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The tangzhong calculator
for genuinely softer bread
Quick answer
Tangzhong paste flour = total recipe flour × your chosen percentage; paste liquid = that flour weight × 5. Example: 500g flour at 6% tangzhong = 30g paste flour and 150g paste water.
The tangzhong calculator above takes your total flour weight and target hydration, then calculates the exact water roux quantities you need. Enter your recipe and it adjusts the remaining flour and water automatically so your final dough hydration stays exactly where you want it.
Tangzhong is a Chinese baking technique that pre-gelatinises a portion of the flour before it goes into the dough. When flour and water are heated together to around 65°C, the starch granules absorb far more moisture than raw flour can. That extra bound water stays in the bread as it bakes, giving you a crumb that is noticeably softer, more pillowy, and stays fresher for longer.
It works in enriched breads, sourdough sandwich loaves, brioche, milk bread, and any recipe where a tender crumb is the goal. The standard starting point is 5 to 6% of your total flour weight cooked with five times that weight in water.
Pick a preset above to fill these exact quantities into the calculator.
6%
Typical flour ratio for roux
65°C
Starch gelatinisation point
5:1
Water to flour ratio in roux
How It Works
How the water roux actually softens bread
Raw flour holds onto water loosely. Mix it straight into a dough and a good chunk of that water stays free to migrate, which is exactly what makes bread go stale: the free water moves out of the starch and into the crust, or evaporates, and the crumb firms up as the starch recrystallises. Cooking a portion of the flour with water to around 65°C changes that relationship. The starch granules swell, rupture and lock the water inside their structure in a process called gelatinisation. Once that water is bound this way it doesn’t easily leave again, so the crumb stays softer for days rather than hours.
The calculator supports three versions of the same idea, and the ratio is what separates them. Tangzhong mode cooks the paste gently on the hob to a true 65°C using five parts water to one part flour by weight, which is why 30g of paste flour needs 150g of water. Yudane skips the stove entirely: you pour boiling water straight over the flour at a roughly 1:1 ratio and stir it into a thick paste, relying on the water’s own heat to gelatinise the starch. The scalded milk method swaps water for milk, heated closer to 85 to 90°C, trading a touch of the softness for extra richness and natural sweetness from the milk sugars. Whichever mode you pick, the calculator subtracts that roux liquid from your recipe’s total, so your final hydration lands exactly where you planned it, not higher.
Worked example: a batch of milk buns
Say you’re making a batch of soft milk buns for a lazy Sunday bake (the kind that pull apart in glossy, pillowy pieces), using the calculator’s milk bread preset: 500g flour and 280g milk, mixed in tangzhong mode at the standard 6%.
- Paste flour: 500g × 6% = 30g
- Paste milk (5:1 ratio in tangzhong mode): 30g × 5 = 150g
- Remaining flour: 500g - 30g = 470g
- Remaining milk: 280g - 150g = 130g
Cook the 30g flour with the 150g milk over low heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens into a smooth paste around 65°C, roughly the texture of thick custard. Cool it to room temperature (or chill it, covered, for up to a day) before mixing it into the remaining 470g flour, 130g milk and the rest of your enrichments. Nothing’s been added or lost here: it’s still 500g flour and 280g milk overall, just with a slice of it pre-gelatinised to hold extra water in the finished crumb.
Common tangzhong mistakes
Boiling the roux instead of cooking it to 65°C
Tangzhong needs gentle, steady heat, not a rolling boil. Push it much past 65°C and the paste turns gluey and starts to break down rather than staying smooth, more wallpaper paste than custard. Take the pan off the heat as soon as the mixture thickens enough to leave a trail from your spoon and holds its shape.
Adding the roux to your dough while it’s still warm
A warm roux can soften or partially kill the yeast before the dough even gets going, especially with instant yeast mixed in directly. Cool the paste to room temperature, or chill it covered for up to a day, before it goes anywhere near your other ingredients.
Forgetting to subtract the roux liquid from the rest of the recipe
This is the step people miss when they do it by memory instead of running the numbers. Add the tangzhong on top of your full recipe liquid rather than deducting it first, and you’ll end up with a noticeably wetter, harder-to-handle dough than the recipe intended. It’s exactly what the calculator’s remaining flour and water figures are there to prevent.
Frequently Asked
Questions about
the tangzhong method
What is the tangzhong method and why does it work?
Tangzhong is a Chinese water roux technique where a small portion of flour and water is cooked to around 65°C before being added to the main dough. At that temperature, starch granules gelatinise and absorb significantly more water than raw flour can hold. The result is a dough that carries more moisture without feeling wet, producing bread with a softer, more pillowy crumb and a shelf life that runs 20 to 30% longer than a standard loaf.
How much tangzhong should I use in a recipe?
The standard rule is to cook roughly 5 to 6% of your total flour weight as tangzhong. For every gram of flour used in the roux, add 5 grams of water. So for a 500g flour recipe at 6%, you’d cook 30g flour with 150g water, which is exactly what the DoughRise tangzhong calculator returns when you run those numbers. It adjusts your remaining flour and water automatically to keep the overall hydration of the finished dough consistent.
Can I use the tangzhong method in sourdough bread?
Yes. Tangzhong works well in enriched sourdough loaves, sourdough milk bread, and any recipe where a softer crumb is desirable. It’s less commonly used in rustic, open-crumb country loaves where a chewy, irregular texture is the goal, since the gelatinised starch shifts the texture toward something more tender and uniform. For a sourdough sandwich loaf or a sourdough brioche, it’s an excellent addition.
What’s the difference between tangzhong, yudane and the scalded milk method?
All three pre-gelatinise a portion of the flour before it goes into the dough, but they get there differently. Tangzhong is cooked gently on the hob to around 65°C using five parts water to one part flour by weight. Yudane skips the stove altogether: boiling water is poured straight over the flour at roughly a 1:1 ratio and stirred into a thick paste. The scalded milk method uses milk instead of water, heated closer to 85 to 90°C, which adds extra richness and a touch of natural sweetness on top of the same softening effect. The calculator supports all three modes, so you can match whichever one your recipe calls for.
Can I use tangzhong in milk buns and burger rolls, not just sandwich loaves?
Yes, and it’s arguably even more useful there than in a large loaf. Small, individually shaped bakes like Hokkaido milk buns, burger rolls and dinner rolls have more crust relative to crumb, so they dry out faster on the counter. Tangzhong’s extra bound water pushes back against exactly that. Use the same 5 to 6% flour ratio you’d use in a loaf, and expect a noticeably softer bite and a longer window before the rolls turn stale.
How long can I keep tangzhong before using it, and can I make it ahead?
Cooked tangzhong keeps well in the fridge for up to 24 hours if you cover it tightly, pressing cling film onto the surface to stop a skin forming, which makes it a genuinely useful step to do the night before a weekend bake. Let it come back to room temperature before mixing it into your dough, since a fridge-cold roux slows the yeast down right at the start. Freezing isn’t recommended: the paste tends to separate and turn watery once thawed.
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