The quest for the softest, healthiest bread is never-ending. Every time you try a new method, you wish to get a slice of better bread. Tangzhong is an ancient Japanese way to softer and long-lasting bread. I had used tangzhong method once long ago and had baked a 50% all-purpose flour and 50% whole wheat flour Hokkaido milk bread.
This time decided to increase the quantity of all-purpose flour and skip the egg. So if you are a beginner bread baker, This is the recipe for you. Another recipe if you are baking for the first time is this.
In the Tangzhong method, flour is cooked with milk/water until the mixture looks like a custard. This tangzhong starter is added to the bread dough to lock in the liquid. The locked liquid doesn’t evaporate during the baking process. The flour in the starter doesn’t develop gluten while the dough is kneaded. The result is a bread with high moisture and low gluten content which is softer and long-lasting.

Sandwich Bread with Tangzhong
Ingredients
For the tangzhong
- 30 g Whole wheat flour
- 100 ml Milk.
For the dough
- 290 g All purpose flour
- 70 g Whole wheat flour
- 1.5 tsp Instant dry yeast
- 2 tsp Brown sugar
- 1.5 tsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Milk powder
- 150-175 ml Water
- 2-3 tbsp Any neutral oil
- 2 tbsp Milk for milk wash
Instructions
- Mix milk and flour. Whisk until there are no lumps.
- Cook it in a non-stick pan until the mixture thickens and looks like a custard. Stir continuously.
- Keep it aside to cool.
- Take lukewarm water in a bowl and mix sugar. Add the yeast. Allow it to rest for 10 minutes.
- Take flour, both all-purpose and whole wheat in a big bowl. Mix all the dry ingredients.
- Add yeast sugar mix and the tangzhong starter.
- Make a loose dough by mixing all the ingredients. Smear it with oil.
- Transfer the dough on the counter and knead for 10-12 minutes gently.
- The dough should be softer than the chapati dough. Keep kneading until it springs back on poking.
- Make a ball of the dough and keep it in an oiled bowl. You can apply oil on the dough ball too. Cover it with a kitchen towel and keep it for the first rise. It takes 60 to 90 minutes to double. However, if the temperature is high, sometimes it may take lesser time.
- Line a 7"X 3" tin with parchment paper or grease it with oil generously.
- Punch the dough gently to deflate it and spread it into a square.
- Now roll it into a log of the size of the tin. Place it in the tin with the seam facing down.
- Rest for the second rise which took 25 minutes.
- Preheat the oven for 10 minutes at 180 C.
- Give the loaf a milk wash and bake for 40-45 minutes. The fully baked bread will give a hollow sound when tapped on the top.
- Take out from the oven and cool the tin for 5 minutes before you take out the bread.
- Cool the bread on the wire rack before cutting.
This looks so beautiful. What if we don’t have brown sugar 😓. Can it be replaced with plain white sugar?
Thanks, Komal.Yes.
It tastes too good, thanks Neeru for sharing such amazing recipe.
Thanks to you too.Looking forward to more bread loaves pictures from you.