Tangzhong Roux

Tangzhong as I understand in relation to bread making is a technique in which a portion of the flour in the recipe is pre-cooked with water or milk to make a roux, before being cooled and added to the rest of the ingredients.

It is suppose to make the resulting bread stay fresh for a longer time with very soft texture, without needing to use artificial preservatives, often for days, longer than non-tangzhong breads.

5og bread flour
250ml water or milk or half of each


Whisk the flour, water (and/or milk) in a saucepan until smooth and lump-free. 




Place the stove, and over low heat, let the mixture cook till it starts thickening.

Keep stirring/ whisking constantly so no lumps form and the roux is smooth.

If you have a thermometer, cook this mixture until it reaches 65 degrees. 
Otherwise, a good indication is to stop when your whisk leaves concentric lines on the tangzhong like in the picture below.



Transfer to a bowl. Cover with a cling wrap sticking onto the surface of tangzhong to prevent from drying up. Let cool.

The tangzhong can be used straight away once it cools down to room temperature. Just measure out the amount you need.

The leftover tangzhong can be stored in fridge up to a few days as long as it doesn't turn grey, else you need to discard and cook some more.


Note: The chilled tangzhong should return to room temperature before adding into other ingredients.

If you are not making your bread immediately, the tang zhong will keep in the fridge for a couple of days, but will need to be brought up to room temperature before use.

The tang zhong is added to the main flour with the liquid and mixed in and kneaded as normal.


Happy baking...jue