My 19th experiment: 65C water roux sweet loaf

If there is anything praiseworthy, think about such things. Pressing for excellence on a skill is certainly one of the most praiseworthy thoughts. I'm so determined to get my buns right, I decide to try my improvised bun recipe again, with just small changes. My 18th loaf is satisfactory, but it lacked enough proofing time. This time, I give my dough ample time to rise. I also use a small amount of high-gluten flour instead of the unbleached flour.

Recipe: Sweet asian bun loaf with 65C water roux

Ingredients:

- water roux made from 1/2 cup water and 2 TB flour

- 1 cup unbleached flour

- 2 TB non-fat milk powder

- 1 TB white sugar

- 1/4 tp table salt

- 1 tp active dry yeast dissolved in 1 TB warm water

- 1 egg

- 1 TB butter, melted

- 1/4 cup high gluten flour to strengthen the final dough
- up to 1/8 cup high gluten flour for dusting

Procedure:

To prepare the dough:

1. Mix together 1 cup of unbleached flour, milk powder, honey powder, salt in a bowl.

2. Dissolve active dry yeast in warm water. Then add to the dry ingredients.

3. Save some egg white for egg wash later. 

4. Add water roux and the remaining egg to the mixture. Stir to mix until a dough is formed. 

5. Keep stirring for 10 minutes, and adding up to 1/4 cup of high gluten flour in small sprinkles, until gluten has developed in the dough.

6. Allow to rest until the volume has at least doubled. Put it in a warm oven to speed up the resting time if needed.

7. Punch down the dough. Rub in the melted butter.

8. Dust a dry counter with high gluten flour. Then place the dough on the counter to stretch a bit. Then cut into small pieces and shape them into small rolls. Place the rolls in a loaf pan greased with abundant butter.

9. Allow the rolls to proof in the pan until the volume has at least doubled again.

10. Preheat oven to 450F. 

11. Brush the top of the rolls with egg white. Then place the loaf pan in oven. Set temperature to 375F. Bake for 10-15 minutes.

12. When the top of the rolls are nicely browned, test the interior with a knife to make sure it's fully cooked. Allow the loaf to cool on a rack. Serve warm.

Results:

2:44pm, water roux made of 2 TB flour and 1/2 cup water:

3:00pm, initial look of the mix of all ingredients except butter:

3:20pm, dough's texture after stirring:

3:22pm, dough stirred intermitently for 20 minutes ready for its first rest:

4:15pm, dough after resting in a warm oven (heated at 150F for 5 seconds) for almost 1 hour:

4:18pm, dough's texture after rest:

4:24pm, the smoothness and softness of dough when held in the hand:

4:32pm, dough to be proofed again after it's cut and shaped:

4:55pm, dough proofed in loaf pan for 20 minutes in very warm oven (heated at 150F for ~30 seconds):

5:08pm, dough proofed for 35 minutes, with egg wash applied just before baking:

Oven preheated to 450F.

5:23pm, oven set to 375F, loaf baked for 15 minutes:

5:26pm, loaf got stuck to the bottom of the pan, and was torn when pulled out:

5:31pm, loaf's corner look:

5:27pm, loaf's interior:

7:51pm, a slice of this loaf:

Observations:

1. Compared with the dough of my 18th experiment, this time I have more proof time. I added an extra 1/4 cup + 2 TB of high gluten flour (in place of 1/2 cup of unbleached flour). When kneaded, the dough is extremely soft and smooth.

2. Wow! This time, with ample amount of resting, the dough rises beautifully both in the first and the second proofing. 

3. The resultant loaf is extremely fluffy when it just comes out of the oven.

4. Taste-wise, this plain loaf could benefit from having a little more salt.

5. I think the loaf is still on the moist side. The rolls have all stuck together and are impossible to separate. It might hold better if I had added more flour to the dough.
6. I leave this bread overnight on the counter, wrapped in plastic. The next day, the bread remains soft and light. It's amazing! The water roux really works.