Milk Bread Dough (Base)
A soft Japanese milk-bread dough (shokupan style) made with tangzhong, a cooked flour-milk paste. The paste holds extra water, so buns stay soft for longer. This one dough is the base for cream melon pan, cream buns and hojicha kardemummabullar. Shio pan has its own leaner dough.
- Yield: about 2.1 kg, which makes ~50 buns of 40 g (or ~80 minis of 25 g)
- Equipment: spiral mixer (or planetary with hook), proofer, oven, freezer
- Allergens: gluten (wheat), milk, egg
Ingredients
Tangzhong
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Bread flour (vetemjöl special) | 70 g |
| Milk | 350 g |
Dough
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Tangzhong (above), cooled | all |
| Bread flour | 930 g |
| Cold milk | 300 g |
| Eggs | 150 g (3) |
| Sugar | 130 g |
| Milk powder (optional, for flavour) | 30 g |
| Instant yeast (or fresh yeast 40 g) | 15 g |
| Salt | 15 g |
| Butter, soft | 100 g |
Method
- Tangzhong: whisk the flour into the milk in a pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring all the time, until it thickens to a pudding-like paste (about 65 °C, 2–3 min). Cover and cool to room temperature (or make it the day before and refrigerate).
- Mix: put everything except the butter in the mixer. Mix 4 min on slow, then 4–6 min on fast until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the bowl.
- Add the soft butter in pieces and mix until fully absorbed and the dough passes the windowpane test (stretches thin without tearing). Target dough temperature is 26–27 °C.
- Bulk ferment: cover and leave 45–60 min at room temperature until about 1.5× in size. Or ferment slowly in the fridge overnight, which also makes it easier to shape.
- Divide and shape: scale into 40 g (or 25 g) pieces and round tightly.
- Freeze (batch day): freeze the shaped pieces on trays, then bag and label. Use within 3–4 weeks.
Baking from frozen
- Place frozen buns on lined trays and proof at 32 °C / 80% humidity for about 90–120 min, until they've nearly doubled.
- Brush with egg wash (1 egg + 1 tbsp milk).
- Bake at 170–175 °C for 12–15 min until golden.
Variations
Kinako or matcha cream buns
Bake plain 30–40 g buns. When cool, cut a slit in the side and pipe in flavoured whipped cream:
| Ingredient | Kinako cream | Matcha cream |
|---|---|---|
| Cream | 1000 g | 1000 g |
| Sugar (icing sugar dissolves best) | 80 g | 100 g |
| Flavour | Kinako 60 g | Matcha 20 g, sifted |
Whip to firm peaks. Dust the buns with kinako or matcha. Fill during service, or keep filled buns chilled.
Hojicha kardemummabullar
Roll the bulk-fermented dough (instead of dividing it) into a rectangle about 5 mm thick. Spread with the filling, fold in thirds, cut into strips and twist into knots. Freeze, then proof and bake as above. Glaze with sugar syrup after baking.
| Filling | Amount (per full dough batch) |
|---|---|
| Butter, soft | 200 g |
| Sugar | 150 g |
| Hojicha powder | 15 g |
| Ground cardamom | 10 g |
For matcha kanelbullar, swap the hojicha and cardamom for 15 g matcha and 5 g cinnamon.