A couple of months ago, I conducted an experiment exploring bread-making techniques using Tanzhong, Yudane, and Yogurt. I’m still figuring out how to best present all the findings in a blog post, but here’s the key takeaway: incorporating any of these three methods results in a bread that is more tender compared to traditional methods.
These yogurt buns are inspired by one of the bread recipes I developed during the experiment. I discovered that I really enjoyed the flavor that yogurt adds to sweet breads, particularly yeasted ones, which often lack the complexity of flavor found in sourdough. The acidity of yogurt also helps to relax the gluten in the dough, resulting in soft and tender buns.
There is one caveat: the acidity of yogurt inhibits gluten formation, causing the dough to require much more time to knead and come together. Therefore, it is beneficial to use high-gluten bread flour when incorporating yogurt, or to be prepared to knead the dough for a significantly longer period to develop the gluten.
Looking for more bun recipes? Check these out:
- Basic Soft Bread Rolls (Tangzong)
- Baked Ube Bun [Sourdough or Yeasted]
- Butter Milk Buns [Sourdough or Yeasted]
- Scallion & Pork Floss Rolls [Sourdough or Yeasted]
Soft Raisin Yogurt Buns
Equipment
- 10×10 baking pan or equivalent
Ingredients
Main Dough
- 135 g milk
- 40 g sugar
- 1 tsp active dry yeast
- 50 g greek yogurt
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 300 g bread flour
- 25 g unsalted butter
Filling
- raisins
Egg wash
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp water
Instructions
- Heat up milk in a microwave for 30s. Dissolve in sugar and sprinkle yeast on top. Let sit for 5 minutes or until foamy.
- Add in greek yogurt, egg, salt and flour. Knead until a rough dough forms. The dough is wet and sticky, kneading by machine is ideal, kneading by hand may take 10+ minutes. Once the dough comes together, add butter and continue to knead until the it becomes smooth. Cover and let rise for about 1 hour.
- Divide dough into 9 equal pieces. Shape into ball, cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
- Working with 1 dough ball at a time, roll it out into a long strip. Add raisins or dried fruit of choice, pressing them into the dough. Roll up the dough from one end and before you reach the end, fold the sides in and then roll to close. Pinch the seams close and shape into a ball. Repeat with the rest of the dough balls. Cover and let rise for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 350F. Brush with egg wash and bake for about 15 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
