Ham and Cheese Rolls with Tang Zhong

From summer to winter, I have been wanting to post this. I have made assorted buns several times with this same recipe, and it is great! Except during winter, it takes an extra effort to help the dough rise, and I struggle to tell if they have risen or not. As time passes before me, I have had so much I wanted to write, like I could do a babbling marathon, but now, completely swallowed my words. So here you go, a bun recipe. That's all I have to say after a long silence.



The best thing about tang zhong is that the bread remains soft till the next day, the worse part about tang zhong is that you will need to plan ahead. I never thought I was bad at planning, I usually have my schedules very well taken care of, but baking means giving up something, be it watching the telly, scrolling down facebook and instagram, having a relaxing Friday night out, or going shopping on the weekends.

So it really takes ALOT for me to blog. Because who knew putting clothes in the washing machine is considered as doing the laundry - "the first world problem" - is the problem, not just a cliché.

tang zhong / water roux 

50g plain flour
250g water 

method : 

1. whisk flour and water together with a balloon whisk. heat mixture in a pan on low heat, keep stirring until mixture starts to thicken. The slurry will have traces of line, when a balloon whisk is pulled through the mixture.  


2. remove from heat immediately. transfer into a bowl and let it cool down to room temperature. this can be made ahead of time and stored up to a few days in the fridge.

tang zhong will turn grey when it is bad and should be discarded



ham and cheese buns recipe
(makes 8 x 60g buns)

65g warm milk
30g castor sugar
7g dry yeast

195g plain flour
90g wholemeal flour
1 tsp salt
80g tang zhong / water roux (recipe above)

1 egg
20g unsalted butter

egg wash (1 egg yolk + 1 Tbsp water)

method :

1. slightly warm milk in a pan, place in castor sugar and dry yeast. set aside


2. in a large bowl, bring together plain flour, wholemeal flour, salt and water roux. add in yeast mixture. with a fork, draw in a circular motion to bring dough together. dough should look slightly dry (add 5-10g of water roux if it happens to be too dry)


3. knead dough, adding in egg and butter, continue to knead for 10-15 minutes, until dough is no longer sticking to the sides of the bowl


4. place dough in a bowl, cover it with cling wrap and let it proof for 45 minutes - 1 hour, until it doubles in size


5. shape dough as desired, let it proof for another 40 minutes on a baking pan, covering with cling wrap


6. brush the top with egg wash, bake in preheated oven of 175C for 15minutes

ham and cheese rolls

(makes 8 ham and cheese buns)

8 slices of ham
80g of shredded cheese
some sliced spring onion
mayonnaise (optional)

method :

1. with a portion of dough (60g each), roll it into a ball, then lightly flatten (shape of a pancake)


2. place a slice of ham on top, sprinkle with some cheese and spring onion. drizzle with mayonnaise. roll the dough from the end, tucking the dough in (just like swiss roll). seal the sides of the dough


3. with a sharp knife, cut the sausage shaped dough into 3. do not cut it all the way through


4. twist the dough to shape like a flower

For me, I only need one good recipe, and I am happy to stick with this - it works for me every time. Soft, fluffy wholesome buns. Thanks to Elin again, for sharing this recipe.