Green Tea and Red Rice Swirl Bread

Green tea and red rice add more than color and an East Asian twist to this soft bread loaf. Lightly enriched with sugar, butter, and an egg yolk, the subtle tastes of both ingredients pull through along with their many nutritional benefits.

The health benefits of green tea are well-documented, but red rice may be a bit unusual depending on your location. It is mainly used as a natural coloring agent in Chinese cuisine and as a dietary supplement known tocontrol cholesterol. I consider this bread a tasty way to recover from sugarand chocolate eating sprees.

I meant to join Boaz’s Bread Baking Day for colorful breads but it got buried under a ton of unfinished posts. All three of them. I’m blaming all that sugarI’ve been having lately.

recipe adapted from Youko Yamane (in Japanese)
Yeastspotting at Wild Yeast Blog

Green Tea and Red Rice Swirl Bread

makes one 8 1/2 by 4 1/2-inch loaf

Dough Formula:

Ingredients                  Volume          Ounces          Grams
all-purpose or bread flour    2 1/3 cups         10.6          300
instant yeast                 1 1/2 tsp            .2            5
granulated sugar                  2 tbsp + 1 tsp  1.1           30
kosher salt                       1 tsp            .1            4
egg yolk                          1                .7           20
water, lukewarm                 2/3 cup           5.6          160
unsalted butter, melted           2 tbsp           .8           24

For the Green Tea and Red Rice Pastes:

1 tablespoon powdered or finely ground green tea leaves + 2 teaspoons hot water
1 tablespoon ground red rice + 2 teaspoons hot water

Instructions:

Mix             Mix all of the ingredients except the green tea and
                red rice pastes until a shaggy ball of dough is formed.

Knead           5 to 6 minutes

Divide          2 pieces

Knead           Smear the green tea and red rice paste to each of the
                two pieces of dough. Continue kneading each piece of
                dough separately until a smooth and pliable ball of
                dough is formed and the pastes are thoroughly
                incorporated, about 5 to 6 minutes.

Bulk Ferment    1 hour at room temperature

Shape           Stretch each piece of dough into a rectangular shape
                and place one on top of the other. Roll tightly
                beginning from the short edge of the rectangle, as
                illustrated in this recipe for Frisian sugar bread.

Preheat Oven    350ºF/175ºC

Final Proof     60 to 90 minutes at room temperature, or until
                almost doubled in size

Bake            Bake for 40 to 50 minutes at 350ºF/175ºC, rotating the
                loaf halfway through baking if necessary.

Cool            At least 30 minutes

Green tea and red rice swirl bread crust.

You are relaxed. You are getting very relaxed.