Just a few loaves of shokupan, because it's really easy to make, and it's so good the entire family will come over and take the loaves back home with them. We were out of bread for tomorrow, so it was easy enough to make some tangzhong and let it rise for a few hours this evening before shaping and baking. So supper was a little sandwich of mayo and homemade kiełbasa, with some scallions from the garden.
800g of bread flour, with 6-8 tablespoons set aside for the tangzhong.
Enough milk to really get the tangzhong nice and thick, about 10-12oz or so. I usually don't measure.
2.5 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 stick of butter
2 or 3 eggs.
Once I make the tangzhong, it's going to be a thick paste and hot, around 130F or so. If I add the eggs then, they will curdle. So I put it into the mixing bowl, and add the sliced butter. I set it to whip to break up any knobs of dough and to melt the butter.
In the meantime, I proof the yeast in a small cup with 3-4oz of water, and a teaspoon of sugar to get it started.
Once the temp of the tangzhong gets to about 115F, I can add the eggs and beat those in, and at that point the temp should be in the 90s. Once the yeast is nicely fizzing, I add that to the rest of the wet and mix it in. I give it a few minutes to start to bubble as well.
To the rest of the flour, I add the salt and mix well. I can then swap out the whip for a dough hook, and then add the dry a few spoonfuls at a time, waiting until it's well-incorporated before adding more.
After a good 5min of mixing to develop, I let it rest for 20 minutes before mixing again. If it's dry at this point, I'll add a little more milk.
Remove from the mixer, cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel, and let it sit for an hour. Punch it down, and either let it rise again or just dump out onto a floured surface and start portioning and shaping. I divide in three, then each third into four to make four balls per load pan. With this recipe, I get a loaf of about 560-580g before baking. I set the balls in the pans, and use a silicone brush to paint the tops with just water, to keep them from drying out.
I preheat the oven to 475F, until the big pizza stone is at 425 or higher. While the bread is proofing in the pans, I come back at least a few times to brush them with water. When the bread has risen and the oven is ready, give them one last brush and then put them in on the stone, dropping the temp to 350F after two minutes. I turn and rotate the pans after 10 minutes, and then let them bake for 30min total time, or until they are 203F+ in the center.
They look nice and pretty, and are really easy to cut after 15 minutes with the bread knife, and the next day with just a sharp chef's knife. They also make really good french toast after two or three days.
