Serves: Makes 9 buns
Prep Time: 30 mins + (2 hours resting time)
Bake Time: 25 mins
Ingredients:
For the Tangzhong
2 tablespoons strong white bread flour
100ml (1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon) Norco full cream milk (2 bottles, please – one for photographer to shoot)
For the Japanese Milk Bread Dough
350 g (2 1/3 cups) strong white bread flour
1 teaspoon instant dried yeast
1 teaspoon fine salt
55 g (1/4 cup) caster sugar
1 egg
125 ml (1/2 cup) Norco full cream milk, warmed to 37°C
50g Norco unsalted butter, softened
For the eggwash
1 egg
1 tablespoon Norco full cream milk
Method:
For the Tangzhong:
Whisk the ingredients together in a small saucepan over low heat. Keep whisking until the ingredients form a thick paste. The consistency should be thick enough so that as you whisk the mixture, the whisk leaves lines in the mixture which remain. Remove the paste to a small bowl, and set it aside to cool down. You can prepare this in advance.
To Make the Dough:
Place the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar into the bowl of an electric stand mixer and mix together using a dough hook. Add the egg and the cooled Tangzhong. Slowly add the milk until the mixture comes together into a sticky dough. Add the butter, one tablespoon at a time, waiting for each tablespoon to be fully incorporated into the dough before adding the next.
Continue kneading the dough on medium speed for about 10-15 minutes, or until the dough passes the windowpane test. (To do this, pull off a small piece of dough and stretch it apart. If it is translucent, you have passed the test.) By this stage, the dough should also be coming away from the sides of the bowl.
Lightly oil a large, clean mixing bowl. Roll the dough into a smooth ball and place it into the mixing bowl. Cover the dough with a clean tea towel, and place it somewhere warm for about 1 ½ hours, or until it has doubled in size.
After the first proof, gently remove the dough from the bowl. The dough will deflate as you handle it. Divide the dough into 9 equal portions. Use a digital scale for even-sized buns.
To shape the dough:
Line a square baking pan with baking paper. Roll each piece of dough into a smooth ball. Do this by pulling the edges of the dough into the centre, then pinching those edges together while shaping the dough into a smooth ball. The pinched edges form the bottom of the buns. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Place the shaped buns into the lined baking pan.
To proof the dough the second time:
Place the pan somewhere warm, covered with a clean tea towel, for about 30 minutes, or until the buns have almost doubled in size and are touching each other in the pan.
To bake the buns:
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place a metal baking tray on the middle shelf. Lightly brush the buns with some egg wash. Bake the buns for about 15-20 minutes, or until they are golden. Leave the buns in the pan for about 5 minutes, before carefully removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Serve with butter.