When I created the Squishsquishbread recipe last year and published it on Instagram, I was overwhelmed by the support. It was so well received that I made a few versions of it, to suit everyone's taste. There's all white bread, white+wholemeal, 100% wholemeal non dairy version, sourdough version, yeasted, discard, sweet stiff starter and sugar free version. It's crazy. I think I went a little nuts but I wanted to show you how flexible this recipe is, if you just knew how to tweak it.
Here, let me just share with you the original version. That one that started it all. It uses instant yeast, and everyone can make it. For those of you who love your sourdough, you will also get the recipe updated here. I'll get to it :-) I think I will classify this as intermediate baking level because of the higher hydration of the loaf.
Recipe makes 2 loaves of 20*10*10cm (450g capacity pan)
Tangzhong
40g flour + 200g milk
Tip: mix flour and cold milk before transferring to a non-stick pan. This prevents lumps. Cook on low heat with a spatula until it turns into a paste and reaches 65C. Do not overcook. Transfer to a wide bowl to cool. I usually make this the night before, put in an airtight container and into the fridge.
Main dough
200g tangzhong
590g bread flour (12-13% protein)
1 egg + milk = 290g
50g sugar
50g sweetened condensed milk
10g salt
50g butter
5g instant yeast
** Vegan milk is fine too. If you use water, please hold back 10-15g and add it depending on your flour's tolerance **
Mix everything except butter until the dough feels strong. It will take longer than a lower hydration dough. Add softened butter and continue mixing until windowpane stage. Check with greased hands.
‼️ Dough will be sticky ‼️
Round the dough and let it rest in an oiled bowl for 1 hour. Then, divide and shape.
Grease work surface (not too much or your dough will be sliding here and there) and shape with oiled hands and rolling pin. This will prevent sticking. Dough might feel a bit too soft if you're not used to it but it's ok. Don't worry about it.
Proof in the tin until the dough is 1 inch from the top of the tin. Bake both loaves together at 170C (fan on) for 33 mins (pls adjust according to your oven). Slice the bread after it has cooled down completely, the next day preferably.
Anyway, from all the feedbacks I got from Instagram, some think this bread is too sweet for their liking. You can completely omit the sugar, because the sweetened condensed milk is already sweet. If you can't find it in your country, you can use honey instead. If you decide to use water instead of milk as liquid, please reduce water by 10% first. You can add it in later when the dough is strong, and after you are sure your flour can take it. I make this using a stand mixer. I always mix until dough is strong and smooth. It looks silky and shiny, and when I pull the dough, I can stretch it out thin without the dough breaking. This kind of dough texture means you kneaded it correctly and it'll rise beautifully in the oven, with super smooth crumb.
If you encountered any challenges after trying out this recipe, do write in comment and I'll try my best to get back to you. Do try the recipe without changing anything first. After you have given the original recipe a try, you can then tweak it to your own liking. If you changed the recipe and encountered problems, I might not be able to troubleshoot for you as I might not have tried it myself. Fair?
Happy baking!
Lily
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