Chewy and Delicious Tangzhong Pizza Bread
Create the Ultimate Chewy Pizza Bread with the Tangzhong Method
Have you heard of ‘Tangzhong’? This technique, similar to making a flour paste, dramatically enhances bread by making the dough incredibly soft, creating a finer crumb, and imparting a wonderfully chewy texture. Using this magical Tangzhong dough, we’ve crafted an easy-to-make pizza bread that’s both delicious and visually appealing. Perfect as a snack or a satisfying meal, try making this pizza bread today!
✨ Tangzhong Ingredients- Bread flour 55g
- Water 230g
🍞 Bread Dough Ingredients with Tangzhong- Tangzhong (prepared above)
- Bread flour 850g
- Sugar 110g
- Salt 1 tsp
- Instant dry yeast 1.5 Tbsp
- Unsalted butter 75g
- Milk 255g
- Eggs 2 (room temperature)
🍕 Pizza Bread Topping Ingredients- Finished Tangzhong dough 600g
- Sausages 10
- Onion 1 (medium)
- Canned corn 1 can (drained)
- Mayonnaise 2 Tbsp (for topping)
- Mayonnaise (for garnish, as needed)
- Ketchup (for garnish, as needed)
- Parsley flakes (for garnish, as needed)
- Mozzarella cheese or pizza cheese, less than 100g
✨ For Basting- Egg 1
- Milk 20ml
- Tangzhong (prepared above)
- Bread flour 850g
- Sugar 110g
- Salt 1 tsp
- Instant dry yeast 1.5 Tbsp
- Unsalted butter 75g
- Milk 255g
- Eggs 2 (room temperature)
🍕 Pizza Bread Topping Ingredients- Finished Tangzhong dough 600g
- Sausages 10
- Onion 1 (medium)
- Canned corn 1 can (drained)
- Mayonnaise 2 Tbsp (for topping)
- Mayonnaise (for garnish, as needed)
- Ketchup (for garnish, as needed)
- Parsley flakes (for garnish, as needed)
- Mozzarella cheese or pizza cheese, less than 100g
✨ For Basting- Egg 1
- Milk 20ml
- Egg 1
- Milk 20ml
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
First, let’s prepare the ‘Tangzhong,’ which is the secret to the bread’s chewiness. In a small saucepan, combine 55g of bread flour and 230g of water. Stir until there are no lumps. It’s important to ensure the flour is fully incorporated without any dry pockets.
Step 2
Over medium-low heat, continuously stir the Tangzhong mixture with a whisk. The key is to cook it until the traces you make with the whisk remain clearly visible. Tangzhong can easily scorch at the bottom, so it’s crucial to keep stirring constantly, scraping the bottom of the pan, until it reaches the right consistency without burning.
Step 3
While the Tangzhong is still warm, add the 75g of butter that will be used in the bread dough and mix until it melts. This method not only helps the butter melt naturally from the heat of the Tangzhong but also cools the Tangzhong to an ideal temperature for mixing into the dough. You can skip this step and add the butter later during the dough mixing, but doing it now makes the process much smoother.
Step 4
Now, let’s start making the bread dough. In a large bowl, combine the bread flour (850g), sugar (110g), salt (1 tsp), and instant dry yeast (1.5 Tbsp) for the dough and mix lightly. Then, add the room-temperature eggs (2), the prepared Tangzhong, and milk (255g) to the bowl. While hand kneading is an option, using a hand mixer will make the dough preparation significantly easier and faster. Mix to a certain consistency with the hand mixer, then finish by kneading by hand.
Step 5
How do you know the dough is ready? It should be smooth and elastic, with very little sticking to your hands, much like a baby’s bottom. Now, let the dough rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size (about 1.5 to 2 times its original volume) for the first proof. If you want to prepare the dough in advance, lightly coat the surface of the dough with oil, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it cold-proof in the refrigerator overnight. This cold-proofed Tangzhong dough becomes exceptionally chewy and flavorful, elevating the pizza bread’s taste!
Step 6
Now, let’s prepare the delicious filling, the heart of our pizza bread! First, peel and finely chop 1 onion. Drain the canned corn thoroughly and add it to a bowl with the chopped onion. Mix in 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise and 1-2 tablespoons of sugar (adjust to your desired sweetness) to create the pizza topping sauce.
Step 7
To enhance the flavor of the pizza bread, lightly blanch the sausages in boiling water for about 3 minutes. This removes excess grease and gives the sausages a firmer, springier texture.
Step 8
Divide the first-proofed Tangzhong dough into portions of about 55g to 65g each. Roll out each dough portion thinly enough to wrap around a sausage. Place a sausage onto the dough and wrap it tightly. Make several cuts along the top of the wrapped dough and spread them out in a zigzag pattern to create an appealing pizza bread shape.
Step 9
Now it’s time to decorate our pizza bread! Generously spread the prepared onion and corn mixture over the sausage-wrapped dough. Sprinkle evenly with pizza cheese. Then, pipe ketchup and mayonnaise in a zigzag pattern. Finish with a sprinkle of parsley flakes for an extra touch of freshness and color. For a neat piping effect with ketchup and mayonnaise, use a piping bag or a ziplock bag with a small corner cut off.
Step 10
Finally, let’s prepare the egg wash to give the bread a beautiful golden-brown finish. Whisk together 1 egg and 20ml of milk. Gently brush this mixture onto the sides and top of the pizza bread. If you’re making multiple loaves, the second proof might happen naturally, but for the best results, allow the shaped bread to proof at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Bake in a preheated oven at 190°C (375°F) for about 10 minutes. Voila! Your delicious, chewy Tangzhong pizza bread, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, is ready! Isn’t it wonderfully simple?
