65°C Water Roux Starter
By tomodachi
“The innovation of this technique of making bread is the inclusion of a ‘water-roux ( Tang Zhong)’, that is cooking portion of the flour and water first (as opposed to cooking flour and butter for a proper roux in the traditional sense) before adding it to the rest of the ingredients. The water-roux is supposed to allow the dough to absorb more liquid due to the gelatinization of the starch in the flour, thereby allowing the finished buns to have a fine soft texture and not get stale as quickly.”
To make Water-Roux Starter:
5:1 ratio of Water Roux Starter: 5 portions of water (or milk) in gram to 1 portion of bread flour in gram
(Milk is better than water as milk yields softer bread.)
- Average
- Average budget
Ingredients
- Water or Milk 500 g
- Bread Flour 100 g
Preparation
Step 1
Mix flour and water in a small saucepan. Cook over low to medium heat, stirring continuously until it reaches 65ºC. It should have thickened to a paste at this stage, that is when you stir you can see the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat, place a cling film over the paste and leave until lukewarm, or room temperature, before using. (Alternatively if you don’t have a thermometer, cook as before until it starts to thicken, then continue to cook for about 1 more minute before removing from heat.) This water roux can be kept in an airtight container after cooling in the refrigerator for 1 to 3 days if not used immediately. However DO NOT USE if it turns grey in colour, that means it has gone bad.
To adjust any bread recipes using Water-Roux starter:
Simple calculate the total weight of all ingredients required. Then use only up to 25% of the weight in Water-Roux. Deduct the amount of liquid and bread flour used to yield the required Water Roux portion from the recipe.
For example: If the total weight of ingredients required is 400g. Then include up to 100 g, say 96g, of Water-Roux into the recipe. However, deduct about 20 g of bread flour and 100 g of liquid the recipe asks for .