Soft and fluffy wholemeal ring loaf that is perfect for your sandwich!
This Japanese style wholemeal bread recipe is simply the best as it is so soft and fluffy, also very easy to make. This is a perfect recipe for a first time baker! You probably won’t buy any store bought bread loaf anymore once you taste this!
This recipe is adapted from theflavorbender.com which is originally a Japanese style milk bread. I’m using wholemeal bread flour in this recipe that is higher in fibre and vitamins. Asian/Japanese breads is generally soft, springy and sweeter compared to European bread. The difference in the bread texture lie between the ingredients and the technique of making the dough. Asian bread has a higher sugar and fat content which give a fluffier and sweeter texture in their breads. They used a unique technique called Tangzhong to make the bread soft and airy. This method is to add a small portion of flour with water, bring to boil; or you can call it as cooking the flour.
So, let’s get start!
Recipe
| Preparation Time: 40 minutes | Cooking Time: 40 minutes | Serve: 16 slices |
|---|---|---|
| Tangzhong Ingredients: – 45 ml wholemeal flour – 1/4 cup, 60 ml water – 1/4 cup, 60 ml milk | Bread Dough Ingredients: – Tangzhong, room temperature – 1/2 cup, 125ml lukewarm milk – 2 1/2 tsp dry active yeast – 1/4 cup sugar + 1 tbsp sugar – 2 tbsp milk powder – 1 egg – 2 2/3 cup wholemeal bread flour – 1 tsp salt – 4 tbsp butter, soften – sunflower seeds (optional) |
Instructions:
- Tangzhong – Add water and flour in a small pot, whisk until flour dissolved. Add in milk and turn on medium heat and whisk constantly until mixture thicken. Transfer to a bowl, cover with wrap but touching the dough surface and let it cool down to room temperature.
- In your bread mixer, add in warm milk, yeast and 1 tbsp sugar. Stir well and let sit for 10 minutes until you see bubbles on the surface. This mean the yeast is activated.
- Once the yeast is activated, add the remaining sugar, milk powder, egg and bread flour in the mixer. Use a spatula to gently stir until the mixture is combined then add in salt. Place the hook on your mixer, knead on medium speed for 5 minutes. At this stage, the dough is still very sticky which is normal, keep scraping down the side if the dough is too sticky.
- Add butter into the dough mixture in 3 separate addition, each time about 30 seconds, you might need to use a spatula to scrape the side a few times. Once all the butter is incorporated, turn on high speed and beat for 5-7 minutes until you get a smooth dough that doesn’t stick on the side.
- Flour your hand and round the dough into a ball, place in a clean glass bowl cover with wrap and let’s rest until doubled in size, about an hour or more depending on the weather.
- Once the dough has proof, place the dough in a lightly flour surface and punch it down to release the air bubbles.
- Divide the dough into 4 portions and roll out each dough into a square shape. Fold the opposite corners of the square in towards the centre then roll into a log, fold the point edge in and seal it. Repeat until you have 4 logs.
- Preheat oven to 180 C, oil the pan and dust with flour. Place 4 logs into the pan and let it proof until doubled in size, about 1-2 hours.
- Once it is ready to bake, wash the dough surface with milk, sprinkle with some sunflower seeds and bake for 35 minutes. Check your bread at around 20 minutes, if it start to get too brown, cover with foil to prevent burning.
- Once the bread is done, remove from oven and let it rest in the pan for 10 minutes before remove it out to a cooling rack. Serve warm or cool with spread or any topping as you like. Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by!
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