Baking with Soy Sauce

20. Juli 2023

Mix together butter, flour and milk, then add a dash of soy sauce... What was that? Soy sauce in the baking mixture? It’s not that unusual when you think about it. After all, didn’t your grandmother always tell you that you should put a pinch of salt in your baking mixture, even if it’s sweet? It’s the same principle as putting a pinch of sugar in savoury dishes. We’re just going one step further in using soy sauce as a baking mixture seasoning. You could call it "baking 2.0". It rounds off the flavour and makes the result incredibly full-bodied.

There are all kinds of baked products. Initially, you probably associate baking with biscuits, cakes or muffins. But bread, pizza and quiche are excellent examples of savoury baked products. You can replace the salt in most dishes with soy sauce. So it’s only logical that you can also use it to replace the pinch of salt in your baking mixture. Whatever you bake, don’t forget the "pinch of soy sauce".

Shortbread

Ingredients: 250 g flour, 125 g butter, 1 egg yolk, 2 tbsp. soy sauce

Method: Sieve the flour into a bowl with the soy sauce. Make a well at the centre, cut the butter into cubes and put them in the well. Rub together until you have a breadcrumb-like consistency. Add the egg yolk, knead the mixture and form it into a ball.

Wrap with cling film and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Remove from the fridge 15 minutes before you’re ready to roll it out.

The baking time depends on your recipe.

Yeast dough

Ingredients: 20 g fresh yeast, 80 g sugar, 600 g flour, 250 ml luke warm milk, 2 egg yolks, 100 g soft butter or margarine, 6 tbsp. soy sauce

Method: Crumble the yeast and sprinkle 20g of sugar on top, mix until smooth and then leave to stand for approx. 2 minutes. Put the flour in a bowl and make a well at the centre. Add the milk, the rest of the sugar, the yeast-sugar mixture and the egg yolk. Also add the butter and soy sauce and use a kneading hook to knead the mixture into a smooth dough. Cover and put in a warm place to rise for 30-40 minutes. Knead again and continue according to your recipe.

Pizza dough

Ingredients for 4 pizzas: 500 g flour, 30 g fresh yeast, 1 tsp. sugar, 3 tbsp. soy sauce, 5 tbsp. olive oil

Method: Put the flour in a bowl and form a well at the centre. Add the yeast, sugar, soy sauce, 300 ml luke warm water and oil. Knead into a smooth dough using your hands. Cover and put in a warm place to rise until the mixture doubles in size. Roll out into two round bases on a floured surface, place on a baking tray and cover with your choice of topping.

Bread dough

Ingredients: 500 g wheat flour, 3 tbsp. soy sauce, 30 g fresh yeast, 250 ml luke warm water

Method: Put the flour in a bowl. Dissolve the yeast in the water and soy sauce, then add it to the flour. Knead with a mixer and kneading hook or your hands.

Pancake mixture

Ingredients for 10 pancakes: 250 g flour, 500 ml milk, 3 eggs, 1 tbsp. soy sauce

Method: Slowly mix all the ingredients together. Add the flour gradually to prevent lumps forming. Then heat up a little oil in a frying pan. The pancakes taste delicious sweet with sugar or chocolate, or savoury with tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach etc.