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Basic sandwich loaf (no egg, tangzhong optional, vegan substitutions provided)

This takes about 3.5 hours to make at minimum, but most of the time is inactive.

Yield: 1 standard loaf (approximately 20x13cm or 8x5”)

Tangzhong (optional), make one day before and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator:

66g (7.5 tbsp) bread flour

66g (4.5 tbsp) boiling hot water

Bread dough:

250 g (1 cup) warm milk/water (104ºF, 40ºC; ⚠️ in summer or if you live somewhere warm, use cold milk/water ⚠️ for a lower hydration dough you can cut the amount of milk/water by half to 125g but I would recommend you use the tangzhong if you plan to do this, however even without using Tangzhong the bread will still turn out well, just not as soft)

30g (2.5 tbsp) sugar (or replace 1:1 with honey)

7 g (2 tsp) instant yeast

350 g (2.5 cups) bread flour with protein above 12.5% or AP flour but for AP you will need to ensure gluten is well developed with a windowpane test. (For the flour I STRONGLY recommend you use a kitchen scale)

30g (about 2 tbsp) salted butter, room temperature; if using unsalted butter add 3.5g (about 1/2 tsp) of sea salt or 7g Diamond crystal kosher salt) ⚠️ you can replace butter with margarine or miyoko’s vegan butter or 36g (2.5 tbsp) of neutral oil. If using oil I do recommend adding 2 eggs for a better flavour and fluffier texture but it’ll still work without the eggs.

Note: If you want a richer dough you can add 1-2 eggs or an extra 2 tbsp of butter (do not add extra veg oil)

For Tangzhong (make 6 hours or up to 3 days ahead):

⏰ If using tangzhong, mix bread flour and boiling hot water until fully incorporated and no dry flour remains. Place in an airtight container and refrigerate 6 hours or overnight before use.

For bread dough:

Using a silicone spatula or your hands, mix all ingredients except salted butter / salt and butter in a large bowl (including tangzhong if using).

Knead or mix until no dry flour remains and keep kneading/mixing for 1 minute. If using a stand mixer, mix everything on low, speed 2-3 and scrape with a spatula or your hands to ensure no dry flour remains unmixed.

Add the butter. This will look messy and difficult to incorporate at first but trust the process and keep kneading, it will eventually incorporate into the dough and your dough should feel soft and not sticky. Once butter is fully incorporated, continue to knead for 6 minutes. If using a stand mixer mix on low speed until fully incorporated and dough is smooth and supple. ⚠️ If you’re using AP flour, knead until it passes the windowpane test. For bread flour I’ve never needed it to pass the windowpane test for the loaves to turn out well.

⏰ If you have time, refrigerate 8 hours or overnight to develop flavour and gluten (if you’re using neutral oil I strongly recommend this step). Otherwise let it rest, covered with a lid/plastic wrap/shower cap/wet kitchen towel for 1 hour.

Cut dough into 3 equal sizes and shape it by rolling into a rectangle about 20x25cm (8x10”), doesn’t have to be exact but try to make all three around the same size. Do a letter fold on the long side by taking the right third and folding it towards the middle, then take the left third and folding over the top of it (it should look long and skinny). And then take the short end and roll into a tight short log like how you would roll a jelly roll cake. Repeat for all 3 dough. Note: you can divide to more than 3 sections and essentially create a pull apart loaf.

Place the 3 doughs into the loaf pan seam side down, spiral side facing the walls of the loaf pan.

⏰ Cover and let rise 60 minutes. If you’re using a pan with a lid, close the lid at the 45 minutes mark. If you refrigerated the dough overnight, it needs to rise for 2 hours instead of 1 hour (room temp 25°C or under) unless your kitchen is very hot, check at 1 hour to see if it has almost doubled in size (about 80%, it should just about reach the top of the pan).

30 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) fan forced (or 195°C / 385°F without fan).

Bake for 30 minutes and remove from the oven.

Optional: Brush the top with melted butter (you can rub a stick or a pat of butter on top if you don’t want to use a brush. Let the loaf rest in the pan for 10 minutes.

⏰ Unmold and cool completely on a wire rack for a minimum of 1 hour (up to 2 hours) before slicing. If you cut it while it’s hot the steam will escape and give you slices with an unpleasant texture and create a dry loaf that becomes stale quickly. You can also bag up the whole unsliced loaf after 1 hour even if it’s still a little warm.

When ready to serve, slice with a serrated knife.

For leftovers:

Store unsliced at room temperature in an airtight container or bag for up to 3 days. Slice as needed.

For freezer, slice and place in an airtight ziplock or silicone bag. Press as much air out as you can and freeze up to 3 months. When ready to use, toast in a toaster from frozen or toast in a pan. If you want the bread soft, microwave on high in 10-15 second increments until thawed or just slightly warm. Don’t microwave too much or it will become rubbery.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Babka from King Arthur baking. Be mindful of the two longer rising time as the dough is yeasted. It is a light and creamy babka, we will definitely make it again. I couldn’t get powdered freeze dried strawberries so I ground up the sliced one we found to get the powder.

This version of cheese babka uses strawberry and lemon in the filling, creating a vibrant pink swirl throughout the loaf. Bake it today!

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