Cranberry cheese bread

Two recipes as sources and both using Tangzong. The proportions vary. DreamersLoft uses 310g bread flour as well as 56g cake flour, with higher propotion of tangzong roux but less liquid overall as it uses milk powder. Bakomanic uses 318g bread flour and very little tangzong but has more liquid overall. Both however use 1 block of Philly cream cheese (difference of 10g between the recipes?) which is great for me as there is no leftover.

Dreamlovers makes 17 buns (35g dough per ball and proves twice for 40 mins each, and bakes at 210 deg C for 12 minutes. Bakomanic makes 9 to 12 buns (50 to 70g dough ball) and proves twice: first time 1 hr and second time 30 minutes, and then bakes at 180 deg C for 19 to 23 minutes. 

Both recipes do it the same way e.g. have to leave a gap of around 2cm around each bun as it spreads, and proofs and bakes with a dark coloured tray on top to give it sufficient colour.

Decided to try Dreamers recipe today.

Ingredients

Tangzong*

100g bread flour

500g water

1. Combine in pot and cook by stirring continously on low fire.

2. Once dough reaches 65 deg C, it is ready.

3. Use clingfilm to cover the top and touch the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Set aside to cool. This can be prepared day before and placed in the fridge then brought out to bring to room temp for an hour when about to make the buns.

Filling

Meanwhile, prep the filling. Bring cream cheese to room temp.

240g Philly cream cheese (1 box)

50g icing sugar (i used regular sugar)

25g milk

50g dried cranberries

1. Except for the dried cranberries, prepare the filling by beating the cream cheese with icing sugar and thinned down with milk.

2. Place into a piping bag. Set aside.

3. Rehydrate cranberries for 15 minutes in water. Then drain and squeeze dry. Chop into smaller pieces if they are too big.

Dough

210g bread flour

56g cake flour

20g milk powder

42g sugar

pinch salt

6g instant dry yeast (2.5 tsp is 7g) 

84g tangzong, room temp

85g water

30g egg, room temp

22g unsalted butter, room temp

Big oven. Pressed too hard.

Small oven. Bake 1 minute less aka 11 mins

Method (makes 18)

1. Combine the dry ingredients in KA bowl using Stir function (Speed 1)

2. Add the rest of the ingredients a bit at a time except butter. Stir. May need to stop to scrape down.

3. Once gluten forms, add the butter, small cubes at a time and continue to use Speed 1 to stir in.

4. Once combined, turn up to Speed 2 and then Speed 4. Beat for 12 to 15 minutes until window pane stage.

5. Add cranberries and Stir for 1 minute.

6. Remove dough from bowl, oil bowl. Tuck the dough into a ball and return to bowl. Coat the dough lightly with the oil from the bowl. Cover bowl with cling film and then tea towel. Set aside in warm area to prove for 45 to 60 mins (depending on room ambient temp) until expanded double in size. Check using the finger poke test.

7. Dough weighs about 630g. Divide into around 35g balls (makes 18). Tuck ends into balls and set aside for 10 minutes to relax.

8. Flatten out each ball with palm (coated with little bit of flour if required) and pipe in cream cheese, about 2 tsp. Gather the edges and pinch to seal, ensuring no leakage. 

9. Gently cup and roll around on the surface. Place on lined dark coloured tray. Ensure buns have at least 2cm spacing all around as they will expand. Cover with baking paper and then top with another dark coloured baking tray so they will expand flat and outwards rather than rising up. VERY gently press down to flatten as you don't want to burst them. Allow to prove for 45 to 60 minutes until grown 1.5x in size.

10. Bake for 12 mins at 210 deg C (only 11 mins in big oven), top and bottom heating. When baking, keep the tray on top so that it will not rise but instead expand sideways.

11. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks.

Receipe feedback

* The recipes makes far more tangzong than required, probably 3x the amount. I understand the point about drier flour needing to soak up more water, but if the tangzong produced is slightly less than 600g and only 84g is required, surely ⅓ of the recipe should suffice? In future, I'd make slightly more than ⅓  i.e., 30g bread flour to 150g water. Coincidentally, this is very closer to what Bakeomanic uses ie 3 tbsp + 1 tsbp (ie around 11g bread flour) is to 50ml water.

- Overall, I now recall why I hate tangzong recipes. The dough is very hard to handle initially in the mixer, super sticky and soft. It is still soft and sticky after proving but at least doens't stick to hands. , without noticeable difference in the softness of the baked bread.