Cranberry bread roll ( water roux method )

After yesterday's baking success, its time to use the water roux method to make a breakfast loaf. Swinging to the extreme end of things, this time I run out of butter and resorted to shortening instead. To up the oomph factor, I added 2 handfuls of dried cranberry, but if I know that the little cherries are so good, I would have used the entire pack. Well, moderation, moderation.

Water roux or tang zhong bread never fails to please. It stayed soft and moist through the second day. Goes well with cream cheese and a cup of earl Grey.

The pleasure some simple things in life can sometime bring.

Do this project at the start of the day in case the proofing takes ages, especially if the kitchen is cold. It took me 5 hours from start to finish, till midnight because the proofing took a while longer than estimated. No shortcuts by increasing yeast amount, it kills the sweet bread fragrance. The waiting is definitely worth it in the end.

Water roux :
This is the steps to the starter dough : Cook 100g of water and 20g of bread flour ( 5 parts water, 1 part bread flour ) until the temperature of the mixture reaches 65C. Turn off heat and leave to cool, covered to prevent skinning.

A side note : I did this again one week later, with 2 egg yolks and water to make up 105g, completely in the bread machine from start to finish. The texture was cotton candy bread, way less firmer without the hand kneading. Try this egg version if fluffy soft is the preference.

Ingredients:
250g bread flour
1 Tsp  milk powder
80g Tang Zhong / water roux
105ml warm water
4g salt
25g sugar
5g dry yeast
25g butter / shortening
2 handfuls of cranberry

Method:
1. Dump all ingredients into the bread machine and start the dough cycle. By hand, knead all sans cranberry for 20 minutes. Add berry and knead another 10 minutes. Great upper body workout. Proof in oiled bowl, covered in warm place for 1 hour.
2. Once the dough cycle is completed after 1 1/2 hours, remove dough and punch out the air. Rest the dough for 15 minutes.
3. Roll dough swiss-roll style. Meanwhile, prepare a loaf pan, oiled and floured.
4. Place dough into pan and  proof until it doubles in size. To speed things up, I let proofing happen in a heated oven of 40 C, for about 40 minutes.
5.Brush top with milk. Bake at preheated oven of 180°C for 30 minutes.

Pasted from