Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Tangzhong (Chinese: 湯種; pinyin: tāngzhǒng), also known as a water roux or yu-dane (Japanese: 湯種, romanized: yu-dane) is a paste of flour cooked in water or milk to over 65 °C (149 °F) which is used to improve the texture of bread and increase the amount of time it takes to stale.
Tangzhong is a gel, which helps stabilize the wheat starches in the bread, to prevent recrystallization which is the main cause of staling. The Chinese characters for the technique translate to "scalding method"
I had seen this claim that you could make home made bread, buns, rolls, sourdough, etc stay fresh way longer using this simple method that only takes 2-3 minutes. I thought it was gimmicky when reading about it so never tried it. First you have to know that homemade bread, rolls, buns, sourdough, etc will normally last about 3 days and sometimes 4 under optimal storage conditions in your kitchen counter top. I seldom needed it to last longer to be honest. But lately I have needed bread that would make it 5 or 6 days and I remembered this trick and decided to try it. I've been using this method for every bread loaf I've made about 2-1/2 months now so easily 10-14 loaves. I've had bread go 7 days almost as fresh as the day I made it. I think it could easily go 8 days, maybe even longer (I really need to test this more). This method only takes about 2 minutes once you do it a few times. The only other thing you have to do is subtract the flour and liquids from your original recipe to keep hydration levels correct. This is win-win in my book because the biggest complaint I hear people make who don't eat a lot of breads is how it goes to waste due to going stale before using it all. I use stale bread for croutons in recipes but you really only need so many croutons that take up space in your freezer. So give this tangzhong or yu-dane method a try and let me know your experience using it. You won't be disappointed!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangzhong
Tangzhong (Chinese: 湯種; pinyin: tāngzhǒng), also known as a water roux or yu-dane (Japanese: 湯種, romanized: yu-dane) is a paste of flour cooked in water or milk to over 65 °C (149 °F) which is used to improve the texture of bread and increase the amount of time it takes to stale.
Tangzhong is a gel, which helps stabilize the wheat starches in the bread, to prevent recrystallization which is the main cause of staling. The Chinese characters for the technique translate to "scalding method"
I had seen this claim that you could make home made bread, buns, rolls, sourdough, etc stay fresh way longer using this simple method that only takes 2-3 minutes. I thought it was gimmicky when reading about it so never tried it. First you have to know that homemade bread, rolls, buns, sourdough, etc will normally last about 3 days and sometimes 4 under optimal storage conditions in your kitchen counter top. I seldom needed it to last longer to be honest. But lately I have needed bread that would make it 5 or 6 days and I remembered this trick and decided to try it. I've been using this method for every bread loaf I've made about 2-1/2 months now so easily 10-14 loaves. I've had bread go 7 days almost as fresh as the day I made it. I think it could easily go 8 days, maybe even longer (I really need to test this more). This method only takes about 2 minutes once you do it a few times. The only other thing you have to do is subtract the flour and liquids from your original recipe to keep hydration levels correct. This is win-win in my book because the biggest complaint I hear people make who don't eat a lot of breads is how it goes to waste due to going stale before using it all. I use stale bread for croutons in recipes but you really only need so many croutons that take up space in your freezer. So give this tangzhong or yu-dane method a try and let me know your experience using it. You won't be disappointed!
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangzhong
