Why I Created This Recipe
Last week’s creation of the Black Sesame Marble Sourdough inspired me to create a sweet bread with black sesame. Matcha & black sesame is a classic flavor combination in Japanese dessert. So why not combine these two flavors into one recipe and make a Matcha Black Sesame Sourdough Babka?
Yudane Method
These Sourdough Matcha Babka have the texture that resemble most Japanese bread – super soft and fluffy. As I learned more about sourdough baking over the past year, I came across the Yudane Method. Yudane method is the secret to make a soft and fluffy Japanese style bread. In order to bake using this method, you simply mix an equal portion of flour and boiling water. The effect of adding boiling water to flour is that it gelatinises the starch. The gelatinised starch will allow the starch to absorb more water, and thus enhancing the sweetness of the bread.
Yudane method is in fact similar to the Tangzhong method I used in my sourdough milk bread recipe. Unlike the 1:1 flour-to-water ratio in Yudane method, the Tangzhong mixture is made by heating up a mixture of flour and water in the ratio of 1:5 to 65°C.
Ancient Grains In Sweet Dough
For almost every sourdough I bake, I will usually add 10-30% of ancient grains in my recipes. And spelt and kamut are my two favorite grains to use. 🌾 Some people might be reluctant to use whole grain flour in sweet bread, as whole grain bread are usually tough and dry. Fortunately, as I use both Yudane and sourdough in this recipe, this Matcha Black Sesame Sourdough Babka are not only moist and fluffy, but it also has a hint of nuttiness and earthy flavor. The ancient grains provided a more varied and complex flavor profile, hence greatly improved the depth of flavor of this sourdough babka.
Matcha Black Sesame Sourdough Babka
Course: Sourdough, Shokupan, Milk bread, Vegan Milk BreadCuisine: JapaneseDifficulty: Medium9
servings30
minutes35
minutesThis recipe makes one loaf in a 450g Pullman Loaf Pan (20 x 10 x 10 cm)
Ingredients
- Sweet Levain
50g active starter
50g water
50g bread flour
25g sugar (I used coconut sugar)
- Yudane
60g bread flour
60g boiling water
- Matcha Dough
80g bread flour
10g kamut flour
10g spelt flour
12.5g sugar (I used coconut sugar)
75g sweet leavin
12.5g vegan butter
Half of the yudane from above
2.5g salt
- Black Sesame Filling
3/4 cup vegan butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup black sesame powder
- Plain Dough
80g bread flour
10g kamut flour
10g spelt flour
16g sugar (I used coconut sugar)
75g sweet leavin
12.5g vegan butter
Half of the yudane from above
2.5g salt
Directions
- Mix all the ingredients of the sweet levain and leave it to rise until doubled or even tripled. It usually takes 5 hours.
- While you are waiting for the sweet levain to rise, add 60g boiling water to 60g bread flour. Leave it aside to cool completely.
- Once the levain is ready to use, place all plain dough ingredients into the bowl of your stand mixer. Using the hook attachment, knead for about 5 minutes until the dough comes together and forms a dough ball.
- Gradually add in vegan butter and continue knead for 10 – 15 more minutes or until reach window pane stage.
- Repeat the step 3 & 4 for the matcha dough.
- Cover and let it rest in a warm spot for 2-3 hours (or until the dough has doubled).
- While the dough is rising, mix the black sesame filling ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine.
- When the dough has finished the bulk fermentation, scrape the dough out to a floured countertop. Flour the top of the dough and roll the dough out to a rectangle using a rolling pin with the short edge closest to your body.
- Layer the matcha dough on top of the plain dough.
- Spread the black sesame filling evenly over the dough while leaving 1″ clean on the short side farthest from you. Starting at the side closest to you, roll up the dough into a tight log.
- Now, cut the log in the middle using a sharp knife. Pinch the two top halves together and braid the dough one strand over the other. At the bottom, pinch the two halves together again.
- Place the dough in a lined pullman pan. Cover the pan and let it rise in a warm spot, around 25°C (77°F) until the dough reaches 1/2″ below the rim of the Pullman pan. Mine took around 3-4 hours at 25°C (77°F).
- In the next morning, bake the bread (without lid) in the preheated oven at 180°C for 35 to 40 minutes.
- My Baking Method
- Preheat oven to 180°C with Challenger Bread Pan in it for 30 mins. Bake the bread in the Challenger Bread Pan for 20 minutes. Remove the cover and continue to bake for 15-20 minutes until the top is golden brown.
- If you are baking it without a dutch oven, cover the bread with aluminum foil for the last 20 mins to prevent the crust to turn too dark.
