u/Exotic-Trust5555

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I took a recipe for basic asian bread (with tangzhong and poolish) and made mini shiopan + hotdog buns

Why tangzhong and poolish? I love exploring different recipes and the science of baking so while I think there are simpler recipes that yield great results (which I have tried!!) without having to do all the “pre-dough” steps, tangzhong + poolish is always a foolproof way for me to create soft, layered, cotton-like texture. And this technique makes a huge difference in the amount of kneading time, shelf life, and it sure gives my bread a more complex flavor!

Recipe:
Tangzhong/Yudane: 42g bread flour + 68g boiling water => mix in a bowl => let it cool down + in the fridge overnight

Poolish: 50g bread flour + 50g water + 1/8 tsp instant yeast => mix => 4 hours roomp temp + in the fridge overnight

Main dough: 120g bread flour + 12g sugar + 38g milk/water (cold) + 15g softened butter + 2tsp salt + 1/8 tsp instant yeast

=> mix in a stand mixer everything except for the butter for 6-10 minutes on low + add butter and mix on medium/high for 10~15 minutes depending on the stand mixer.
my stand mixer is weak but thanks to the poolish and tangzhong, this dough comes together relatively fast without overworking both the dough and the mixer

without a stand mixer: mix everything except for butter until a rough dough is formed => rest 30minutes => stretch and fold 8 times => rest 20 minutes + add butter + do another stretch and fold while slowly incorporating the butter => rest 20 minutes + repeat one final time

bulk fermentation:
my house is relatively cold ~60F - 15C so proofing takes around 3-4 hours, 1 hour in warmer environment (85F/29C +). I let the dough proof and go out/run errands lol => ready when it doubles in size

divide into 10 38g balls => shape into small circles => rest 5-10 minutes => shape + add blocks of salted butter for shiopans + half a hotdog for hotdog buns

2nd proof: turn on “keep warm” function in a toaster oven (50C/125F) for 10 minutes => turn it off => let the shaped buns proof in there for ~1 hour

eggwash (egg + milk) + add some everything seasoning on top => 175C/350F for 18~20 minutes

I used tangzhong + poolish method (do tangzhong + poolish the night before). This recipe is personally quite advanced but the result is 🤩

Tangzhong: bread flour:water = 1:5 (32g + 160g) -> in a pan on medium high heat until thicken and can be easily removed from pan -> cool down over night

Poolish: 200g flour, 2g instant yeast, 200g water -> mix, room temp 12-18 hours til you see bubble

Main dough: tangzhong + poolish + 70g whipping cream + 100g water + 408g bread flour + 60g sugar + 30g milk powder + 6g instant yeast + 6g salt + 50g cold butter cut in slices/cubes

In a stand mixer (mine is pretty weak):
- mix all the ingredients in the main dough EXCEPT FOR tangzhong + butter + salt for 5-8 minutes -> autolyse this mixture in the fridge 30mins

- take it out -> add tangzhong slowly -> add cold butter slowly (it takes me 4-5 rounds of letting the machine runs for 6-8mins -> rest the dough in the fridge 5-10mins -> repeat until the dough reaches the windowpane test). always keep the dough temp below 25C/77F

- coil fold twice (10mins between 2 rounds)

- let the dough rise in the fridge for 4-5 hours until it doubles (allow enough time for the gluten to create firmness). i would avoid room temp here!

- take the dough out -> divide 4 equal balls -> roll each ball to be thinner -> fold vertically -> move on another ball -> come back to the first ball, roll thinly again, fold horizontally

- put in loaf tint, let rise in room temp until the dough is slightly higher than the tint

- eggwash (egg + milk) or milkwash (just milk)

- 170C/335F for 45-50 minutes

I did not use a stand mixer or yeast, only sourdough starter + stretch and fold and it turns out amazing 😩 the crumbs were not as soft and airy as the brioche i made with yeast + stand mixer though!

recipe:
- 370g bread flour
- 30g brown sugar
- 7g salt
- 60ml milk (room temp)
- 110g melted butter
- 3 eggs (room temp)
- 120g starter
- 1 egg yolk for eggwash

feed starter (from the fridge) 1:3:3 the night before
next day: mix butter, egg, starter -> add flour, sugar, salt -> mix + knead by hand until a dough is formed

leave dough rise double or half its size, stretch and fold every 30 minutes, 6-8 times (i had to run errands, think i left it out for 4-5 hours)

-> place dough inside fridge for 10-12 hours (longer is okay) -> take it out and divide into 6 balls -> put it back in the fridge again for another 1 hour -> take the balls out and shape them into 6 long stripes -> braid 3 stripes into a bun = 2 buns in a loaf tint (shaping can be hard, if the dough keeps resisting, let it rest a bit, shape another ball. while shaping, i kept the rest of the other balls in the freezer/above 4 ice packs to keep them cold)

at this point, you can leave the shaped buns in the loaf tint rise at room temperature for another 2-4 hours until they double in size + ready when perfoming the poke test. i was busy so i put them back in the fridge overnight -> take it out the next morning (it rises in the fridge pretty well) -> let it return to room temp (2 hours)

eggwash (egg + milk + honey) -> oven 350F for 20 minutes with a mental bowl of hot water for steam -> cover the dough with foild then bake at 330F for another 15-20 minutes

also, remember to cover the dough during any stage of proofing/bulk fermentation so it doesn’t dry out!!

this brioche has a bit of the sour taste from the starter and long proofing process but i don’t mind it!