How to use the Tangzhong Method

Tangzhong is an Asian yeast bread technique that is used to produce softer bread loaves (it's also called yukone or scalded flour). How does it work?

A portion of the flour and liquid in your bread recipe is cooked to form a thick slurry. The cooled slurry is added along with the other wet ingredients when mixing the dough. What's the advantage gained by this extra step?

Gluten free bread dough is generally more like a thick batter, wet to the touch. This makes it difficult to handle and shape. I have found that tangzhong slurry makes my dough more elastic. While the dough is still somewhat sticky, it is "firm" enough to manipulate. The finished bread is also softer. Want to try it?

See the example below. Don't be intimidated by the formula. Ignore it if you feel you understand what you are trying to achieve, you will learn by doing anyway.

Tangzhong Slurry

To make Tangzhong you need to set aside approximately 10% of the flour in your recipe and add water equivalent to 5 times the amount of flour used

For a recipe that uses 2 1/2 cups in total of flour

• 2 1/2 cups x 10% = 1/4 cup of

• flour 1/4 cup x 5 = 1 1/4 cup of liquid (water or milk)

Add the flour and liquid to a skillet on medium high heat. Cook the mixture, stirring often to form a thick jelly like slurry. Set aside to cool

Continue with the recipe as normal, reducing the total flour amount by the 1/4 cup used in the slurry (in our example that would be to 2 1/4 cups )

Add the cooled tangzhong and other wet ingredients but not the water or milk, to the dry ingredients and begin to mix or knead

Now add water or milk in increments until the dough is somewhat firm and sticky to the touch. You should be able to handle the dough relatively easily

If you are braiding the bread do so immediately after kneading. As the dough begins to rise it will get more difficult to handle and can fall apart

To create patterns allow the dough to rise in the tin, before scoring the bread. You may need to widen the cuts to prevent the spaces from filling back up. For deep scoring patterns, widen the cuts more

You may need to bake your dough for a slightly longer time. When done, the bread will feel hollow when tapped and the crust should be firm (not hard) throughout. A very soft crust often means that the insides may need more baking time

If you give this a try please, please share your experience!

Gluten Free Vegan Lemon Vanilla Donuts (Doughnuts)

Gluten Free Vegan Lemon Vanilla Donuts

These donuts are baked, the recipe as is will not make a good fried donut. After baking there are some who lightly fry each side of the donut to achieve that traditional crust. I have not tried this myself, not yet anyway...

Ingredients

Donuts

1¾ cup gluten free flour*

¼ cup almond flour

½ tsp xanthan gum (omit if in your blend)

½ tsp salt

¼ cup white sugar

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ cup coconut milk

1 cup water

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp coconut oil

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

*Use a light blend as opposed to a bread mix

Lemon Glaze

¾ cup powdered sugar

3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Directions

Donuts

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare your donut tin, this recipe makes 12 regular donuts

In a mixing bowl add the dry ingredients and stir to combine

Add the wet ingredients and mix or blend until smooth. The mixture should be somewhat like a pancake batter, not too thick, add more water if necessary (too little water will give you a dense donut)

Pour the mixture into the prepared donut tin, filling to 2/3.

Bake for 10 minutes. The donuts will be cooked at this point but if you want a bit more colour raise the temperature to 425F and leave for another 2-3 minutes

Allow the donuts to cool for a minute or two then carefully remove from the tin. Running a knife along the sides of the donut will make it easier to lift out whole

Once cool dip to coat with the lemon glaze. Let the glaze set for a few minutes before serving

To make the Lemon Glaze simply add the lemon juice to the powdered sugar and stir until all of the sugar has been incorporated. The glaze should be thick but pourable. You could also dust the donuts with powdered sugar only or another flavored glaze

Gluten Free and Vegan Boozy Plum Tart

This is one of those recipes where smell and taste is your ultimate guide. It's very easy to make substitutions for the filling (another fruit or berry) and for the crumb topping (any combination of flour, grains, seeds, nuts or as I did here leftovers). It's also a great way to recycle any baking mishaps. I used some donuts that just did not turn out right to make this crumb topping. Taste, adjust, bake and most importantly enjoy!

Gluten Free and Vegan Boozy Plum Tart

Ingredients

For the plum filling

300g plums (pitted and cubed)

2 tbsp GF flour

¼ cup brown sugar (more or less to taste)

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp rum

2 dashes of Angostura Bitters

pinch of salt to taste if needed

For the crumb layer

Leftovers e.g. cake, donuts, cookies*

¼ cup of whole almonds

1 tbs oil (or more)

sugar & salt to taste

water

*You can use an equivalent amount of flour, see the recipe for added info

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare an 8 x 8 baking tin

In a mixing bowl add the flour, half of the sugar and cinnamon to the diced plums. Stir to coat the plums

Add the rum and bitters and stir again to mix well. Taste and adjust sugar and salt if necessary (add even a bit more rum if you wish).

Scoop the plum mixture into the baking tin and spread evenly

For the crumb layer if you are using leftovers, pulse it to form a crumbly mixture. You can use an equivalent amount of flour, you will need more oil (or butter), salt and sugar to flavor the crumb topping

Chop or mince the almonds chunky or fine, whichever you prefer

In a mixing bowl, add the crumb mix to the almonds for a total of 1½ cups

Add the oil and mix well, the crumbs should hold loosely together if pressed, no need to form a dough. Because I use previously baked goods I needed very little oil to hold the mixture together you can add more if needed. The same with sugar and salt, add only as necessary.

Spoon the crumb mixture over the plums, press firmly to over and spread evenly. You can spritz the top with water to help hold the crumbs together

Bake for 30 – 40 mins, the plum sauce will bubble and the top will brown. If at the 30 minute mark my crumb topping has browned sufficiently, I will cover the baking tin with foil and continue to bake the tart for another 10 minutes

Remove from the oven, cool in the tin. Serve warm (my preference). Top with ice cream or whipped cream for an extra treat