Far East Style Sweet Buns

 I admit I have been a stranger to my own blog recently. Theres just sooo much to do in the kitchen these days that I hardly have time to write recipes.

This morning I made it a point to wake up earlier than usual just to write up this recipe and share it with all you beautiful people who requested for it. And why not! These pillowy soft bread formula should be in every bakers repertoire of recipes.

Anyone who bakes regularly will tell you that bread baking isn't exactly rocket science but it sure is a lengthy process. Writing about it is just as lengthy. So without further ado I give you the ultimate soft bread recipe. Adapted from various Far East Recipes

Makes 16 buns

Ingredients:

325g bread flour

150g plain flour

*I had run out of bread flour and made these using 475g plain flour only. Worked just as well*

35g milk powder

75g caster sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

7g instant dry yeast

1 egg, lightly beaten

150ml lukewarm water, adjust as necessary

40g butter

Water-Roux Paste:

25g flour

125ml water

Preparation:

Water-roux paste.

Mix flour and water in a small saucepan. Cook over low to medium heat, stirring continuously. It will have thickened to a paste and when you stir you should be able see the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and reserve until lukewarm, or room temperature, before using.

For the Bun Dough:

1. Sift the flour and milk powder. Add caster sugar, instant dry yeast, warm water and mix roughly. Add lightly beaten egg with salt and lukewarm water roux and mix in. Knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. During hand kneading, the dough also needs to be thrown onto the working surface once every few minutes between kneading to improve the dough structure.

2. Knead in butter until incorporated. *Suppress the urge to add more flour at this stage*. Keep kneading until the dough is soft and not too sticky.  Form the dough into a round ball and let it rise until double in size in a large greased bowl, cover with cling film (should take about 1 hour in warm weather, longer in winter months). To test if the dough has risen properly, dip a finger into flour and poke down into the centre of the dough as far as your finger will go and pull out again – the hole should remain if it is ready. If the dough springs back, then it is not ready, continue to prove further.

3. Punch down, knead briefly and form into a ball shape. Then divide into 16 equal portions. Form each into balls and let rest for 10 minutes.

This is where it gets exciting… You can use any filling of your choice, sweet as well as savoury, and shape it any way you want (check attached photos)

4. Shape and fill the buns. Place all finished buns on a greased baking tray, lightly cover with cling film, and let rise until double in size (about 1 hour in warm weather, longer in winter months).

5.Give them an egg or milk wash. *For the spiral effect, I made a slightly runny paste with 3 tbsp flour with enough water and piped it on top of the buns*. Bake in preheated 190°C oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Variations

This is a variation of the above recipe for use with savoury filling, the preparation is the same as above:

325g bread flour

150g plain flour

20g milk powder

50g caster sugar

1 teaspoon salt

7g instant dry yeast

2 eggs, lightly beaten

100ml lukewarm water, adjust as necessary

75g butter, cubed

So there it is...Try it out and let me know how it turns out for you...Please share with me your ideas for  different shapes that you can give to these buns.