Baked babka quite a while ago, made me wanna bake toast, the soft toast that still attaches to each other as you tear down a piece. There are so many flavors available, from Asian toasts like scallion & meat floss, red bean & coconut custard, sesame, to western toasts like ham & cheese! Still improving my toast making skills, but after 4 toasts, I tend to believe in using this recipe.
QUICK TAKEAWAYS
- in the first few times with this recipe, use less water/liquid as it gets quite moist and wet
- always start mixing from mixer’s low to high speed gradually, be patient and do not jump straight to high speed
- it is very normal that the dough’s bottom always stick to the mixing bowl, because the dough is supposed to be moist. Try being diligent and scrap dough off the hook and bowl wall and mixing in higher speed
- do not over mix the dough. If the dough is withdrawing back as you stretch it out, the gluten is still well-formed. But if the dough starts to stick to your finger or just droll down from the hook, it might be over-mixed and gluten breaks.
- after first proof, if the dough is too wet to roll out with rolling pin on dry surface, sprinkle some flour
RECIPE
Japanese Milk Bread / Tangzhong Bread
- Tangzhong:
- 18g bread flour
- 90g water
- toast:
- 75g tangzhong
- 30g sugar
- 1g egg white
- 4g yeast
- 2-3g salt
- 100g milk
- 230g bread flour
- 25g room temperature butter
STEP 0: bring 100g milk, 1 egg and 25g butter out from fridge so they will be at room temperature
STEP 1: mix 18g bread flour and 90g water, cook over medium/low heat; keep stirring. Turn to lowest temp when chunks form. Continue stirring till paste-like tangzhong forms, turn off heat, put lid on to chill. Tangzhong can help keep the moist in bread and make it softer
STEP 2: mix 75g tangzhong, the rest of the material except for butter at speed 4 for 4-5mins; then add in RT butter and mix at speed 4 for another 12-15mins, the mixing bowl should be smooth without too much dough stick on the wall now and the dough should be stretchy enough to have a super thin layer
STEP 3: rest in RT till size doubles
STEP 4: squeeze out air, form dough and add fillings as needed
STEP 5: rest dough in a closed oven with hot water below till size almost doubles; dough should rise in ~30C environment
STEP 6: bake at 170C/375F for 30mins
STEP 7: oven, chill before serving!
Toast Bread
- 250g bread flour
- 4g yeast
- 25 sugar (do NOT substitute for sugar substitute as yeast NEEDS SUGAR!)
- 3g salt
- 10g milk powder
- 45g egg
- 140g-150g milk (start from 140g and add as needed)
- 30g softened butter at room temperature
STEP 1: mix all ingredients EXCEPT FOR the butter; use lowest speed first, till the ingredients are mixed, use higher speed one by one
STEP 2: after ~10mins, add softened RT butter, continue mixing from low to high speed. for around another 5-10mins, should be able to stretch the dough out to very very thin and almost transparent
STEP 3: gather dough together and:
- if proof over night: let it proof under room temperature for 30mins, then press down the dough, squeeze out air, cover in plastic wrap / put in a sealed container, proof in fridge overnight
- if having first and second proofing in the same day: let it proof in room temperature in a sealed container till it is 2x the original size
STEP 4: after the first proof, squeeze out air, form dough into a ball shape, then start to roll dough out for however you plan to shape dough with fillings
STEP 5: proof dough the second time in closed space / oven, ideal proofing temperature is 25-30C. I usually put a tray of hot water at the bottom of the oven to warm it up for proofing
STEP 6: ~1hr, after the dough is ALMOST twice the size, preheat oven to 170C or 338F
STEP 7: brush dough with egg, bake for 40-50mins
STEP 8: remove from oven, chill before serving!
Scallion & Meat Floss Filling
- ~30-50g scallion, or a few stems of scallion, minced
- sufficient meat floss
- Kewpie mayonnaise
- shaping: hair braiding style; remember to fold the two ends till they meet at the bottom of the toast
Red Bean & Coconut Custard Filling
- red bean paste (I prefer the chunky ones with full beans)
- coconut custard filling:
- 55g coconut shreds
- 30g powder sugar/sugar substitute
- 30g softened RT butter
- 40g egg yolk
coconut custard filling 
Salted Egg Yolk Filling
- 60g salted egg yolk, minced
- 20g egg yolk
- 20g powder sugar/sugar substitute
- 100g milk
- 8g corn starch
Ham & Cheese Filling
- ham
- slices of cheese (I used cheddar this time, thought it is a bit too hard still, might try softer cheese next time)
- shaping:
- cut dough into two halves
- roll it out into long rectangle
- place cheese and ham on, and roll it up for shaping
- cut each one into two halves again, now we have 4 different dough
- either place them up right or lay them down, whichever seems fit
- sprinkle the top with ham, cheese (mozzarella) and Kewpie mayo after dough proofs
RESOURCES
Tangzhong Bread
