This is my favorite bread recipe, and it took a few tries to get the consistency and taste that I wanted. If you love butter (who doesn’t?), you’ll live for this bread. Baking is really trial and error, and for me, there is no such thing as the perfect recipe—what works for me may not work for you.
Here are some tips in making this bread.
What kind of butter should I use?
Use 1 cup of good quality butter. Yes, I use 1 cup for two loaves. Can you imagine how rich each bite will be? I already have my choice of butter, but like I said, find what works for you. Anchor, Lurpak, or Kerrygold are my preferred brands.
What kind of yeast should I use?
I use SAF instant yeast. It has worked consistently well for me so this is the only yeast I use.
Can I make this dough by hand?
Yes, but the stand mixer will make it so much easier because you have to add in the butter gradually and knead the dough until it’s smooth and shiny. That’s when you know enough gluten has developed. The windowpane test is often used to check for gluten development. To perform the test, take a small piece of dough and slowly stretch it out. If the dough becomes thin enough to appear semi-transparent without tearing, your dough has formed enough gluten structure.
How do I make tangzhong paste? What does it do?
Tangzhong paste is creating gelatinized flour by boiling a few tablespoons of flour in water until it forms a paste. This makes a very soft and fluffy bread, it melts in your mouth. They say adding tangzhong paste also makes the bread last longer than the usual shelf life, but this bread never reaches past its shelf-life, it’s that good.
It’s best eaten fresh off the oven. If you can, please wait for it to cool off a bit before tearing up a piece of this buttery goodness. It’s also the best bread for making french toasts! And no, it’s not for the uber-health conscious.
Let me know in the Comments section if you have any other questions about this bread.
This bread recipe is very forgiving, it doesn’t have to look perfect
Look at this buttery goodness!
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French toast with bacon and TJ hotdogs. (Who doesn’t love TJ hotdogs?)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp yeast
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 1/3 cup diluted milk
- 6 egg yolks
- 5 cups bread flour
- 2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup butter
Make tangzong paste (get a portion from existing ingredients) by boiling the following in a saucepan until it forms a paste:
- 4 tbsp flour
- 1 cup water
Directions
- Combine dry ingredients
- Beat egg yolks
- Add tangzhong to egg yolks, then add dry ingredients, including yeast
- Add the milk alternately with butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, letting each tablespoon fully incorporate into the dough before adding the next
- Blend well. Knead until smooth, about 10 minutes on medium-high speed using the stand mixer
- Cover the mixing bowl in plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size
- Cut the dough into 6 pieces and form into balls
- Flatten each piece into a rectangle, then fold short ends in towards each other as if folding a letter. Flatten again and tightly roll into a log starting with the short end
- Let dough rest for another hour until puffy and doubled in size
- Brush egg wash on top of loaf
- Bake in a well-greased loaf pan for 30 mins at 375F (or 190C) preheated oven until deeply golden on top
- Let cool 5 minutes then turn loaves out onto a cooling rack. Let cool completely
Video
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