Fluffy, airy, soft and sweet bread. This dairy-free tangzhong bread is so delicious and easily pulls apart. It's made with simple ingredients and this dairy-free version tastes just as good as the original version.
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What is Tangzhong Bread?
Tangzhong Bread is a popular soft, fluffy, sweet Chinese milk bread. It's absolutely divine especially when it's hot out of the oven. In Chinese cuisine, this milk bread is one of my favourites to date.
It's called "Tangzhong Bread" because the method of mixing flour and water together over heat to create a smooth starter paste is called "tangzhong". The Tangzhong method results in a super soft and airy bread.
Whenever my mother and I would go to the Chinese bakery, we would always purchase this bread. There is something so delicious about it thanks to it is amazing airy pull-apart texture.
This tangzhong pull apart bread is often enjoyd as a snack and you can even use it in a soft sandwich. It is not a bread that holds up like sourdough and you can easily press and squash it due to the extra air.
Since it's often made with dairy milk, I decided to create a dairy-free version since I don't consume much dairy myself.
Ingredients
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
Tang Zhong Starter
- Bread flour: not all purpose flour
- Water
Bread Dough
- Bread Flour
- Salt
- White granulated sugar
- Active Dry Yeast: make sure this is not expired!
- Large Egg: the egg should be room temperature
- Oat Milk: or substitute with a neutral tasting dairy-free milk you enjoy. If you're not dairy-free: feel free to use dairy milk.
- Tang Zhong Starter
- Unsalted Vegan Butter: the butter should be room temperature. I used EarthBalance vegan butter for this recipe which is made of 75% pressed vegetable oil. If you're not dairy-free: feel free to use normal butter.
- Extra bread flour for the working surface
Egg wash
- Egg
- Oat milk
Recommended equipment
- Bread pan 5 x 10 inch lined with parchment paper or well greased
- Kitchen scale
- Stand mixer (this is helpful if you have one)
- Whisk
- Measuring set
- Non-stick pan
- Large mixing bowls
Expert Tips
- Use a non-stick pan to make the starter dough so it can easily slide out.
- Let the starter dough cool down completely before mixing into dough.
- Make sure butter, milk and egg are room temperature so it doesn't affect the yeast activation process.
- If you have a stand mixer, use it to knead the dough.
- Cover and proof dough in a warm environment, like a kitchen sink filled with warm water.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make tangzhong bread:
Make tangzhong starter dough
In a non-stick pan, mix 35 grams of bread flour with 175 ml of water. Mix well. Bring to medium heat and keep stirring until the mixture becomes a smooth thick slurry paste.
It should be smooth enough to slide out of the pan into a bowl. If it is too thick then it will not incorporate into your dough well. This is your Tangzhong starter. Remove it off heat and transfer to a dish. Allow this to cool down to room temperature while covered.
Warm milk and make dough
Warm your oat milk in the microwave for 60 seconds or on the stovetop in a pan until lukewarm. Make sure your butter and egg are also room temperature. Any coldness will stop the yeast from being activated as it requires warmth.
Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl add bread flour, sugar, salt, and instant yeast and mix well. Then add egg, lukewarm oat milk, butter along with the 155 grams of Tangzhong starter. Mix until everything is incorporated and becomes small sticky ball of dough.
Knead and proof dough
Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and knead for 15-30 minutes until it’s smooth and not as tacky by hand or in a stand mixer. The dough should have an elastic stretchy feel with a slight sticky feel. You may use some bread flour here but not too much, about 2-3 tablespoon maximum to make it less tacky. If using a stand mixer, mix on medium speed for 15 minutes and then remove from bowl to knead again on a flour surface for a couple minutes.
Place dough into a clean greased mixing bowl to proof. Cover and allow this to rest in a warm area for 1.5 hours until it doubles in size. Tip: I rested my bowl in a sink filled with warm water. The warmth helps the dough to rise faster or you may need to let it rest for 2-3 hours until doubled in size.
Proof dough and divide into 3 balls
This is how it should look after doubling in size.
Once it has doubled, divide dough into 3 equal portions. Roll into balls. You may use bread flour here (4 tablespoon at most) but not too much as the dough needs to remain sticky.
Flatten the balls into ovals and roll it up
Then with a rolling pin roll each ball into a long shaped oval.
Then using your hands, roll the oval shaped dough into a roll.
Fit rolls into pan and proof
Pat the sides of each roll to make it smaller to fit into your lined or greased bread pan. Repeat this for the remaining two balls of dough.
Cover and allow this to rest in a warm area until it has doubled in size, about 45-60 mins. The dough should have risen to be a bit taller than the height of your bread pan.
Apply egg wash and bake
Then in a small bowl, whisk one egg with 2 tablespoon oat milk. Brush dough with egg milk wash before baking.
Bake for 25-27 minutes at 350 degrees F until the top is golden brown on second lowest rack.
Remove from pan to cool
Remove from bread pan and allow it to cool on a wire rack. Enjoy warm or cold.
Storage
- Leftover bread will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature or 1 week in the fridge. To warm it up, microwave each slice for 10-30 seconds or enjoy at room temperature.
- Freezer-friendly? I wouldn't recommend freezing baked tangzhong bread as the freezer air may change the airy texture.
FAQ
Don't panic. Just knead the dough over a few tablespoons of bread flour until it doesn't become too sticky. Add more bread flour if needed. Naturally this bread dough is supposed to be more on the sticky side. As long as you are able to work with the dough without it sticking all over your hands, keep at it!
There are a few reasons why it's not proofing:
- the yeast expired and is no longer active
- the cold ingredients like the butter, milk and egg were not brought to room temperature
- the proofing environment was not warm enough, try resting the bowl of dough in a kitchen sink filled halfway with warm water
- the bowl of dough was not well covered
It’s a paste made of bread flour and a liquid, either water or milk, then stirred overheat.
Chinese bread is so soft due to this Tangzhong method and allowing the dough to rise with the help of warmth and yeast. It is also usually higher in fat and sugar, giving it its airy soft fluffy texture.
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📖 Recipe
Dairy-free Tangzhong Bread
Ingredients
For Tangzhong Starter Dough:
- 35 g Bread Flour
- 175 ml Water
Bread Dough:
- 340 g Bread Flour
- 3 g Salt
- 30 g white granulated sugar
- 5 g Instant Dry Yeast
- 1 large Egg room temperature
- 140 ml Oat Milk or sub with a unflavored vegan milk
- 40 grams Vegan Butter cubed and softened at room temperature
- Bread flour to flour working surface
Egg wash:
- 1 large Egg
- 30 ml oat milk
Instructions
- In a non-stick pan, mix 35 grams of bread flour with 175 ml of water. Mix well. Bring to medium heat and keep stirring until the mixture becomes a smooth thick slurry paste.
- It should be smooth enough to slide out of the pan into a bowl. If it is too thick then it will not incorporate into your dough well. This is your Tangzhong starter. Remove it off heat and transfer to a dish. Allow this to cool down to room temperature while covered.
- Warm your oat milk in the microwave for 60 seconds or on the stovetop in a pan until lukewarm. Make sure your butter and egg are also room temperature. Any coldness will stop the yeast from being activated as it requires warmth.
- Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl add bread flour, sugar, salt, and instant yeast and mix well. Then add egg, lukewarm oat milk, butter along with the 155 grams of Tangzhong starter dough. Mix until everything is incorporated and becomes small sticky ball of dough.
- Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and knead for 15-30 minutes until it’s smooth and not as tacky by hand or in a stand mixer. The dough should have an elastic stretchy feel with a slight sticky feel. You may use some bread flour here but not too much, about 2-3 tablespoon maximum to make it less tacky. If using a stand mixer, mix on medium speed for 15 minutes and then remove from bowl to knead again on a flour surface for a couple minutes.
- Place dough into a clean greased mixing bowl to proof. Cover and allow this to rest in a warm area for 1.5 hours until it doubles in size. Pro Tip: I rested my bowl in a sink filled with warm water. The warmth helps the dough to rise faster or you may need to let it rest for 2-3 hours until doubled in size.
- Once it has doubled, divide dough into 3 equal portions. Roll into balls. You may use bread flour here (4 tablespoon at most) but not too much as the dough needs to remain sticky.
- Then with a rolling pin roll each ball into a long shaped oval. Then using your hands, roll the oval shaped dough into a roll. Pat the sides of each roll to make it smaller to fit into your lined or greased bread pan. Repeat this for the remaining two balls of dough.
- Cover and allow this to rest in a warm area until it has doubled in size, about 45-60 mins. The dough should have risen to be a bit taller than the height of your bread pan.
- Then in a small bowl, whisk one egg with 2 tablespoon oat milk. Brush dough with egg milk wash before baking.
- Bake for 25-27 minutes at 350 degrees F until the top is golden brown on second lowest rack.
- Remove from bread pan and allow it to cool on a wire rack. Enjoy warm or cold.
Emi
I’m dairy free and miss a lot of baked goods. Made this following the recipe exactly and it turned out amazing! Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
christieathome
This makes me so happy to read! I am so glad I could help provide a dairy free version of this bread as it's one of my favourites. Thanks for making it and I appreciate your kind comment Emi!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
Your recipe produced such a fluffy, gorgeous loaf. I could eat this every day of the week!
Katherine | Love In My Oven
This bread looks sooo soft and fluffy! I also love that it is a dairy-free option!
Caleb - Never Ending Journeys
This tangzhong bread looks so soft and delicious! I could go for a whole loaf of it right now.