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What is the Yudane Bread-Making Method?

Yudane is a traditional Japanese bread-making technique that helps create soft, fluffy bread. Read below to learn more about it, as well as how it differs from the Chinese tangzhong method.

The above flatbread recipe has the advantage of not requiring any kneading. To make up for the absence of this step, the yudane technique is used, which consists of pouring boiling water over part of the flour, fully hydrating it. The heat causes the starch in the flour to react, giving the dough a good structure and making it easier to handle.

Yudane vs. tangzhong

Yudane is often compared to tangzhong, another Asian method where flour is cooked with water or milk and then turned into a roux-like paste. 

While both produce soft, moist bread, tangzhong uses a different flour-to-liquid ratio and requires heating the mixture until it thickens. (Yudane, for its part, only requires boiling water, making it a slightly simpler process.) 

What’s more, tangzhong can be incorporated into the dough immediately without resting, since it quickly reaches the right temperature for fermentation, which is when the yeast feeds on the sugars, creating the carbon dioxide needed for the dough to rise.

For different ways to bake bread, be sure to consult our wide selection of recipes: