Japanese Bread with the tangzhong (湯種) technique

Today is a perfect day to stay home to make bread. It's raining heavily but I love it - as long as I don't have to go out there and get wet. Kneading my bread dough with the sound of rain .... aaahhh, relaxing, soothing and so therapeutic. I have made breads a dozens of times but nothing beats this new technique I found a while back. Once you try this out, you will be just as addicted to it as I am.

A few years ago, an amazing technique of making this kind of soft and fluffy bread was introduced by Yvonne Chen 陳郁芬 who wrote a Chinese book "65°C 湯種麵包". In her book, tangzhong "湯種", is described as the “secret ingredient” which is originated from Japan, to make soft and bouncy bread. It’s actually a kind of “flour paste”, cooked 1 part of bread flour in 5 parts of water to 65°C. So it’s very natural and handy to make. The Chinese community has been fascinated and crazy about this bread making method ever since.

Why does tangzhong 湯種 (flour paste) work so amazingly that can produce such fluffy bread and stay soft for many days? At 65°C, the gluten in the flour and water mixture would absorb the moisture and become leavened. When tangzhonog is added into other ingredients of the bread, the bread dough will be heightened and produces softer bread.



Japanese Bread with the tangzhong (湯種) technique
Adapted by Christine's recipe & makes one loaf

Ingredients of tangzhong (湯種):
•50 gm bread flour
•250 ml water (could be replaced by milk, or 50/50 water and milk)

Ingredients of bread:
•350 gm bread flour
•55 gm sugar
•5 gm salt
•56 gm egg
•7 gm milk powder (to increase fragrance, optional)
•125 ml warm milk
•120 gm tangzhong
•5 to 6 gm instant yeast
•30 gm butter (cut into small pieces, softened at room temperature)

Fillings:
•turkey Ham + cheese, cut/shred into small sizes and use much as you would like
•japanese red been paste, as much as you would like to use


For the tangzhong (湯種):
Step 1:
Mix flour in water with a whisk to avoid any lumps. Cook over low heat, stirring consistently with a spatula to prevent burning and sticking while you cook along the way.

Step 2:
The mixture becomes thicker and thicker. Once you notice some “lines” appear in the mixture for every stir you make with the spoon. It’s done. You got your tangzhong. (Some people might like to use a thermometer to check the temperature. After a few trials, I found this simple method works every time.) Remove from heat.

Step 3:
Transfer into a clean bowl. Cover with a cling wrap sticking onto the surface of tangzhong to prevent from drying up. Let cool. Chill in fridge for several hours. (I chilled it overnight.) Then the tangzhong is ready to be used. (Note: When you are ready to use the tangzhong, just measure out the amount you need and let it rest in room temperature for a while before adding into other ingredients. The tangzhong can be stored up to a few days as long as it doesn't turn grey. If so, you need to discard and cook some more.)


For your bread:
Step 1:
Combine all dry ingredients: flour, salt, sugar and instant yeast in a bowl. Make a well in the center. Whisk and combine all wet ingredients: milk, egg and tangzhong, then add into the well of the dry ingredients. Knead until you get a dough shape and gluten has developed, then knead in the butter. Mind you, it’d be quite messy at this stage (That's why I used a kitchenaid standmixer with the dough attachment). Keep kneading until the dough is smooth, not sticky and elastic. To test if the dough is ready, you might stretch the dough. If it forms a thin “membrane”, it’s done. The time of kneading all depends on how hard and fast you knead.

Step 2:
Knead the dough into a ball shape. Place in a greased bowl and cover with a wet towel or cling wrap. Let it proof till it's doubled in size, about 40 minutes (Note: the time will vary and depends on the weather. The best temperature for proofing is 28C. I used my oven by turning it on for 5 minutes, then turned it off at put my bowl in the oven with a separate glass of water.)

Step 3:Transfer to a clean floured surface. Deflate and divide the dough into four equal portions. Knead into ball shapes. Cover with cling wrap, let rest for 15 minutes.

Step 4:
Roll out each portion of the dough with a rolling pin into an oval shape. Sprinkle bacon and cheese evenly as much as you like. Roll from the upper, shorter end down to the bottom (as picture shown). Flatten the dough with your rolling pin. Then roll once again. The seals face down.

Step 5:
Arrange the rolled-up dough in a greased or non-stick loaf tin (as picture shown). Leave it for the 2nd round of proofing, about 40 minutes, or until the dough rises up to 3/4 of the height of the tin inside.

Step 6:
Brush whisked egg on surface. Bake in a pre-heated 180C (350F) oven for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and tin. Transfer onto a wire rack and let cool completely. Slice to serve or place in an airtight plastic bag or container once it's thoroughly cooled.

Enjoy !