.................. Cooking with Barry & Meta: Milk Bread Honey Buns

I am on a bread baking binge! The day before it was Oatmeal Bread. Today it is Milk Bread Honey Buns . . . and I have a folder full of other bread recipes I want to try.

We were first introduced to Milk Bread at the 2019 National Festival of Breads in Manhattan KS. Since then I’ve noticed that it is trending on the internet and the method is used in rolls and fancy loaves. Milk Bread incorporates a Japanese “tangzhong” — a technique that creates a milk-flour paste.

That demonstration in Manhattan was sponsored by Red Star Yeast, and that’s where I found today's recipe. The website also includes a very informative video by Gesine Prado. I would recommend it for all but especially those not familiar with Milk Bread.

These honey buns are light, fluffy, tender and soft, but despite their softness they do have body and an interesting, somewhat dense texture.

After the National Festival of Breads, I made Japanese Milk Bread loaves and have included some of the information about the technique immediately following the recipe.

Recipe without photos . . .

Milk Bread Honey Buns Makes 16 buns

For the Tangzhong (Makes 250 grams)

½ cup (60 grams) all-purpose flour (I used Pride of the Prairie Flour from Farmer Direct, Inc., New Cambria)

½ cup (120 milliliters) whole milk (I used milk from Hilderbrand Dairy)

½ cup (120 milliliters) water

For the dough

3 ½ cups plus 3 tablespoons (444 grams) all-purpose flour

1 packet (¼-ounce, 7g) Platinum Yeast

½ cup (120 milliliters) lukewarm (105˚F) whole milk

1 large egg, room temperature

3 tablespoons (63 grams) honey OR ⅓ cup (66 grams) granulated sugar

1 teaspoon (4 grams) fine sea salt

4 tablespoons (56 grams) softened, not melted, unsalted butter

1 egg plus 1 tablespoon water, whisked together, for egg wash

For the Tangzhong: In a saucepan, add the flour, then while whisking, add the water and milk. Whisk constantly over medium-low heat until the mixture thickens into a smooth paste. Mixing time is approximately 3 ½ minutes.
Transfer the mixture to a stand mixer bowl and allow to cool to room temperature.
For the dough: In another mixing bowl, add the flour (I added 3 cups at this point) and Platinum Yeast. Stir to combine and set aside briefly.
To the lukewarm milk, add the egg, stir, then add it to the Tangzhong.
Add the honey and salt; then add the flour-yeast mixture.
Mix on medium-low speed with the dough hook until the mixture comes together (it should also have time to begin forming the structure of the bread). (I added the remaining 1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons of flour at this point.)
Add the butter, a small piece at a time, until incorporated. Raise the mixer speed to medium.
The mixture will be very soft, and shaggy at first, sticking to the bottom and sides of the bowl. Continue mixing until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the bowl and is smooth and shiny, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and turn the dough over to coat the dough in oil.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature until the dough almost doubles in size. (See note below for overnight rise option.)
Place the dough in the refrigerator to firm up for shaping, about ½ hour. Note: the dough is very soft and slack, but by cooling it in the refrigerator, the butter in the dough seizes and the dough firms enough to shape more easily, much like brioche dough.
Punch down dough and turn out onto a lightly greased counter.
Divide dough into 16 equal pieces.

Above: Dough is divided in half.
Below: Each half is divided into 8 sections.
Flatten each dough piece slightly to remove excess air and to also form a round shape. Then pinch the edges of dough to the underside and using the “claw” method, roll each bun into a tight ball.
Place on a parchment-lined sheet pan, seam side down, a few inches apart (8 rolls per pan), and cover loosely with plastic wrap.
Preheat oven to 350˚F.
Allow buns to rise in a warm area, no warmer than 90˚F, for 40 to 50 minutes or until about doubled in size and pass the ripe test (an indent remains after lightly touching dough with finger tip).
Brush with egg wash.
Bake until golden brown and the internal temperature reads 190˚F, about 25 to 27 minutes.
Transfer to a cooling rack.

Note—For overnight rise: Place covered dough in refrigerator overnight, remove from refrigerator and continue with shaping directions.

King Arthur Flour’s website has this to say about TANGZHONG:This Japanese technique cooks a small percentage of the flour and liquid (water or milk) in a yeast recipe very briefly before combining the resulting thick slurry with the remaining ingredients.

How does this technique affect yeast dough? It pre-gelatinizes the starches in the flour, meaning they can absorb more water. In fact, flour will absorb twice as much hot water or milk as it does the cool/lukewarm water or milk you’d usually use in yeast dough.

Not only does the starch in the flour absorb more liquid; since heating the starch with water creates structure, it’s able to hold onto that extra liquid throughout the kneading, baking, and cooling processes. Which in turn means:

• Since there’s less free (unabsorbed) water in the dough, it’s less sticky and easier to knead;

• The bread or rolls may rise higher, due to more water creating more internal steam (which makes bread rise in the oven — along with the carbon dioxide given off by the yeast);

• Having retained more water during baking, bread and rolls will be moister, and will stay soft and fresh longer.