May 8, 2020 - 1:38pm
Tangzhong
I wanted to try out the Tangzhong method. I saw a recipe that used the typical 5:1 ratio of liquid to flour. I could've sworn the recipe called for a percentage of liquid or flour to be reintroduced to the recipe. Today I am reading a recipe that doesn't mention that at all. It just says to use 5 parts water to 1 part flour and heat to make a paste. In this case it's 3 tablespoons of flour and a half cup of water.
Question: Doesn't a good deal of the liquid used for the method evaporate while cooking? Is the hydration of the final dough high enough that any extra water doesn't have to be introduced back into the dough?
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After more pondering I think the answer is total hydration of the loaf. I'd be curious what the pros think.
Whats important here is you cook the flour into a silky roux. You may need to add a splash more water if it overthickens.
Simply make note of what you put into it and adjust your total ingredients accordingly.
My ratio is 2 heaped tablespoons of flour, about half a cup, to 6 tablespoons of liquid. But Ive had to adjust plenty of times to no detriment.
King Arthur Flour use 86g liquid to 2 tablespoons flour in their Milk Bread recipe.
... that you shouldn't lose much liquid. I have never measured water loss but when I make tanzhong on the stove it takes just a minute or two to go from runny to thick. If there is any water lost as steam, it is minimal.
But I'm not sure I totally understand your question. The recipes I've seen that use a tanzhong also call for additional liquid and flour to be added in the final dough step--in my go-to recipe, the tanzhong holds approximately half of the final liquid content, and I add more during an autolyse step. Is that what you mean by "extra water"?
This is the recipe I was referring @SirSaccCer. They mention weighing all the ingredients and then borrowing the flour and liquid for the Tangzhong. No mention of replacing anything. But perhaps the recipe was made for the method...
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2018/03/26/introduction-to-tangzhong