UPDATED with shaping videos -- see below!👇
I like making bread (no duh!) and my daughter likes eating bread. But not my bread, usually. "No offense Mom, but your bread is usually hard." I disagree! Crusty, because it's sourdough, but not hard. Unless it's been around for a little bit because it hasn't been eaten. Because it's not squishy white bread.
So, of course, I was compelled to make the tender, creamy-crumbed, slightly sweet Japanese-style milk bread you see here -- in a loaf shape that is perfect for toast, grilled cheese, and other sandwiches.
Incorporating sourdough gives sandwich bread a boost in flavor and keeping qualities, and using tangzhong gives it that moist, soft interior and delicate crust, that stays that way on the counter for a bit. So of course to maximize my oven usage, I made two loaves -- the oven stays on the same amount of time anyway, and I have two loaf pans of equal size. I may try 3 loaves at once next time, but that might be pushing the capacity of my mixer.
Update: since this bread has won my family over, i got two 12-inch long loaf pans and now make approximately 1 1/4 times the original quantity (shaping in 6 logs per pan). It does fit in my 5 qt mixer, but needs a larger bowl to rise in. Surprisingly, the two loaves still only take 30 minutes to bake. New quantities are in red.
You do want to use a mixer for tangzhong doughs -- until the gluten is developed properly, they are very sticky like brioche, almost gluey. But when the dough is properly mixed, it rises nicely.
Debt of gratitude to Christine Ho's english-language blog, which is where I first encountered the tangzhong method. This recipe is very similar to hers, but with my tweaks and quantities.
Japanese-style Milk Bread Sandwich Loaves
Tangzhong:
50 g. all-purpose or bread flour 66 g
125 g. milk 166 ml
125 g. water 166 ml
In a small saucepan, whisk the flour into the liquids until smooth. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking all the time, until the mixture thickens and the whisk starts to leave a track. It will just start to stick to the bottom and may come to a bit of a simmer, but it is done when it still drips in a trail from the whisk. Turn the tangzhong out of the saucepan to cool, right into your mixer bowl.
EDIT: You can also microwave the tangzhong, stirring every 20 seconds with a small whisk or a fork to get out the lumps.
Final dough:
100 g. milk or heavy cream 133 g
112 g. eggyolks (or two large eggs and a yolk) 150 g
300 g. sourdough starter, fed 6-15 hours before 400 g
110 g. sugar 146 g
10 g. instant or active dry yeast (if your starter is very active, 7 g. should be enough) 12 g
550 g. bread flour (or part whole wheat flour and part bread flour) 715 g
37 g. dry milk powder 50 g
10 g. (2 tsp) salt 13 g
60 g. butter, cool and cubed 80 g
Add the milk or cream, eggs or eggyolks, sugar, starter, and yeast to the room-temperature tangzhong. Mix with the paddle until it is smooth and the yeast is dispersed. Add the flour, milk powder and salt, switch to the hook, and mix on low speed for a few minutes until the flour is evenly moistened.
(I now let this sit to autolyse for about 10-15 minutes, especially for the larger batch). Turn the speed up to medium and let the dough develop -- it will look very messy for a bit, then come together into a few sticky clumps. Scrape down the sides if needed. Add the butter, and mix again on medium speed until the dough is smooth and elastic -- it will take a total of 7-10 minutes. Check for a gluten window.
Clean off the hook, pull the bowl off the mixer, and go through with a bench scraper or spatula to make sure everything is evenly mixed -- there may be some butter bits or egg hanging about in the divot of the bowl, and you want to get those in cleanly.
Coat the top of the dough with cooking spray or butter, just enough so it doesn't form a skin. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let the dough rise until doubled... it should take about an hour, depending on how healthy your starter is and if the room is warm.
Have two 9x5 loaf pans ready... mine are a dark nonstick, so they don't need much prep, but if they are not nonstick, a quick spray or parchment liner will help get the bread out prettily.
When the dough has doubled, gently fold the edges into the middle to de-gas.
Shaping:
Turn it out onto the counter and divide in half, then each half into 4 pieces for the traditional Hokkaido-loaf shape. Take one piece, flatten it into an oval, and bring the two short ends to meet in the middle. Roll this up from an open end into a snug 4-inch long cylinder and place it crosswise in a loaf pan, seam side down. Repeat to have four cylinders for each loaf. It doesn't matter if they touch or not, but try to have the tops be relatively even.
Update: Alternate shaping -- twist: Divide the dough into only two pieces and shape each into a cylinder about twice as long as the pan. Twist together, tuck in the ends, and place in the pan.
Cover with plastic wrap or bags, and let the breads rise until they come to the top edge of the loaf pan. This will take about half the time of your first rise. *
Bake the breads at 350 F -- they should take about 25-30 minutes. The tops will sound hollow when you tap, and they will feel crusty with a nice golden color. Remove them from the oven and let cool a bit, then turn the loaves out of the pans onto a rack. If the bottoms lack color, you can put them back in the oven (out of the pans) to brown the rest of the way around for a few minutes, then remove and let cool completely.
As they cool and the moisture distributes evenly, the outside will soften and stay that way, so don't be sad that the crust is very firm when they come out of the oven.
Do let the loaves cool completely before slicing -- the inside is very tender while hot and it will squash if you cut too soon.
The sandwich loaves will live happily on your countertop, each in a gallon-size zip-close bag or something like it, for a good week. Or less, if someone keeps creeping up and slicing pieces off! 👀😋
* I didn't find it necessary to brush the loaves with anything before baking, but a little milk or cream will give them a darker, semi-glossy finish. Beaten egg gives them a much darker, shiny crust, but i find that that peels off after a few hours. You can brush them with melted butter as they come out of the oven, but again, the crust softens nicely even without.
Clean off the hook, pull the bowl off the mixer, and go through with a bench scraper or spatula to make sure everything is evenly mixed -- there may be some butter bits or egg hanging about in the divot of the bowl, and you want to get those in cleanly.
Coat the top of the dough with cooking spray or butter, just enough so it doesn't form a skin. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let the dough rise until doubled... it should take about an hour, depending on how healthy your starter is and if the room is warm.
Have two 9x5 loaf pans ready... mine are a dark nonstick, so they don't need much prep, but if they are not nonstick, a quick spray or parchment liner will help get the bread out prettily.
When the dough has doubled, gently fold the edges into the middle to de-gas.
Shaping:
Turn it out onto the counter and divide in half, then each half into 4 pieces for the traditional Hokkaido-loaf shape. Take one piece, flatten it into an oval, and bring the two short ends to meet in the middle. Roll this up from an open end into a snug 4-inch long cylinder and place it crosswise in a loaf pan, seam side down. Repeat to have four cylinders for each loaf. It doesn't matter if they touch or not, but try to have the tops be relatively even.
Update: Alternate shaping -- twist: Divide the dough into only two pieces and shape each into a cylinder about twice as long as the pan. Twist together, tuck in the ends, and place in the pan.
Cover with plastic wrap or bags, and let the breads rise until they come to the top edge of the loaf pan. This will take about half the time of your first rise. *
Bake the breads at 350 F -- they should take about 25-30 minutes. The tops will sound hollow when you tap, and they will feel crusty with a nice golden color. Remove them from the oven and let cool a bit, then turn the loaves out of the pans onto a rack. If the bottoms lack color, you can put them back in the oven (out of the pans) to brown the rest of the way around for a few minutes, then remove and let cool completely.
As they cool and the moisture distributes evenly, the outside will soften and stay that way, so don't be sad that the crust is very firm when they come out of the oven.
Do let the loaves cool completely before slicing -- the inside is very tender while hot and it will squash if you cut too soon.
The sandwich loaves will live happily on your countertop, each in a gallon-size zip-close bag or something like it, for a good week. Or less, if someone keeps creeping up and slicing pieces off! 👀😋
* I didn't find it necessary to brush the loaves with anything before baking, but a little milk or cream will give them a darker, semi-glossy finish. Beaten egg gives them a much darker, shiny crust, but i find that that peels off after a few hours. You can brush them with melted butter as they come out of the oven, but again, the crust softens nicely even without.
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