What is Windsor Bread?
Windsor bread is a very popular milk bread that is typically sold at Asian bakeries, mainly Chinese and Taiwanese bakeries.
And that is where I first had my experience with Windsor bread.
I do not know where it gets it name from as it certainly does not originate from the city of Windsor here in Canada, however according to the food blog My Mind Patch, it’s name comes from a famous Taiwanese baker named 王传仁 who popularized the bread.
Windsor bread is traditionally shaped like a pull-apart milk bread that somewhat resembles milk bread rolls or milk bread dinner rolls.
In case you are interested in trying out a different variation of a milk bread recipe, here is a link to my Japanese milk bread roll recipe or if you prefer more of a bread loaf type of bread, then check out my Shokupan bread loaf recipe here.
Milk bread with Tangzhong in case you aren’t aware is well-known for it’s lush, soft, and fluffy interior that produces an extremely airy and light bread that doesn’t go stall for several days, a stark contrast to traditional western breads that tend to become stall and hard soon if left out in the open.
Typically the milk bread is made utilizing a technique called Tangzhong or Yudane which essentially cooks flour and a liquid together and gelatinizes it producing incredibly soft bread. Milk bread Tangzhong recipes typically use a very high hydration ratio in order to get that super soft texture that people love. This is the technique that we will be incorporating for making our Windsor bread.
Here’s what you’ll need to make this Windsor bread recipe:
Ingredients
Tangzhong:
Bread flour: 20 g
Water: 100 ml
Dough:
Bread flour: 290 g
White granulated sugar: 40 g
Table salt: 3 g
Instant yeast: 5 g
Milk powder: 6 g
Milk: 80 ml
Unsalted butter: 35 g (room temperature)
Egg: 1 (room temperature)
Egg wash:
1 egg 1 tsp of milk
Sugar glaze:
1 tsp of white granulated sugar
1 tsp of water
How to Make Windsor Bread
To start, we’re going to make our Tangzhong.
In a small sauce pan, add in your bread flour and water.
Heat the mixture over low heat while constantly stirring it until the Tangzhong becomes a thick paste.
Remove it from the stove, cover it with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for at least 20 minutes to allow the Tangzhong to cool down.
Next, in a large mixing bowl, add in your bread flour, sugar, salt, instant yeast, milk powder, 1 egg, and the Tangzhong from earlier.
Now using a stand mixer, give the dough mixture a quick few whisks then slowly add in your milk.
Continue mixing everything for 3-4 minutes then add in your room temperature butter.
Continue mixing everything for an additional 9-10 minutes or until the dough becomes nice and smooth.
You can check when the dough is done kneading by grabbing a small piece of the dough and stretching it out until light can pass through it and it becomes translucent. If it doesn’t tear then it is ready.
Then transfer the dough to a greased large bowl.
Add some oil to your hands to prevent the dough from sticking to it and then shape the dough into a round ball and place it back into the bowl.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a towel and then let it proof in a warm place until double in size (about 1 hour).
Once the dough is done proofing, de-gase it and transfer it to your countertop.
Shape it into a round ball and then weigh out the dough.
Next, divide the dough into 10 pieces.
Weigh each piece and then shape each piece of dough into a round ball.
Cover the dough to prevent it from drying out and then let it rest for 10-15 minutes to relax the dough.
Then after 10-15 minutes, take out each piece of dough, add some flour to it and roll out the dough into a rectangle.
Press down on the edges of one end of the wide end of the dough then roll the other end over to form a log.
Pinch the ends to seal it and then roll out the log until it is around 6 inches long.
Place each piece of dough onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper about 1-2 cm apart from each other.
Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place for 40-45 minutes.
After the dough has finished proofing, apply an egg wash to the top of each piece of dough by beating together 1 egg and a tsp of milk.
Bake the buns in a preheated oven at 350°F (180°C) for 16-17 minutes or until the bun is golden brown on the middle rack.
While the buns are baking, prepare a sugar glaze by adding 1 tsp of white granulated sugar + 1 tsp of water to a small sauce pan. Heat this over low heat while constantly stirring the sugar glaze until it melts and turns into a liquid. Remove it from the stove once it has turned into a liquid.
Now brush the sugar glaze liberally over the top of the baked Windsor bread and enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
I don’t own a stand mixer, can I hand knead the dough?
Answer: Yes, you can, however do realize that the dough is sticky and will be more difficult to knead by hand. Furthermore, you may need to spend a little more time to knead it compared to using a stand mixer, however it is definitely possible to hand knead it.
I’m lactose Intolerant, can I substitute cow’s milk with something else?
Yes, you can use either water, or some sort of nut milk such as almond milk.
Do I need to sieve the flour?
No you can just add it directly to the mixing bowl. No need to sieve the flour.
Do I need to add the sugar glaze to the top of the windsor bread?
It is optional, you can omit it or use something else such as melted butter, or some powdered sugar. The glazed sugar coating makes the bread look more shiny and presentable and is common in a lot of Chinese buns. It also gives the bun a slightly sweeter taste.
How come my dough is not rising?
There could be a number of reasons such as the following:
- Your yeast is dead. Check if your yeast is still alive by adding 1 tsp of yeast, along with 1 tsp of sugar in 1/2 cup of warm water, give it a good mix, then let it sit for 10-15 minutes. If it starts to foam at the top with a very yeasty smell then your yeast is still alive.
- Your environment is too cold. Yeast rises best in a warm environment
- You mixed in hot water with the yeast and killed it.
- You didn’t knead the dough sufficiently enough. Use the window-pane test to check if your dough has kneaded properly.
My dough is very sticky, is this normal?
This is completely normal since we are working with a high hydration ratio dough. That is why I recommend you use a stand mixer when kneading the dough. If you find the dough very difficult to work with and it sticks to your hands, you can apply a little oil or water to your hands to make it less sticky. Do not add too much flour to the dough!
My bread was not golden brown when baked like your pictures, how come?
You will need to adjust your oven temperature as your oven temperature might be miss-calibrated. No two ovens are the same so you will need to make adjustments. If the breads come out undercooked you will need to increase the temperature. Likewise if they come out overcooked, you will need to reduce the temperature.
Windsor Bread
Equipment
- 1 stand mixer
Ingredients
Tangzhong
- 20 grams Bread flour
- 100 ml Water
Dough
- 290 grams Bread flour
- 40 grams White granulated sugar
- 3 grams Table salt
- 5 grams Instant yeast
- 6 grams Milk powder
- 80 ml Milk (Lukewarm)
- 35 grams Unsalted butter (room temperature)
Egg wash
- 1 Egg
- 1 tsp Milk
Sugar Glaze
- 1 tsp White granualted sugar
- 1 tsp Water
Instructions
- To start, we’re going to make our Tangzhong. In a small sauce pan, add in your bread flour and water.
- Heat the mixture over low heat while constantly stirring it until the Tangzhong becomes a thick paste.
- Remove it from the stove, cover it with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for at least 20 minutes to allow the Tangzhong to cool down.
- Next, in a large mixing bowl, add in your bread flour, sugar, salt, instant yeast, milk powder, 1 egg, and the Tangzhong from earlier.
- Now using a stand mixer, give the dough mixture a quick few whisks then slowly add in your milk.
- Continue mixing everything for 3-4 minutes then add in your room temperature butter.
- Continue mixing everything for an additional 9-10 minutes or until the dough becomes nice and smooth.
- You can check when the dough is done kneading by grabbing a small piece of the dough and stretching it out until light can pass through it and it becomes translucent. If it doesn’t tear then it is ready.
- Then transfer the dough to a greased large bowl.
- Add some oil to your hands to prevent the dough from sticking to it and then shape the dough into a round ball and place it back into the bowl.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a towel and then let it proof in a warm place until double in size (about 1 hour).
- Once the dough is done proofing, de-gase it and transfer it to your countertop.
- Shape it into a round ball and then weigh out the dough.
- Next, divide the dough into 10 pieces.
- Weigh each piece and then shape each piece of dough into a round ball.
- Cover the dough to prevent it from drying out and then let it rest for 10-15 minutes to relax the dough.
- Then after 10-15 minutes, take out each piece of dough, add some flour to it and roll out the dough into a rectangle.
- Press down on the edges of one end of the wide end of the dough then roll the other end over to form a log.
- Pinch the ends to seal it and then roll out the log until it is around 6 inches long.
- Place each piece of dough onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper about 1-2 cm apart from each other. Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place for 40-45 minutes.
- After the dough has finished proofing, apply an egg wash to the top of each piece of dough by beating together 1 egg and a tsp of milk.
- Bake the buns in a preheated oven at 350°F (180°C) for 16-17 minutes or until the bun is golden brown on the middle rack.
- While the buns are baking, prepare a sugar glaze by adding 1 tsp of white granulated sugar + 1 tsp of water to a small sauce pan. Heat this over low heat while constantly stirring the sugar glaze until it melts and turns into a liquid. Remove it from the stove once it has turned into a liquid.
- Now brush the sugar glaze liberally over the top of the baked Windsor bread and enjoy!
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