Hacker News Reader

Comment by nkozyra | Hacker News Reader

> In this the flour and water are mixed together, and then cooked which causes the starch in the dough to change structure and become more chewy and gelatinous.

> They also usually cut the crusts off for you which, technically makes the sandwich less healthy,

I'm confused by this section. They seem to be describing how most bread is made and I'm unsure how crust is healthier ...

View on HN

It's like a roux sorta kinda - it really does change the texture of the bread: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SROWxMuu-Zc

My favorite recipe: https://www.ethanchlebowski.com/cooking-techniques-recipes/s...

The Chinese and Japanese have similar methods for pre cooking a portion of the flour and water before making the dough. This helps to give the final bread a fluffier texture.

Go to an Asian bakery and compare the bread to say a brioche.

Is it a similar technique to boiling/steaming a bagel?

Bagels are “fully formed” before you boil or steam them.

This paste takes a portion of the water and flour that would be used to make the dough. Then you make the rest of the dough and add the paste back in.

I don’t know if there are similar reactions though. But the process is different.

Tangzhong is when the flour and water are heated together to make a starchy paste which then gets added to the dough. Keeps the bread softer and more hydrated than it would otherwise

Thanks, all, for filling in the blanks. I think I'm still missing the health benefits of the crust, though

I'm guessing the intuition is that "white bread = unhealthy", and "crust isn't white"? Or am I missing something? Usually the crust is just the same dough as the interior, but perhaps the caramelization has some health benefits?

It’s basically an enriched dough, similar to a French brioche but you make a roux initially to inhibit gluten formation and make it more, uh, cake like I guess.

Basically white bread with more fat, salt, dairy and sugar and less gluten.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com