All-Purpose Enriched Bread

By Claire Saffitz

Total Time 1 hour 45

minutes, plus 6 to
26 hours’ resting
and proofing

Rating (878)

This dough, a hybrid of brioche and Japanese milk bread, bakes into a light, soft loaf with a silky
crumb. There are two key steps to the bread’s texture: The first is a tangzhong, or “water roux,”
which originated in Japanese baking but was popularized throughout Asia and beyond by the
Taiwanese pastry chef Yvonne Chen. The second is a long, slow mix that develops sufficient
strength in the dough to support a lofty rise in the oven. Unless you have superhuman strength
and patience, a stand mixer is required. The dough is slightly sweet, making it ideal for cinnamon
rolls or pistachio morning buns, and suitable for sandwich bread or hamburger buns.

INGREDIENTS PREPARATION

Yield: 2 loaves Step 1

Make the tangzhong: Combine the milk and 6 tablespoons flour
in a medium saucepan and whisk until smooth. Place the
1 cup/240 grams whole milk or
saucepan over medium heat and cook, whisking constantly,
buttermilk
until the mixture begins to thicken, about 2 minutes. Continue
6 tablespoons/50 grams plus 3¾ to whisk vigorously, making sure to scrape along the bottom
cups/490 grams all-purpose flour,
curve of the saucepan, until the mixture is very thick and looks
plus more, if needed, for work like smooth mashed potatoes, about 20 seconds longer.
surface
5 large eggs, chilled
Step 2
2 tablespoons vegetable or olive
Remove saucepan from heat and scrape the tangzhong into the
oil
bowl of a stand mixer. Cover the bowl and let the tangzhong sit
¼ cup/50 grams granulated
until it’s room temperature, about the better part of an hour. (A
sugar
cool tangzhong is crucial to ensuring proper dough
10 grams kosher salt (2¾ development; you can speed it along by chilling the bowl and
teaspoons Diamond Crystal or 1½ occasionally uncovering it to stir the tangzhong.)
teaspoons Morton)
2 teaspoons/6 grams active dry
Step 3
yeast
Make the dough: To the bowl of the stand mixer, add 4 eggs
½ cup/113 grams unsalted
(reserve the remaining egg for brushing over the dough), then
butter (1 stick), cut into ½-inch
add the oil, sugar, salt, yeast and remaining 3¾ cups flour. Fit
pieces, chilled, plus more, at room the mixer with the dough hook and mix on low speed until the
temperature, for pans ingredients come together as a coarsely textured dough, about
3 minutes. Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl
with a bowl scraper or flexible spatula, then mix on medium-
low, scraping down the sides once or twice more, until dough is
smooth, firm and very elastic, 12 to 15 minutes. It will have
gathered around the hook but still cling to the slides and bottom
of the bowl, and have a mostly tacky, not sticky, texture.

Step 4
Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add half
of the chilled butter pieces and mix on low speed until the
butter pieces have incorporated into the dough, about 5
minutes. Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides again, and add
the remaining butter. Mix on low until all the butter is
completely incorporated. The dough should no longer stick to
the sides of the bowl and will have a very smooth, supple
appearance. Increase the speed to medium-low and continue to
mix until the dough is extremely elastic, another 10 to 15
minutes.

Step 5
Test the dough: To see if the dough has built sufficient strength
and elasticity — which it will need to expand to its maximum
volume in the oven — stop the mixer and raise the hook. The
weight of the dough will slowly pull it downward off the hook.
(A strong dough will stretch the distance to the bottom of the
bowl, rather than tear.) You can also do a windowpane test:
Pinch off a golf ball-size piece of dough, and use your thumbs to
flatten it and work the dough outward into a thin layer. Slowly
stretch the dough, until it forms a thin membrane through
which light can pass. If it tears before that point, or as it falls
from the hook, continue to mix on medium-low and repeat the
test every 5 minutes.

Step 6
Let the dough rise: Scrape the dough onto a work surface. (If
the dough is a bit sticky, dust it very lightly with flour.) Fold it
in half several times to create a smooth, taut surface, then place
back inside the stand mixer bowl, smooth-side up. Cover the
bowl with plastic wrap or an airtight lid and let rise at room
temperature for 30 minutes, then transfer to the refrigerator
and chill for at least 4 hours and up to 24. (If making
hamburger buns or pistachio morning buns, stop here and see
recipes.)

Step 7
Prepare the pans: Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the bottom
and sides of 2 standard loaf pans with room-temperature butter.
Line each pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on
the two longer sides, then lightly brush the parchment paper
with more butter. Set the pans aside.

Step 8
Portion the dough: Remove the dough from the refrigerator
and uncover. Scrape the dough from the bowl and place on the
work surface. Use the heel of your hand to knock out the gas
and deflate the risen dough, which will be quite firm. Using a
kitchen scale and a bench scraper or a knife, portion the dough
into 16 equal pieces. (Each piece will weigh about 70 grams.) If
you don’t have a kitchen scale, you can eyeball it.

Step 9
Form the loaves: Working with one piece of dough at a time,
fold it onto itself a few times to create a smooth surface, then
gather the edges and pinch them together to form a smooth
bundle of dough that looks like a garlic bulb. Place it seam-side
down on the work surface and position your hand over the
dough, palm barely touching the top and fingers lightly cupping
it and resting on the work surface. Drag your hand — and the
dough with it — slowly across the surface, moving it in small,
rapid circles. The friction between the dough and the surface
will help tighten the dome so your loaves rise upward. You
shouldn’t need to add flour, since the cold dough is easier to
handle and much less sticky, but if your dough is slightly warm
or otherwise sticky, add just a bit of flour to make it easier to
handle. Continue with all the pieces of dough, then arrange the
balls inside the prepared loaf pans, 8 per pan in a 2-by-4
pattern.

Step 10
Proof the loaves: Cover the pans tightly and let sit at room
temperature, undisturbed, until the dough has doubled in size
and the individual domes appear puffed and balloonlike, 1½ to 2
hours.

Step 11
Meanwhile, arrange an oven rack in the center position and
heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat the remaining egg in a small
bowl until no streaks remain, then set aside.

Step 12
Test the loaves: For the softest, airiest bread, the dough must
be fully proofed. Test it by uncovering the loaves, lightly oiling
your finger, and gently poking the surface. It should feel filled
 with air, spring back, and hold a slight indentation from your
finger. If it doesn’t, cover again and continue to let it rise,
repeating the test every 10 or 15 minutes.

Step 13
Apply egg wash and bake the loaves: Brush the surfaces of the
proofed loaves generously with the beaten egg and transfer the
pans to the oven. Bake side by side, rotating each pan 180
degrees and left to right after 15 minutes, until the surfaces
have risen dramatically and are deeply browned, 25 to 30
minutes. Let cool completely in the pans, then cut along the
short sides with a paring knife to loosen. Use the parchment
paper to lift the loaves out of the pans. Slice with a serrated
knife.

TIP
The bread is best the day it’s baked but will keep, wrapped
tightly at room temperature, for up to 5 days. Toast lightly to
revive.

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