Bacon Cheese Bread (Liquid Starter + Tangzhong)
This recipe is delicious even without any filling, so soft it's unbelievable haha... If you find shaping troublesome, you can simply roll or round them into balls and bake, no problem at all! If you don't like bacon, you can replace it with pork floss, and cheese slices can be swapped with shredded cheese. Honestly, I prefer the pork floss version 😬!
Ingredients
Steps
Mix the ingredients for the Polish starter evenly, cover with plastic wrap, and ferment at room temperature. You can prepare it the night before (in summer, ferment at room temperature for an hour, then refrigerate overnight). The fermentation time depends on the state: it should be bubbly on the surface, and when torn, the inside should appear to have a honeycomb structure.
Mix the Tangzhong ingredients (boiling water into flour) evenly, let cool, and set aside. (Make sure to use freshly boiled water!)
Combine all ingredients except butter and salt (including the prepared Polish starter and Tangzhong) in a mixer bowl. Knead until the dough is smooth and reaches a rough film stage.
Add butter and salt, continue kneading until the dough reaches full gluten development, and you can stretch it into a resilient transparent thin film.
Form the kneaded dough into a round shape, place it in a container, cover with plastic wrap, and let it proof for the first time at 26-28°C.
Proof until the dough has doubled to 2-2.5 times its size. A finger dipped in flour can poke a hole in the dough that doesn't shrink or collapse.
Evenly divide the proofed dough into 12 portions, gently round them, and let them relax for 15-20 minutes.
Take a relaxed dough portion, flatten it, roll it into an oval shape, and place bacon and a cheese slice inside.
Roll up from top to bottom into a cylinder. Cut through the middle lengthwise with a knife without cutting all the way and flip open from the cut, exposing the interior. Place in a paper mold with the cut side up.
After shaping, place in an environment with a temperature of about 35°C and a humidity of 75% for the second proofing. Proof until the dough doubles in size, and a light press on the surface slowly rebounds.
Take the proofed dough out (preheat the oven to 180°C). Brush milk or egg wash on the surface, pipe salad dressing, and sprinkle with chopped green onions.
Bake in the preheated oven at the second-to-last rack at 170°C for the top and 190°C for the bottom for about 25 minutes. (Adjust time and temperature based on your oven. I used a large regular tray, so I raised the bottom heat. For normal baking trays, you can set both the top and bottom at 170°C.)
Freshly baked! Couldn't resist tearing one apart to eat—absolutely fragrant and soft. After cooling to hand temperature, seal them for storage.