A. Tangzhong - Mix flour and water in a small pot and whisk until there is no lump. Heat this mixture over low heat, keep stirring until it turns into a thick paste. Tangzhong is ready when the spoon used to stir leaves a visible trail all the way to the bottom of the pan. Turn off the heat and leave to cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap to keep it from drying before adding to the bread dough. This tanzhong can be prepared the night before or an hour before baking.

Cover bread pans with sprayed or greased cling film and leave to rise for 1 - 1.5 hours or until double in size. To know if it has risen enough is when the dough rises well to the top of the pan. Note: This recipe makes two 600g loaves.

Tips: During winter, pour boiling water into a wide long pan and place it at the bottom of the oven. Place bread pans on the middle rack. This helps dough to rise well. Remove from the oven 15 minutes before baking as oven needs to be preheated.

20 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 150-160°C. Adjust oven temperature accordingly. Next, use a sharp knife or a razor to make a light cut or slash down the center of the bread dough. Slashing is optional. Next, brush the top of the loaf with milk (optional). Depending on the oven, i bake mine for 30-35 minutes. Some ovens take 40- 45 mins baking at 150°C. Or you can check the top of the loaf that will look brown and make a hollow sound when tapped, then your bread is ready.

Remove baked loaves from the oven and immediately transfer them out from the pans to a cooling rack. Cover loaves with clean dry tea towel and leave to cool completely before cutting and storing. Cooled bread is easy to slice. I bake bread twice a week, usually in the evening and loaves ready around 10pm. Place loaves in a cooling rack, cover them completely with a tea towel and slice them in the morning.

See my Breville white bread recipe.