG

Steps:

• See the Photo Gallery below for step-by-step process photos.
• Starter
• Mix the starter ingredients in a straight-walled, transparent container with space for at least 50% growth. (See photo gallery where 150ml grows to approximately 225ml in a Pyrex container.)
• Press down with your knuckles to create a uniform surface and to push out air. This reduces drying and allows you to see actual CO2 aeration over time.
• Let the starter develop at room temperature. It takes 6-12 hours for this sweet stiff levain to peak.
• Tangzhong
• In a small saucepan, whisk the milk and flour until blended. Cook it on med-low heat for several minutes until it's thickened, stirring frequently.
• Remove the pan from the heat and see the instructions below for melting the butter in the tangzhong if you're using a stand mixer.
• Dough Mixing and Bulk Fermentation
• These instructions are for using a stand mixer. Scroll to the end for hand-kneading instructions if you do not have a mixer.
• Add the butter in chunks to the tangzhong to melt it.
• Whisk the two eggs and then the milk into the tangzhong-butter mixture. Set aside briefly.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, briefly whisk together the flour, sugar and salt; and then add the sweet stiff starter, separating it into 5-6 portions as you add it to the bowl.
• Now pour in the prepped wet ingredients.
• With the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed for a minute, scrape down the sides, and then mix on medium speed for about 15 minutes. As you approach the 15-minute mark, the dough will become smooth and should pass the windowpane test.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, form it into a ball, flip it smooth side up, cover and let rise for 6-12 hours depending on room temperature. If you refrigerate the dough, plan for longer rise times. See the photo gallery for approximate dough expansion during the bulk fermentation.
• Shaping and Final Proof
• Prepare your pans by greasing them. You can use two standard loaf pans, or make one loaf and eight rolls in a 9" round pan like I did. Other options include: sixteen rolls in two 9" round pans, eighteen rolls in two 8" square pans, twenty-four rolls in two 9" square pans, and eighteen rolls in a 9x13" rectangular pan. Your total dough weight is about 1470g.
• Scrape the dough out onto a clean countertop. There's no need for flour. Press the dough into a rectangle, divide it and roll the pieces into balls.
• Place the dough balls in your pans, cover and let proof for 2-4 hours (more if you put the dough in the refrigerator).
• Baking*
• Preheat your oven to 350F and brush the dough with the egg-milk wash.
• Bake loaves for 45-55 minutes and rolls for 30-35 minutes. Cover with foil partway through if the bread seems to be browning excessively.
• The internal temperature when ready should be at least 190F.
• Remove the bread from the oven but not the pans, brush the top with butter while its hot, and then let cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pans.
• After the bread is completely cooled, store it in a plastic bag at room temp for a week or longer.
• *Bread baked in a glass loaf pans will need longer than metal pans.
• Instructions for kneading by hand
• Mix all of the ingredients except the softened butter in a bowl with a spatula, dough whisk and/or your hands. Let rest for 10 minutes, then transfer to your countertop and knead by hand, adding 2 Tbsp of butter at a time, kneading between butter additions until the butter is incorporated and the dough stays together. Now follow the instructions above from when you transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and start the bulk fermentation.