Traditional Kopitiam Bread

Sausage pork floss buns made with this dough

This bread is as soft as that made with the
tangzhong method but takes longer due to the time take for the sponge dough to rise. Its is also a good basic dough that can be made into various types of bread. It is less sticky than tang zhong dough and easier to shape. This recipe is available on various blogs but I have adaped the method to mix it in the thermomix. If measuring in the thermonix, round the amounts to the nearest number.

Sponge dough
214g bread flour
128g milk (I use full cream)
2g yeast

Measure everything into a bowl. Stir with a chopstick till you get a rough dough. Knead a couple of times till a dough forms and it holds together. Leave it to proof in a covered container overnight in fridge OR at room temperature until doubled (about 4 hours). I do this by hand as it is quite easy. You can also mix in the thermomix (speed 3 for a few seconds then knead for 1 min)  and leave it inside to rise with the cover and measuring cup on.

Bread dough
92g bread flour
1 egg
7g yeast
3g salt
61g sugar
12g milk powder
Sponge dough from above recipe
45g butter

Using your hands tear the sponge into small pieces. Add the sponge and all ingredients except the butter into the thermomix. Mix at speed 3 for 30s to mix everything together then knead with the dough setting for 6-8 mins until the dough looks elastic. Add in the butter and knead another 2-3 mins until the butter is incorporated into the dough. Initially when the butter is added the dough will become an oily mess, don't worry and keep mixing, it will come back into a dough.

Transfer to a greased bowl, cover with a clean towel and allow to rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled.

After the first rise, punch down, and shape as desired. Then rise again until doubled.

Breads after shaping and rising. I managed to get some garlic buns (left pic, top), 6 crabstick buns (left pic, bottom) & 5 sausage buns (right pic)

I bake at 180°C until golden brown (abt 12-14 mins). You may glaze before baking for more even browning, but for this dough I don't bother to as the high sugar content helps with browning.