I have experimented with tangzhong (japanese roux) in roll making for quite awhile now, and have finally hit the jackpot. My older veganizations of tangzhong bread were too heavy, using soy milk or vegan milk. I have taken my vegan parker house roll recipe, added tangzhong and the result is a roll that is moist, fluffy and stays fresh much longer (days)and does not have a dry taste when it hits your mouth.
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| You can see how fluffy and amazing this looks |
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| This will make a sticky, heavy dough that seems counter-intuitive to light bread |
Equipment:
small saucepan
small silicone whisk
big bowl for dough rising
plastic bag for covering rising bowl
some clean towels
bench scraper
big spoon
rolling pin
3-4 inch, or 7-8 centimeter round cup or biscuit cutter
8-9” round pie pan for placing the rolls
baking rack for cooling
baking rack for cooling
Tangzhong:
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 cup water
Ingredients: rolls
2 1/2 tsps or 1 package of active dry yeast (not the self rising type or the pizza dough, or the bread machine type)
2 - 3 cups of all purpose, unbleached flour
1 tsp egg replacer (I use Enter-G egg replacer)
2 tsps salt
2 TBL sugar
3 TBL tangzhong
2 TBL melted vegan butter
oil spray
as needed, warm water
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| Use this dough to make cinnamon rolls and doughnuts! |
Method…
Tangzhong: place the tangzhong flour and water in saucepan, medium heat, and use whisk to incorporate until mixture becomes thick and pudding-like and smooth, while constantly whisking to keep lumps out. Turn off and remove from heat when mixture reaches this consistency. cover with plastic wrap. set aside. refrigerate left over cover wrapped tangzhong.
Workspace and prepping: Have a very clean, dry, somewhat open, large workspace (like a kitchen island, or a large counter). Have a clean towel on hand, your bench scraper and tangzhong by your side and around 2 cups flour mixed with the dry yeast, egg replacer, salt and sugar in a big mixing bowl, set aside and ready to go. Have around 1 cup flour at the edge of your workspace, on the table top, ready to be dusted and used.
Step 1: Add the warm (not hot) 3 TBL tangzhong to the flour mixture, then add the melted vegan butter, then start adding warm water from the tap (NOT HOT), mixing with your spoon until the mixture starts forming a dough ball. This should just be coming together, not batter like but dough like.
Step 2: Dust your hands and work area with the flour you have setting aside, and remove the formed mixture from the bowl, fold it over a couple times, while dusting with flour until you feel you can knead it a little without it sticking to everything (although this dough will be heavier and sticker than non-tangzhong dough). Start kneading the dough, flipping over and pressing your palm into it, while constantly incorporating more dustings of flour for around 5-10 minutes until very much combined (yes, it will still be stickier than non-tangzhong dough).
Step 3: Let the dough ball sit uncovered, then wash your big mixing bowl with hot, warm water. Dry the bowl and put a little spray oil in the botom of the bowl. Transfer the dough into the warm bowl, then cover with the plastic bag and set in a somewhat dark place for around 1 hour or double in volume. Since this is a heavy dough, it must be in a warm environment to rise efficiently (warm (not hot) oven, warm bowl). This is the first rising. Clean up the workspace with the bench scraper and leave the flour pile to use for the 2nd rising.
Step 4: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, at least 1/2 hour before this step
Step 5: Second rising: take the dough out of the bowl and press down on it and start kneading again, while incorporating flour, until it is getting kind of hard to knead, approx. 5-10 minutes? Dust with flour and rollout with rolling pin until around 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) depth. Cut into as many rounds as you can get with the bisquit cutter or cup, then fold each round in half and pinch somewhat together and place in oiled pie pan (they will rise and stick to each other and become pull apart rolls). ALTERNATELY, make vegan burger or hotdog rolls by shaping into the desired shape. Cover with plastic bag, again, and let rise for another 1/2 hour - 45 minutes or until doubled again. Since this dough is heavy, it must be in a very warm environment to rise (warm (not hot) oven turned off)
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| Ahhh, you have never had a hotdog roll quite like these, promise. This is a field roast vegan frankfurter and if you have never had one, you must…they are absolutely delicious |
Step 6: Place in oven, and bake until nice and light brown (watch that you do not burn) , approximately 20 minutes. Remove from oven, place on baking rack until completely cool, spray with oil for that nice gloss and serve.
Store in tight plastic bags overnight when completely cool or freeze.
