Attempting the Tangzhong Bread Method
The Tangzhong method for making bread is meant to produce the best bread in the world. Luxurious, dense, soft and sweet. Everything you could possibly want in a bread. I filmed my first time trying out the bread making method.
Who wouldn’t want to try the “best bread in the world”? So I found myself wanting to try it out for myself. So I filmed my first time trying out the Tangzhong method (along with the first time using a Kitchen Aid mixer!). Including behind the scenes shots, reactions, mess ups and more! In this video I’m making Japanese Hokkaido style rolls, also known as Japanese milk bread.
This video has been a looooong time coming. I’m sorry for the radio silence. To create this video I had a whole lot of new video editing techniques to learn. It was frustrating and took a long time to get to where I wanted it to be, but I’m happy that I stuck with it. I learned a lot in the process! It’s a bit of an experiment from me, but I’d love to know what you think about this. As mentioned earlier in the year, one of my New Years resolutions was to get in front of the camera a little more. I enjoyed shooting and editing this, and look forward to making more videos in this style.
Find the recipe I am using on the King Arthur Flour website (I have added my own observations in the recipe written below). On the website you can change the measurements to cups, ounces and grams. I prefer to use grams because baking is a science, and measurements by weight rather than volume will be much more likely to produce a successful bread.
More helpful tips can be found here.
And I loved this tutorial video by Helen Rennie which was very informative!
If you make this recipe, share the results with me! Comment below, or tag me on Instagram: @incarinaskitchen. It makes my day when you guys share your love of food with me. Happy cooking!
Japanese Milk Bread rolls using the Tangzhong method (Hokkaido milk bread)
(Makes 8 rolls)
Tangzhong starter
43g water
43g whole milk
14g bread flour
Dough
298g bread flour (I’m using one with extra gluten)
18g dry milk (I have no idea what this is, so I added 18-ish grams milk)
50g sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon instant yeast
113g whole milk
1 large egg
57g melted butter
Start with the tangzhong starter/roux. Combine all the tangzhong ingredients in a small saucepan and whisk until no lumps remain. Place saucepan over low heat. Whisk constantly until thick and the whisk leaves lines on the bottom of the pan. This should take 3-5 minutes. It took about 11-12 minutes for me. Transfer the tangzhong to a small bowl and let it cool to room temperature. You can speed up this process by putting it in the fridge for 15 minutes.
When you’re ready to make the dough, combine the tangzhong with the remaining ingredients. Mix and need until a smooth, elastic dough forms. You can use your hands, a stand mixer or a bread machine for this. It takes about 12 minutes of kneading. To check if it’s done, use the “window pane method” then shape into a ball, both as demonstrated in the how-to video. Lightly grease a bowl and put the dough ball in. Let rest for 60-90 minutes until puffy and almost doubled in bulk.
Once the dough has rested, gently deflate it, divide into 8 equal pieces and shape each piece into a roll. Place the rolls into a lightly greased pan and let them rest for 40-50 minutes, until puffy. If you are wanting pull-apart bread, make sure you find a pan where the rolls are barely touching. You can also use a bread pan if you want a loaf, or a baking tray if you want individual rolls. Just make sure to keep track of any extra or excess baking time.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350F/175C, for at least 20 minutes. Brush the rolls with egg wash (egg beaten with a little splash of water) or some milk. Be careful/gentle, so they don’t deflate and so you don’t end up with flat rolls! The King Arthur instructions say to bake for 28-32 minutes and use a thermometer which should read at least 190F/88C. I baked my individual rolls for 28 minutes and felt they were close to being burned. I felt they were ready at about 20 minutes and I wish I had listened to my gut feeling. I didn’t use a thermometer to check if they were done. I’ve never heard of using a thermometer to check bread?! I used the good old “knock on bread” method. Give the bread a little tap with your knuckle or nail on the underside of the roll. It should feel firm and sound a little hollow, like knocking on wood.
Allow them to cool for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.
The rolls keep fresh well and freeze really well.
Enjoy!
Music used in this video:
