Soft Milk Bread With Tangzhong
The secret to milk bread that stays soft for days is tangzhong: a flour-and-water paste cooked until thick and added to the dough. The gelatinised starch holds five times its weight in water, keeping the crumb soft long after an ordinary loaf has staled.
- Prep
- 200 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Total
- 235 min
- Calories
- 190
Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author — Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Homemade sandwich bread usually dries out in two days; this Japanese technique keeps it soft for a week. It is one extra step that takes five minutes.
Method
-
1
The tangzhong
Whisk 25 g flour with 125 ml water over medium heat until it thickens to a paste and reaches 65°C, then cool it to room temperature.
⏱ 10 min -
2
Knead
Knead the flour, sugar, salt, yeast, warm milk, egg and the tangzhong for 12 minutes until smooth. Keep the salt and yeast on opposite sides at the start.
⏱ 14 min -
3
Butter in stages
Add the softened butter a piece at a time and knead another 8 minutes. Butter added at the start coats the flour and prevents gluten forming.
⏱ 10 min -
4
The windowpane test
Stretch a piece of dough gently — it should thin to a translucent membrane you can see light through without tearing. If it tears, knead 3 minutes more.
⏱ 4 min -
5
First proof
Cover and leave somewhere warm for 90 minutes until doubled. Press a finger in — if the dent springs back slowly, it is ready.
⏱ 92 min -
6
Shape
Divide into 3 balls, roll each into an oval and roll it up like a Swiss roll, then set all three into a greased loaf tin.
⏱ 15 min -
7
Second proof
Cover and leave one hour until the dough reaches 80% of the tin's height. Over-proofing makes it collapse in the oven.
⏱ 62 min -
8
Bake
Brush with milk and bake at 170°C for 35 minutes. If the top colours early, cover it with foil and bake the full time.
⏱ 37 min -
9
Cool on a rack
Turn it out of the tin immediately and let it cool completely on a rack before slicing. Slicing it hot leaves the crumb gummy and compressed.
⏱ 60 min
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Tips that actually matter
- The tangzhong is what keeps it soft for a week.
- Butter goes in after the gluten has formed, not before.
- The windowpane test decides when the kneading is done, not the clock.
- Let it cool completely before slicing — hot bread slices gummy.
People also ask
What is tangzhong?
An Asian technique: a paste of flour and water cooked until it thickens (65°C) and added to the main dough. The gelatinised starch holds five times more water, so the bread stays soft for days.
Why does my loaf collapse in the oven?
It over-proofed. It should reach 80% of the tin's height, not the top — over-proofing weakens the gluten network so it collapses under the gas pressure in the oven.
Why add the butter late?
Fat coats the flour particles and stops the proteins linking into gluten. Add it once the dough is already smooth, and you get the tenderness of butter alongside a strong gluten structure.
Cook mode
Soft Milk Bread With Tangzhong
-
1
The tangzhong
Whisk 25 g flour with 125 ml water over medium heat until it thickens to a paste and reaches 65°C, then cool it to room temperature.
-
2
Knead
Knead the flour, sugar, salt, yeast, warm milk, egg and the tangzhong for 12 minutes until smooth. Keep the salt and yeast on opposite sides at the start.
-
3
Butter in stages
Add the softened butter a piece at a time and knead another 8 minutes. Butter added at the start coats the flour and prevents gluten forming.
-
4
The windowpane test
Stretch a piece of dough gently — it should thin to a translucent membrane you can see light through without tearing. If it tears, knead 3 minutes more.
-
5
First proof
Cover and leave somewhere warm for 90 minutes until doubled. Press a finger in — if the dent springs back slowly, it is ready.
-
6
Shape
Divide into 3 balls, roll each into an oval and roll it up like a Swiss roll, then set all three into a greased loaf tin.
-
7
Second proof
Cover and leave one hour until the dough reaches 80% of the tin's height. Over-proofing makes it collapse in the oven.
-
8
Bake
Brush with milk and bake at 170°C for 35 minutes. If the top colours early, cover it with foil and bake the full time.
-
9
Cool on a rack
Turn it out of the tin immediately and let it cool completely on a rack before slicing. Slicing it hot leaves the crumb gummy and compressed.
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