Why are my tangzhong bread doughs so wet?
I make the milk bread recipe almost every week: the proportions are not off (unless, perhaps you have an extremely humid kitchen). The usual advice to measure carefully by weight applies, of course. But I will assume your measurements are correct. Then I don't think the issue here is the tangzhong, but rather the butter content of the dough. Each of those recipes calls for at least half a stick! Because butter is liquid at warm temperatures, it can certainly lead to wet, sticky dough. I have two tips to deal with this.
During mixing and kneading: combine all the ingredients except for the butter, knead using a stand mixer until smooth, about 5 minutes. Then add the butter, unmelted, in one tablespoon chunks. Continue kneading until the butter is incorporated.
For shaping: stick the dough in the fridge for 10 minutes before shaping. Always shape on an oiled surface; do not add extra flour. If the dough ever seems too wet or greasy, return to the fridge to &quot;firm up&quot;.
Very buttery enriched doughs are quite different to work with than straight doughs. As you work with it more, you should get a good sense of the correct consistency to look for and how to manage the temperature. Should you attempt something with even more butter, like a brioche, these differences will be even more extreme.