
Tangzhong, or the Water-Roux Starter 湯種
The flour-to-water ratio for tangzhong is always 1 (bread flour) : 5 (water). Thus for instance, you can make a batch of approximately 300g tangzhong with:
(A)
50g bread flour
250g water/milk
- Whisk (A) together till combined and lump-free, then heat this mixture over medium-low gentle heat in a saucepan--keep stirring continuously as you cook it.
- Immediately remove from heat and transfer the tangzhong into another clean bowl; quickly cover with a piece of cling wrap sticking onto the surface of tangzhong to prevent a layer of "skin" from forming
- Leave it to cool completely aside before use; otherwise, it can always be refrigerated for up to two days--discard after that or even once it's turned gray (i.e. it's bad now.)
Just bring it to room temperature right before using it. - When it's about time to be used, measure out the amount needed to carry out the following steps in bread making

Makes two 22cm(L) x 10.5cm(W) x 10cm(H) loaves
(A)
280g bread flour
200g wholemeal flour
10g instant dried yeast
50g sugar
7g salt
(B)
60g egg, at room temperature and slightly beaten
140g milk, at room temperature
120g tangzhong, at room temperature
50g unsalted butter, slightly softened at room temperature
- Combine (A) together and make a well in the center, then whisk together (B); pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and mix till a dough has formed and pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl
- Turn the dough out onto a surface and knead till gluten has developed, then knead in the butter till incorporated; further knead the dough till it's elastic and has reached the windowpane stage--i.e. a thin "membrane" can be formed by slowly, gently pulling the dough out towards opposite directions. It might take longer for the stickier wholemeal bread dough to reach this stage compared to plain white bread dough. But, DON'T SKIP this step!
- Round the dough up and place it into a greased bowl, cover and let it proof till it's doubled in size. To know whether it's doubled in size, dip your finger in some bread or plain flour and gently, slowly poke into the dough--of course, don't puncture it! If an indentation remains at where you poked your finger in, this means proofing is sufficient; otherwise, if that spot bounces back, let it proof further till the dough is doubled in size
- On a lightly floured working surface, deflate and divide the dough into four equal portions, with each weighing 220g (approximately,) then round up and cover them to let rest for 15 minutes
- To each of the portion of the dough, flatten it up and roll out into a rough oval-olive or rectangular shape with a lightly floured rolling pin. Next, roll it up tightly from the shorter ends the Swiss roll-style; pinch ends to seal the dough tightly. It might be slightly challenging to shape wholemeal bread dough. During the entire process, lightly dust your hands with flour, if and as necessary.
Arrange rolled-up dough in a greased Pullman loaf tin starting from the center; repeat the same with the remaining portions of the dough. Arrange the loaf tin with those rolled-up portions of the dough till filled up--leaving some room in between each for expansion later on
** OK, I've read that some of you are having trouble with bread that doesn't reach the rim of a 22cm(L) x 10.5cm(W) x 10cm (H) Pullman loaf tin after the second round of proofing and/or baking. The author of the recipe does indicate that wholemeal bread dough doesn't rise as much as plain white bread dough does. Plus, I actually never follow the--or, any--bread loaf recipes to the "T." When I'm aiming for a square or any super tall loaf that can actually rise almost to or over the rim of the loaf tin, I always make sure the dough placed into the loaf tin actually has:
- 1/3 or a little over 1/3 the height of the loaf tin, for a square loaf;
- at least 1/2 the height of the loaf tin, for a bread loaf that has "humps" (i.e. its height is taller than the height of the loaf tin.) **
- Cover with a piece of cling wrap and let the dough proof till it's reached 80% of the capacity of the loaf tin. (If you want a square loaf, cover the tin--leaving 4~5cm of of "hole" for you to peek in--with the lid that comes with the Pullman loaf tin before the second round of proofing--it should be right underneath the piece of cling wrap.)
- For those who are baking a square loaf, slide the lid to cover the tin fully. For those who don't plan on using the lid to make a square loaf, you can brush the loaf with some slightly beaten egg if you want a glossy finish to the bread.
- Bake at 180C for 30 minutes or till the bread is golden brown and cooked through.
- Remove from the oven and immediately unmold the bread onto wire rack to let it cool completely. Slice to serve or store airtight once it's thoroughly cooled
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