Healthy Low-Calorie 100% Whole Wheat Pullman Loaf ❤️ Super Soft!

🍞Ingredients:

📍Tangzhong (water roux): Whole wheat flour 20g, water 100g.

See Photo 3 for how to make the Tangzhong.

📍Main dough: Whole wheat flour 290g, heavy whipping cream 60g, icy cold milk 40g, egg 25g, thick yogurt 50g, sweetened condensed milk 15g, sugar 20g, salt 3g, instant dry yeast 4g, butter 25g.

🍞Method:

1️⃣ Make the Tangzhong first as shown in Photo 3. I usually prepare it the night before.

2️⃣ The next day, mix 100g of Tangzhong with all main dough ingredients except the butter, then chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to autolyse.

3️⃣ After the 30-minute cold autolyse, knead for a few minutes until the dough stretches into a thick membrane. Add the softened butter and mix until it reaches the thin windowpane stage, as shown in Photo 5.

4️⃣ Shape the dough into a tight ball, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rise until doubled in size.

5️⃣ Gently degas, divide into 3 equal portions, shape into tight balls, cover with plastic wrap, and bench rest for about 15 minutes.

6️⃣ Roll out, coil, and place into the Pullman loaf pan.

7️⃣ Proof in a warm, humid environment until the dough fills 80% to 90% of the pan.

8️⃣ Bake at 180°C on the lower-middle rack for about 38 minutes, tenting with foil partway through.

9️⃣ Remove from the oven, tap the pan firmly to release steam, unmold, and cool on a wire rack.

🔆Baker's Notes:

1. Even though this loaf is 100% whole wheat, it stays remarkably soft largely thanks to the Tangzhong. Why is Tangzhong so magical? Look at Photo 3: normally, 20g of flour mixed with 100g of water is pure liquid. If you poured that straight into the dough, it would be too wet to come together. Cooking it into a Tangzhong gelatinizes the starch, locking extra moisture into the dough without making it soupy.

2. My whole wheat flour has 14% protein, which plays a big role in achieving that feathery shred.

3. Adding sweetened condensed milk, yogurt, and heavy whipping cream gives the loaf a rich milky aroma alongside the nutty wheat flavor, resulting in a great texture.

4. Whole wheat bread generally doesn't rise as high as white bread. To prevent a short loaf, it helps to use slightly more flour than a standard Pullman loaf; around 300g of total flour is ideal.

5. Because there is more flour in the pan, the baking time needs to be extended accordingly.

6. Flour absorption and how your oven runs vary from kitchen to kitchen, so adjust as needed. Hold back 15g of milk and add it gradually.

7. Controlling dough temperature is critical, so do not skip the 30-minute cold autolyse in the fridge.

8. Microwave wattage varies, so the time needed to cook the Tangzhong may differ. Mine is 1200W for reference.

9. Photo 9 shows a whole wheat loaf I made using the direct method; it came out much shorter with a coarser crumb.