Vegan Japanese Milk Bread

Step 1

Add tangzhong ingredients to a small saucepan. Set it on the stove at low heat and whisk until smooth. I used chopsticks but you can use, you know, an actual whisk. Once smooth, let it heat for about 5 minutes or until thickened (see video or pictures below), whisking occasionally.

Step 2

Add tangzhong and coconut cream to the bowl of a stand mixer.

Step 3

Keep the saucepan going on low heat. Add the vegan butter or margarine and let it melt, then turn off the stove.

Step 4

Add the melted butter and the rest of the ingredients except the yeast to the bowl, then start mixing in the stand mixer using the dough hook.

Step 5

When the ingredients are roughly mixed but haven't yet started coming together, add the yeast. We want to add it last to avoid the hot butter and tangzhong from killing any yeast.

Step 6

Now let the stand mixer knead the dough for 12 to 15 minutes. (See Notes.)

Step 7

The dough should now be soft and smooth. Shape into a ball and let it rest in the bowl, covered, for 1 1/2 hours.

Step 8

After rising, the dough should be about 1.5x its original size. Take it out of the bowl and flatten into a big circle, pressing out any air pockets.

Step 9

Slice the circle into eight equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball (see video) and place into a round baking pan. Or a square one. Whatever you have.

Step 10

Cover and let rise. After 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C).

Step 11

Optional: Mix the 'egg' wash ingredients together in a small cup and gently brush onto the risen rolls.

Step 12

Put your rolls into the oven at the 40-minutes mark. (My oven takes 10 minutes to preheat from cold. If yours takes longer, start the preheat a bit earlier.)

Step 13

At 25 minutes, the rolls should be lightly golden. Turn off the heat and let the rolls sit in the oven for 10 minutes before removing to cool. Let rolls cool in pan for another 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.