Sesame swirl buns – Tangzhong method

I don’t think many of you know this because you may be new to my blog but I LOVE making bread and a majority of the recipes on my blog have been yeast bread recipes. Now, I’ve been meaning to post this Sesame swirl buns recipe for the longest time now but I really haven’t gotten around to having the time to write it out or the focus to do so for that matter.

Anyways, enough of my mini rambly back story and onto the delicious bread recipe post! Today I decided to share with you a recipe for sesame swirl buns because I have yet to use black sesame paste in bread and I was running out of ideas. I also decided to use the Tangzhong (roux) method for this recipe because it’s not a method that many people know about and it’s been my fool proof method to produce super soft fluffy bread for years now  🙂 Oh and if you don’t have ground black sesame, no worries, feel free to use any spread of your choice like a jam, peanut butter or even…Nutella!

If you want to know more about basic yeast dough making basics, feel free to head on over to my bread making 101 post for more information

Sesame swirl buns recipe

Ingredients (6 buns):

2 1/2 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons yeast
1/2 cup warm milk (or soy/coconut/almond milk)
1 egg (substitute by adding 2 tablespoons more milk/oil)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons coconut oil (or butter)
1/2 cup Tangzhong

Tangzhong (makes 1/2 cup):

40 mL bread flour
1/2 cup water

Sesame filling:

1/2 cup ground black sesame
1/4 cup honey or agave

Let’s go!

1. Make the tangzhong by putting the 40 mL bread flour and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk the tangzhong until it thickens and swirls form. Then remove from heat and stir it for another 30 seconds so it can thicken a little more.

2. In a measuring cup mix the yeast, warm milk and a sprinkle of sugar together; set aside until foamy. Then, put the sugar, salt, bread flour,and coconut oil in a large bowl.

3. Whisk in an egg then our the milk mixture and the cooled tangzhong into the flour mixture.

4. Stir everything together to form a dough (if it still feels sticky you may need to add a bit more flour).

5. Knead the dough for 15 – 25 minutes until smooth and elastic.

6. Let the dough rise in a warm place for 1 hour.

7. While your dough is rising, prepare your black sesame paste mixture by stirring together the ground black sesame and honey/agave until it forms a paste.

8. When your dough is ready, place it on a floured surface and punch it down a few times to let the air escape.

9. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces and roll them out into flat ovals. Then, spread 1/6 of the filling inside.

10. Then, with a knife, cut 4 slices into the oval to create 5 strips. Make sure you leave a good 1″ of space at the end so that the strips are still attached to each other. Then roll the strips together starting from the side that still has the uncut 1″ Once it is rolled up into a log, pinch the end seams together to seal.

11. Lastly, roll the log up into a swirl formation. Continue to do this with the remaining pieces of dough. Then let the buns rise covered for 30 minutes before putting them in the oven. At this time you can preheat your oven to 350F

12. Bake at 350F for 15 – 20 minutes until the bottoms are golden brown. Then, Munch!