Water roux
Water roux, also known as yu-dane () or tangzhong (), is a paste of flour cooked in water or milk which is used to improve the texture of bread, making it soft and fluffy. Technique. For the flour is mixed with an equal weight of boiling water poured over it. This mixture then holds moisture so that, when it is added to a bread mix, the dough bakes with a soft, fluffy texture and the bread then keeps for longer. For the flour is cooked at in the liquid which causes its starch to gelatinize. The gelatinized roux is  generally used at a moderate temperature and apparently also contributes to slightly greater rise during baking. History. "Scalding" flour, especially rye flour, for baking is a technique that has been used for centuries. The Pasco Shikishima Corporation () was granted a patent in Japan for making bread using the method in 2001. The method was then modified by Taiwanese pastry chef Yvonne Chen (), who published a book in 2007 called "65°C Bread Doctor" (), borrowing the Japanese term directly. This book popularized the technique throughout Asia. In 2010, food author Christine Ho first wrote about the technique in English, using  the Mandarin pronunciation of , "tangzhong". She subsequently wrote more than twenty recipes using the method, which helped popularize the technique in the English-speaking world.