High Rise Yukone Bread

After many attempts in the quest to find a bread that has the same keeping quality as supermarket bread without additives, the answer is getting closer. Shown here is a lofty loaf made with 20% flour weight yukone (hot water dough, 1:1 flour to water, 90 deg Celsius) and 2% flour weight starch gel (tangzhong, 1:5 flour to water, 65 deg Celsius). The hot water dough and starch gel enable the reduction of commercial amylase based improver to one quarter. Without the starch gel, the Yukone bread takes much longer to proof, and rises less than a standard loaf.




The high rise effect can be seen in this picture of a bread made with 5% flour weight starch gel, without the yukone. It is clear that the yeast activity is boosted by the starch gel giving rise to increased volume and a much faster rising time, in addition to the increased hydration of the soft, fluffy bread texture.

The use of Chinglish (language of a native Chinese with English as a second foreign language) translation of "tangzhong" as water roux in many Asian baking blogs, seems a misnomer as a roux is French for fat and flour. In the context of how tangzhong works, perhaps these are better translations:

• growth activator
• yeast booster
• starch gel improver
• loaf enhancer
• rise accelerator
  

To make high rise yukone bread using sponge-dough technique :

Sponge
175 g flour (12% protein)
115 mL milk + 3 x 5 mL as needed
4 g yeast
1 g (1/4 t) yeast food (Lecimax)
0.5 g (1/4 t) emulsifier (lecithin)
5 g nonfat milk powder, omitted in this trial

Mix to stiff dough. Ferment in the fridge overnight.

Yukone (hot water dough)
50 g flour
50 mL boiling water

Mix to a soft sticky dough. Maturate in the fridge overnight

Starch Gel (tangzhong)
5 g flour
25 mL boiling water

Mix to a watery grainy custard-like gel. Maturate in the fridge overnight.

Bread Dough
20 g flour
10 g sugar
2 g (1/2 t) salt
10 g (2 t) shortening

To make bread, mix fermented sponge, maturated yukone and starch gel with the rest of the dough ingredients, except the shortening, to form a soft dough. Rest for 10 minutes. Knead to a smooth dough. Add shortening. Knead until the dough is stretchy. Kneading takes around 20 minutes by hand. Proof at room temperature until double. Knock down. Knead well. Scale and shape. Proof at room temperature or in the fridge until triple. Bake at 180 deg C for 30 minutes for a loaf, or 220 deg C for 15 minutes for rolls.