Hokkaido Milk Bread With Tangzhong

Even before I started a blog,way back in 2008,I loved reading and drooling over baked goods. I could imagine the wonderful smell that spread through the house when things were getting baked.

After a while,I started baking in the microwave. But the only drawback was the crust of cakes were never brown and looked under cooked thought it tasted great.

Finally a couple of years ago, I got an OTG and started baking. I loved the smell of freshly baked cakes and cookies and these two are my favourite apart from Lil Angel enjoying each bite of what I made.

I was and still am a little hesitant to try out yeasted bread / bakes. And then I saw Aparna’s announcement of trying out new breads every month and I knew I had a way to conquer my fears and without a second thought I joined in.

I did bake the first one – Pull apart bread.But though it did not out as beautiful as expected, it tasted great with the paneer and herbs and spice filling. I skipped last months bake.Just looking at it made me scared.Actually, it was the procedure that scared me.

But this month she chose a very simple Hokkaido Milk Bread and I loved the look of it.She had prepared cute animal shapes and I wanted to try them out.But as luck would have it, I was just able to prepare the bread alone…

This is the recipe we baked this month……

This month we’re making Hokkaido Milk Bread which is known for its soft cottony/
pillowy texture. Apparently it’s very popular bread in South Asian bakeries
across the world. It is also known as Asian Sweet Bread and Hong Kong Pai Bo.
Some people say this is a Japanese bread while others say it’s because the milk
used in this bread is from Japan while some others have suggested its pure
white colour and the texture resemble the pristineness of Hokkaido!

The Hokkaido Mild Bread owes its texture and height to the use of an interesting
ingredient called Tangzhong. Basically, the Tangzhong method involves cooking 1
part of bread flour with 5 parts of water (by weight) at 65°C (149 °F) to form
a roux.

At 65°C, the gluten in the bread flour and water mixture would absorb the moisture
and create a “leavening” action. When the Tangzhong is added into other ingredients of a bread dough, it produces light, tender and fluffier bread.

This method of using Tangzhong is often seen in South Asian breads and was created
by a Chinese woman, Yvonne Chen, who describes this method in her book which
translates to “65 degrees Bread Doctor” .

The Hokkaido Milk Bread is very easy to make. First you make a Tangzhong
(flour-water roux, and milk in this case) and then let it cool completely. You
can use it after a 2 hour rest. It also keeps for a day or so refrigerated.

To make the bread dough using the Tangzhong. If you refrigerate the Tangzhong then
let it come to room temperature before you use it. The bread dough is made like
any other dough. It is a rather sticky dough initially, but kneading it well
will make it smooth elastic and easy to handle.

This is a very versatile dough. You can make into a plain loaf, or dinner rolls. You
can fill the rolls with sweet or savoury fillings. You can even shape the dough
into knots, or cute little animals. This dough also makes the softest Pav/ Pao
for Pav Bhaji.

Apart from the loaf,I made this sweet version too….

Hokkaido Milk Bread With Tangzhong

(Original Recipe from 65 Degrees Tangzhong “65C Bread Doctor” by Yvonne Chen, and adapted from Kirbie’s Cravings)

http://kirbiecravings.com/2011/05/hokkaido-milk-toast.html

Ingredients:

For The Tangzhong (Flour-Water Roux)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup milk

For The Dough:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tbsp sugar

1tsp salt

2 tbsp powdered milk

2 tsp instant dried yeast

1/2 cup milk (and a little more if needed)

1/8 cup cream (25% fat)

1/3 cup tangzhong (use HALF of the tangzhong
from above)

1/4 tsp salt

25 gm unsalted butter (cut into small pieces, softened at room temperature)

1/2 to 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips if making the rolls

Method:

The Tangzhong (Flour-Water Roux):

Whisk together lightly the flour, water and milk in a saucepan until smooth and there
are no lumps. Place the saucepan on the stove, and over medium heat, let the
roux cook till it starts thickening. Keep stirring/ whisking constantly so no
lumps form and the roux is smooth.

If you have a thermometer, cook the roux/ tangzhong till it reaches 65C (150F) and
take it off the heat. If like me, you don’t have a thermometer, then watch the
roux/ tangzhong until you start seeing “lines” forming in the roux/ tangzhong
as you whisk/ stir it. Take the pan off the heat at this point.

Let the roux/ tangzhong cool completely and rest for about 2 to 3 hours at least.
It will have the consistency of a soft and creamy crème patisserie. If not
using immediately, transfer the roux to a bowl and cover using plastic wrap. It
can be stored in the fridge for about a day. Discard the tangzhong after that.

The Bread Dough:

I made this dough in the food processor. This dough can be made by hand but the
dough is a bit sticky and can take some time and effort to knead by hand. If
you have some sort of machine which will do the kneading for you, use it. Don’t
punish yourself. And do not add more flour to make it less sticky either!

Put the flour, salt, sugar, powdered milk and instant yeast in the processor bowl
and pulse a couple of times to mix. In another small bowl mix the milk, cream and
Tangzhong till smooth and add to the processor bowl. Run on slow speed until
the dough comes together. Now add the butter and process till you have a smooth
and elastic dough which is just short of sticky.

The
dough will start out sticky but kneading will make it smooth. If the dough
feels firm and not soft to touch, add a couple of tsps of milk till it becomes
soft and elastic. When the dough is done, you should be able to stretch the
dough without it breaking right away. When
it does break, the break should be form a circle.

Form the dough into a ball and place it in a well-oiled bowl turning it so it is well coated. Cover with a towel, and let the dough rise for about 45 minutes or till almost double in volume.

Place the dough on your working surface. You don’t need flour to work or shape this
dough. This recipe makes enough dough to make one loaf (9” by 5” tin), 2 small
loaves (6” by 4” tins) or 1 small loaf (6” by 4”) and 6 small rolls (muffin
tins). Depending on what you are making, divide your dough. If you are making 1
loaf, divide your dough in 3 equal pieces. If you are making two smaller
loaves, divide your dough into 6 equal pieces.

I made one small loaf and 6 small rolls. So I first divided my dough into two
equal pieces first. Then I divided the first half into three equal pieces to
make the loaf. The other half was divided into six equal pieces for six rolls.

The shaping of the portions, whether for the loaf or the rolls, is the same.

Roll out each portion of the dough with a rolling pin into an oval shape, about 1/8”
thick. Take one end of the dough from the shorter side of the oval and fold it to
the middle of the oval. Take the other end and fold so it slightly overlaps the
other fold.

Roll this folded dough with the rolling pin so the unfolded edges are stretched out
to form a rectangle. Roll the rectangle from one short edge to the other,
pinching the edges to seal well. Do this with each of the three larger pieces
and place them, sealed edges down, in a well-oiled loaf tin. Cover with a towel
and leave the dough to rise for about 45 minutes.

To make the rolls fold them in the same manner described above, but before rolling
them up, place some chocolate chip on the dough. Roll the dough rectangles
carefully and pinch to seal the edge. Place each roll of dough in a well-oiled
muffin cup and cover with a towel. Allow to rise for about 45 minutes.

I used Cadbury’s chocolate pieces in the rolls and they tasted awesome. The 6 small rolls very gone in minutes. Out of the the 3 bigger loaves, one was savoured with jam and the remaining turned into Cheesy garlic bread….

My notes:

I used the exact method and quantity of ingredients as mentioned in the procedure.
I used a candy thermometer while preparing the roux to check the doneness. I got the ‘lines’ that was mentioned at that exact temperature – 65 degree C.
Also I used a food processor to make the dough. It made my work a lot easier.
I added 2 tablespoons of extra milk while kneading to get the right texture.
The final rising time before baking is 45 minutes.Due to the power-cuts I could bake only after 4 hours! This did not affect the taste / texture of the bread.
The bread did not brown as expected in spite of the milk wash. After baking it for 15 minutes, I took it out and saw that it was cooked. Yet I brushed the top with butter and baked it for another 5 minutes. It remained the same.Not sure why…. The bottom and the sides were beautifully brown.
The next time I will place more chocolate pieces in the rolls for a richer filling.
I used cream as mentioned in the recipe.If cream is not available use 2 tbsp milk instead.
Though it has some sugar in it, this bread is only mildly sweet. If you want to make a savoury version, with or without filling, you can cut down the sugar to 1 tbsp and add another 1/4 tsp of salt.
The bread as indeed very soft and hubby and Lil Angel loved it a lot, esp., the chocolate filled ones. Hubby commented that it was way better than the ones from the bakery!!!
And making a mental note to click step by step pics when I make this the next time 🙂