Basic wholemeal bread using tangzhong ( water roux )

In blogosphere, there has been a flurry of excitement when fellow bloggers rediscovered the Japanese way of  baking soft bread loaf using the tangzhong method.

I have laid off bread making for a while due to many unacceptable reasons. When I saw the excited exchange of comments online, it triggered me to get my act together again.

I have made many such breads with variations ( fillings, toppings ) but found to my dismay that I have not documented them. Though there is little chance my princess is going to bake while overseas since all she owns is most likely just a pot for instant noodles, I hope that one day the little one will check out mummy’s blog and try her hand at this.

So, little one, if you should be reading this, overlook the grammar mistakes and imperfect sentence structure. Instead, let it bring you back to the delicious smell of fresh bread from long ago in a little place in Singapore.

Tangzhong never fails to yield soft, fluffy bread. This loaf did not last beyond 24 hours.

Water roux :
15g bread flour
75g  water

Bread ingredients :

140g bread flour
100g wholemeal flour
6g instant dried yeast
10g sugar
2g salt

1 medium egg, at room temperature and slightly beaten
70g milk, at room temperature
60g water roux, at room temperature
25g unsalted butter, slightly softened at room temperature 

Method :

Whisk water roux contents until combined and lump-free, then heat this mixture over medium-low gentle heat in a saucepan until mixtture reaches 65 C or whisk makes lines over the cooked watery batter. Leave to cool.

Meanwhile, combine bread flour, wholemeal flour, yeast, sugar and salt. This is the dry component of the bread.

In a separate bowl, combine egg, milk, water roux, butter. This is the wet component of the bread.

Transfer the wet component of the bread to the dry component.

Stir to combine. Knead the dough until smooth then leave to ferment until bulk doubles and it leaves a dent when poked with a finger. Alternatively, use the bread machine in dough mode to knead. This takes about 1.5 – 2 hrs.

Prepare a bread tray, greased and floured.

Knead the dough on a lightly floured worktop. Transfer it to the tray to rise a second time.

Preheat the oven to  180C with a tray of water under the baking rack.

Mist spray the dough before baking.

Bake in the preheated oven at 180C for 30-40 minutes. The bread is ready when it sounds hollow when tapped.

Remove the bread from the tray and cool thoroughly.