Pillowy soft buns. More tender and less crumbly loaf. Extended shelf life.
Yes it totally is possible. You can keep this bread for up to 5 days and it will still retain the softness. Otherwise pop it in the toaster and you’ll get a crispy outer with a soft centre, equally as dreamy.
This recipe is adapted from a youtube video.
The pillowy softness is thanks to the tang zhong technique. It involves cooking a portion of the flour and liquid into a roux before adding the remaining ingredients. This gelatinises the starch in the flour so it can absorb more water. (Click here to read more about the science behind it.)
This is a super versatile recipe that can be used for a regular bread loaf or shaped into pull-apart-buns.
Once you get the hang of making the dough, it’s a great base recipe. I’ve used it to transform the humble loaf to make bbq pork buns (cha siu bao), pineapple buns (bolo bao), sausage buns..the possibilities are endless!
Ingredients:
Tang zhong mixture
40 g bread flour
200 g water
Bread dough
600 g bread flour
60 g sugar
12 g salt
10 g dry yeast
10 g milk powder
200 g milk (lukewarm)
60 g heavy cream
1 large egg
50 g unsalted butter (room temperature)
Egg wash
1 egg
1 tbsp milk
Sugar syrup
2 tsp sugar dissolved in 2 tsp hot water
Instructions:
1. Make the tang zhong roux by cooking the flour and water over low heat. It is ready when a thick paste is formed. Take it off the heat to cool to room temperature.
2. Make the bread dough by mixing flour, sugar and salt together in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl mix together the yeast, milk powder, milk and cream. Let sit for 5 minutes.
4. Add the milk mixture, tang zhong roux, and egg to the dry ingredients. Mix until it comes together in a dough.
5. Add the softened butter and knead until dough becomes elastic and smooth, and you can stretch a piece into a windowpane.
6. Put the dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover and put in a warm place until it doubles in size for about an hour.
7. Punch the gas out of the risen dough. Shape the dough into desired shape.
8. Place the dough into the pans for a second rise. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and let rise for about 30-45min until you can poke the bread and it rises back halfway.
9. Brush entire top of loaves with egg wash and bake at 180C for 25-30 minutes, or until top is golden-brown.
10. Once removed from the oven, brush the bread with sugar syrup to give them an irresistible shine and sweetness.
Soft fluffy bread (tang zhong method)
Ingredients
Tang zhong mixture
- 40 g bread flour
- 200 g water
Bread dough
- 600 g bread flour
- 60 g sugar
- 12 g salt
- 10 g dry yeast
- 10 g milk powder
- 200 g milk (lukewarm)
- 60 g heavy cream
- 1 large egg
- 50 g unsalted butter (room temperature)
Egg wash
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp milk milk
Sugar syrup
- 2 tsp sugar dissolved in 2 tsp hot water
Instructions
- Make the tang zhong roux by cooking the flour and water over low heat. It is ready when a thick paste is formed. Take it off the heat to cool to room temperature.
- Make the bread dough by mixing flour, sugar and salt together in a bowl.
- In a separate bowl mix together the yeast, milk powder, milk and cream. Let sit for 5 minutes.
- Add the milk mixture, tang zhong roux, and egg to the dry ingredients. Mix until it comes together in a dough.
- Add the softened butter and knead until dough becomes elastic and smooth, and you can stretch a piece into a windowpane.
- Put the dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover and put in a warm place until it doubles in size for about an hour.
- Punch the gas out of the risen dough. Shape the dough into desired shape.
- Place the dough into the pans for a second rise.
- Brush entire top of loaves with egg wash and bake at 180C for 25-30 minutes, or until top is golden-brown.
- Once removed from the oven, brush the bread with sugar syrup to give them an irresistible shine and sweetness.
