Tangzhong Method – Fresh Milled Flour Bread- Super Soft!

Have you ever heard of the Tangzhong Method for making Fresh Milled Flour Bread super soft and fluffy, and lasts longer? I almost couldn’t believe this one simple step could make such a difference, but it is unbelievable! Let me show you how you can level up your bread even more!

You do not HAVE to use the Tangzhong method to get wonderful fluffy results with fresh milled flour, HERE is my video on how to make super soft FMF sandwich bread without the Tangzhong method.

FMF=Fresh Milled Flour

What Is The Tangzhong Method?

The Tangzhong Method is a Chinese method of making bread softer, fluffier, and that will last longer. The method involves cooking a small amount of the fresh milled flour in a bread recipe with some milk or water into a paste, then allowing it to cool a bit. After it has cooled, you put that paste into your dough, and wow what a difference!

How Does The Tangzhong Method Work?

Cooking the small amount of flour before hand, allows the starch in the freshly milled wheat flour to gelatinize. This allows the flour to be able to absorb more liquid than normal, which results in the softer fluffier bread. Also, this tangzhong method allows the bread to last longer after baking. So, it is a method of preservation without adding artificial preservatives.

When To Use The Tangzhong Method With Fresh Milled Flour?

I have been experimenting with this method for a while, and I recommend using the Tangzhong method for your fresh milled flour breads, rolls, and buns. But, I do think just about any FMF recipe could benefit from this “paste.” So, basically, any dough you want to be softer and fluffier.

Ingredients To Make Soft Fresh Milled Flour Sandwich Bread With The Tangzhong Method

• 6&1/8 cup fresh milled flour, divided 735g (Hard wheat for this. I use 615g hard white wheat and 120g of Kamut.) *See notes for alternatives
• 1 cup milk 250g (can sub for water if needed)
• 1 cup water 240g
• 4 TBSP softened butter, unsalted 57g (can sub for oil)
• 4 TBSP Honey 84g (can sub for sugar)
• 2&1/2 tsp sea salt (If using salted butter, decrease to 2&1/4 tsp salt)
• 2 eggs 100g
• 1 TBSP lemon juice 15g
• 4 tsp instant yeast (Use 4&1/2 tsp if using active dry yeast)

Instructions To Make Soft Fresh Milled Flour Sandwich Bread With The Tangzhong Method

Make The Tangzhong Paste

1. Firstly, mill the flour. I mill 735g total of wheat berries to get my fresh milled flour. But, this flour will be used in two different places in the recipe.
2. So, let’s use part of the flour to make the paste.
3. Put 1/2 cup of fresh milled flour (60g) and 1 cup milk (250g) into a sauce pan, stir to combine.
4. Heat this mixture on medium-high heat until it forms a paste. This should only take about 3-5 minutes. Once it forms a paste, remove from the heat, and allow it to cool at room temperature.

Make The Dough

1. While that mixture is cooling, put the water, softened butter, honey, salt, eggs, and lemon juice into your mixer.
2. Mix these ingredients to incorporate. Then add in the paste mixture.
3. Then, add the remaining flour into the mixing bowl, and mix to combine until no flour is left. Cover, and let this mixture sit for about 15 minutes. This is the autolyse period and it allows the fresh milled flour to absorb the liquid and the bran to soften. Because the yeast is not in the mixture yet, you can do this autolyse period for longer if you prefer.
4. After the autloyse period, then put in the yeast, and mix to incorporate.
5. Once the yeast is added, Start the kneading process. Make sure not to knead the dough with the cover on your mixer, this will overheat your dough, and cause it to break down.
6. Knead until the dough is nice and stretchy. Typically, 6-8 minutes in a Bosch style mixer, 16-20 minutes in an Ankarsrum style mixer, or 25-30 minutes in a Kitchen aid mixer (allow extra time for a Kitchen Aid style mixer to have breaks in between kneading to prevent overheating of the mixer.) These kneading times will vary for everyone, this is just the most common times for these style of mixers.
7. Once the dough is nice and stretchy, and doesn’t easily tear. Then, cover and allow it to rise until double. This can take somewhere between 1-2 hours. (Instant yeast or warmer rooms will be closer to 1 hour. Active dry yeast or cooler rooms will be closer to 2 hours.)
8. While the dough is rising, prepare your bread pans with parchment paper, or softened butter.

Shape & Bake The Loaves

1. Once the dough has doubled in size, place some olive oil on your counter, and hands. Then, divide the dough in half.
2. Shape the dough into 2 bread loaves with some surface tension. I like to flatten each piece of dough, then fold two corners into make a triangle tip. Then, lightly pull (not so tight that it rips the dough) to create tension, and roll the triangle into the dough all the way up until it forms a loaf. You can pinch the ends together. After shaping, the top should have a tight tension on the top of the loaf, this helps with the rise also. *see video
3. Put each shaped loaf into each prepared bread pan, cover, and then allow to rise a second time. 40-50 minutes. (*Tip- usually the second rise time is close to half the the first rise time.)
4. During the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 350*F.
5. Once the loaves have risen, they should appear nice and puffy, then bake for 38-43 minutes. Check the center of the loaf to make sure they are done. The internal center of the loaf should be at 190*F for yeast breads.
6. Once they have finished baking, remove from the oven, and carefully dump them out of the bread pans onto a cooling rack. I like to place mine on their sides as the cool.
7. Once the loaves have cooled, you can slice and enjoy. If you slice into them while they are still hot, this can cause them to be crumbly the next day or gummy. So, try to resist cutting them while hot.

How To Store Fresh Milled Flour Bread Made With The Tangzhong Method

To store fresh milled flour bread made with the Tangzhong method, it will last a little longer on your counter than bread without using this method. However, we still love to allow the loaf to cool completely, then slice it and place it in a freezer safe container or bag. Freeze for up to 4 months. To thaw, just place however many slices you want on the counter to come to room temperature, usually about an hour or so.

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Checkout Some Of My Other FMF Recipes

FMF Soft Sandwich Bread (Non- Tangzhong Method)

Soft Pretzels

Tortillas

Cornbread

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Pumpkin Roll With Cream Cheese Filling

Blueberry Bread

Apple Fritters

Fresh Milled Flour Recipe Index

Fresh Milled Flour Bread Tangzhong Method Video Tutorial

Tangzhong Method With Fresh Milled Flour Bread Printable Recipe

Tangzhong Method with Fresh Milled Flour Bread

Grains In Small Places

The Tangzhong Method makes the most soft and fluffy Fresh Milled Flour Bread ever! Just this one extra step makes a HUGE difference!

4.95 from 17 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

rise time + cooling time 4 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 5 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Servings 2 loaves

Ingredients

  

• 6&1/8 cup fresh milled flour, divided 735g (Hard wheat for this.) I use 615g hard white wheat and 120g of Kamut. *See Notes for alternatives
• 1 cup milk 250g can sub for water if needed
• 1 cup water 240g
• 4 TBSP softened butter unsalted 57g (can sub for oil)
• 4 TBSP Honey 84g can sub for sugar
• 2&1/2 tsp sea salt If using salted butter, decrease to 2&1/4 tsp salt
• 2 eggs 100g
• 1 TBSP lemon juice 15g
• 4 tsp instant yeast Use 4&1/2 tsp if using active dry yeast

Instructions

 

• Firstly, mill the flour. I mill 735g total of wheat berries to get my fresh milled flour. But, this flour will be used in two different places in the recipe.
• So, let's use part of the flour to make the paste.
• Put 1/2 cup of fresh milled flour (60g) and 1 cup milk (250g) into a sauce pan, stir to combine.
• Heat this mixture on medium-high heat until it forms a paste. This should only take about 3-5 minutes. Once it forms a paste, remove from the heat, and allow it to cool at room temperature.
  
• While that mixture is cooling, put the water, softened butter, honey, salt, eggs, and lemon juice into your mixer.
  
• Mix these ingredients to incorporate. Then add in the paste mixture.
• Then, add the remaining flour into the mixing bowl, and mix to combine until no flour is left. Cover, and let this mixture sit for about 15 minutes. This is the autolyse period and it allows the fresh milled flour to absorb the liquid and the bran to soften. Because the yeast is not in the mixture yet, you can do this autolyse period for longer if you prefer.
• After the autloyse period, then put in the yeast, and mix to incorporate.
• Once the yeast is added, Start the kneading process. Make sure not to knead the dough with the cover on your mixer, this will overheat your dough, and cause it to break down.
• Knead until the dough is nice and stretchy. Typically, 6-8 minutes in a Bosch style mixer, 16-20 minutes in an Ankarsrum style mixer, or 25-30 minutes in a Kitchen aid mixer (allow extra time for a Kitchen Aid style mixer to have breaks in between kneading to prevent overheating of the mixer.) These kneading times will vary for everyone, this is just the most common times for these style of mixers.
• Once the dough is nice and stretchy, and doesn’t easily tear. Then, cover and allow it to rise until double. This can take somewhere between 1-2 hours. (Instant yeast or warmer rooms will be closer to 1 hour. Active dry yeast or cooler rooms will be closer to 2 hours.)
• While the dough is rising, prepare your bread pans with parchment paper, or softened butter.
  
• Once the dough has doubled in size, place some olive oil on your counter, and hands. Then, divide the dough in half.
• Shape the dough into 2 bread loaves with some surface tension. I like to flatten each piece of dough, then fold two corners into make a triangle tip. Then, lightly pull (not so tight that it rips the dough) to create tension, and roll the triangle into the dough all the way up until it forms a loaf. You can pinch the ends together. After shaping, the top should have a tight tension on the top of the loaf, this helps with the rise also. *see video
  
• Put each shaped loaf into each prepared bread pan, cover, and then allow to rise a second time. 40-50 minutes. (*Tip- usually the second rise time is close to half the the first rise time.)
• During the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 350*F.
• Once the loaves have risen, they should appear nice and puffy, then bake for 38-43 minutes. Check the center of the loaf to make sure they are done. The internal center of the loaf should be at 190*F for yeast breads.
• Once they have finished baking, remove from the oven, and carefully dump them out of the bread pans onto a cooling rack. I like to place mine on their sides as the cool.
  
• Once the loaves have cooled, you can slice and enjoy. If you slice into them while they are still hot, this can cause them to be crumbly the next day or gummy. So, try to resist cutting them while hot.
  

Video

Notes

Make sure you are using mostly a hard wheat for bread recipes. You can use all hard white wheat if you don’t have Kamut (Khorasan,) but I highly recommend using a little Kamut. You can sub hard red in for the hard white, or part of the hard white, but you may need to increase the amount of flour by just a bit if so.

*To store fresh milled flour bread made with the Tangzhong method, it will last a little longer on your counter than bread without using this method. However, we still love to allow the loaf to cool completely, then slice it and place it in a freezer safe container or bag. Freeze for up to 4 months. To thaw, just place however many slices you want on the counter to come to room temperature, usually about an hour or so. 

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