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Cooking
Swiss Grittibänz St. Nicholas Bread Men with Soft Tangzhong Dough
· 3 servings
Cook the tangzhong
In a small saucepan, whisk the flour with the milk. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until it turns into a thick paste. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap pressed directly onto the surface, and let it cool to lukewarm.
Mix the dough
Put the flour, sugar and dried yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the cooled tangzhong, lukewarm milk, honey, egg and vanilla. Knead on low speed for about 3 minutes, until everything comes together.
Add the salt
Sprinkle in the salt and knead on medium speed for about 6 minutes, until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Work in the butter
Add the softened butter piece by piece, adding the next piece only once the previous one has been incorporated. Knead for about 8 minutes, until you can stretch the dough into a thin, translucent membrane that doesn't tear.
Let the dough rise
Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a greased bowl and cover. Let it rise in a warm place for about 1.5 hours, until doubled in size. A slightly warmed oven works well for this.
Divide the dough
Divide the dough into 3 pieces of 317 g each. From each piece, set aside 225 g for the body, 75 g for the head and 17 g for decorations. Keep the pieces you're not working with covered.
Shape the bread men
Roll the body out into an oval, snip the legs, then snip the arms at the sides and pull them away from the body. Press the head onto the body and brush the join with water. Add a scarf or hat and press in raisins for the eyes and buttons.
Let the bread men proof
Transfer the bread men to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, at least 5 cm apart. Cover with a kitchen towel and let them rise in a warm place for 45–60 minutes, until puffy. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180 °C.
Brush and sprinkle
Whisk the egg with a pinch of salt and brush it gently over the bread men so you don't deflate them. Sprinkle with pearl sugar and nuts.
Bake the bread men
Bake at 180 °C for 22–26 minutes, until golden brown. They're done when they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Let them cool on a wire rack.