I love using the Tangzhong technique for bread. It’s great for making rolls, but it also works very well for hearth-style loaves as well. It creates a nice soft crumb and also helps prevent the bread from going stale quickly.
This one was made with fresh-milled Durum, a little FMF, Stardust whole wheat from Barton Springs Mill, along with KAF bread flour in the levain.
The Durum used in the main dough was sifted once with a #30 drum sieve and re-milled at my Mockmill 200’s finest setting. The Stardust was also sifted once and re-milled. The Durum for the levain and Tangzhong were not sifted.
I added some olive oil, which pairs well with Durum, as well as some sour cream for a little extra creaminess.
When you include the 75% of the water added in the Tangzhong, as well as the sour cream water content, you end up with a nice 88% hydrated dough. It was a little sticky and required some extra coil folds during bulk to make sure the gluten was nice and strong.
I used my Ankarsrum to mix up the dough and open-baked it on a baking stone with steam.
I used 81% fresh milled flour in this bake.
I usually aim for a dough temperature of 73-75 F and try to bulk to a 50-55 % rise. I have started to pay more attention to the look and feel of the dough versus worrying about the % rise. It’s still nice to have some benchmarks to shoot for and adjust as needed.
I was very happy with the fermentation of this bake. The crumb was nice and open for such a high % of Durum, and you could really taste the Durum flour. This made amazing grilled bread, basted with a fruity Greek olive oil or smeared with some garlic butter.
Formula
Levain Directions
Mix all the levain ingredients together for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.
Let it sit at room temperature (I used my proofer set at 75°F) for around 5-7 hours or until the starter has almost doubled. I like to use the starter as soon as it has peaked. You can refrigerate it and use it later or the next day, but it may lose some of its strenght if not used right away.
Tangzhong Directions
Add the water to the Durum flour in a small saucepan and cook on medium-low until the starches gelatinize and it starts to thicken. It should be like wall paste when done. Remove from the heat and cool until it’s about room temperature. You can put it in the refrigerator to speed up the process.
Main Dough Procedure
Note: I use an Ankarsrum Mixer, so my mixing order is slightly different from that of a KitchenAid or other mixer. Add all the water to your mixing bowl except for about 1/4 of the water. Add all the flour to the bowl and mix on low for 1 minute, until it forms a shaggy mass. Cover the mixing bowl and let it rest for 20 minutes. Next, add the levain, Tangzhong, sour cream, olive oil, and most of the remaining water (as needed), and mix on medium-low speed (about speed 4) for around 15 minutes. Let it rest for another 20-25 minutes. Now add the salt and the remaining water if needed, and mix on speed 4 until you have a nicely developed, smooth dough. Don’t be afraid to mix longer. I have found that upfront gluten development is key if you want a nice open crumb.
Remove the dough from the bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl, or proofing container, and do several stretch and folds. Make sure the dough is as flat as possible in your bowl/container, and measure the dough in millimeters and take the temperature of the dough. Based on the chart from http://www.thesourdoughjourney.com, determine what % rise you need and make a note. If you have a proofer, decide what temperature you want to set it at and what rise you are aiming for.
Do a set of coil folds after 30 minutes, and a second one 30 minutes later, and then one set of stretch and folds, 30 minutes later. (Note: since this dough was very sticky, I did an extra set of coil folds). It’s important to build the layers of gases by doing the coil folds.
Once the dough reaches the desired bulk rise, pre-shape and let rest for 15-20 minutes. Finish shaping and place the dough in your banneton, bowl, or on a sheet pan, then cover it to keep it airtight. I added black sesame seeds to the bottom of my banneton and made sure to really cover the dough.
When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 500°F an hour beforehand and prepare for steam. When ready to bake, score as desired. Prepare your oven for steam. I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone above the pan and one on the top shelf. I pour 1 cup of boiling water into the pan right after I place the dough in the oven. I then lower the oven temperature to 450°F and bake until they are nice and brown, and the internal temperature is at least 205 – 210°F.
Take the bread(s) out of the oven when done and let them (it), cool on a baker’s rack for as long as you can resist.
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