Jul 21, 2010

Pineapple bun


I am sooo happy right now! I was peeking into my oven and I saw the crumbly top formed in my pineapple bun and I knew the baking gods are with me today!! I've tried many many times to duplicate the pineapple bun that I grew up with when I was in Hong Kong...and I finally did it!!!

Okay..let me calm down. =) I haven't actually done it..but I'm very close. The hard part for me was always the cookie topping, and this topping is really really good. The bread itself is okay...but I have tons of bread recipes that I like, so I can swap it.

For those of you who are not familiar with the pineapple bun, it actually has no pineapple in it. It's called pineapple bun because the topping looks like the skin of a pineapple...sort of. It's a sweet bun that you will find in most Chinese bakeries. I remember eating it as a child with a slab of butter in the middle. sooo good!!

This recipe comes from this old Chinese baking book that I have. It's called Chopsticks recipes, cakes and bread and it's by Cecilia J. Au-Yang. I can't wait to bake through this whole book. I think I will definitely try the egg tarts next.

Anyway..here is the recipe. It's half of the original since the original recipe makes 24 buns.


Pineapple Bun
adapted from Chopsticks Recipes Cakes and Bread
makes 12 buns

Yeast paste:
1 tsp dry yeast
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 cup warm water
42g bread flour


1. Dissolve the dry yeast and sugar in the warm water and allow it to stand for 10 minutes.

2. Stir in the bread flour and make a paste. Let stand until it's frothy, about 30 minutes.


Bread dough: (see note)
12 oz bread flour
3 oz sugar
1 1/2 eggs
1/8 cup milk
1/4 cup warm water
28g unsalted butter, softened (see note)


1. Sift the flour into a medium size bowl. Add sugar, eggs, milk, and warm water and mix until a rough dough forms.

2. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until a soft dough is formed. Add the butter and continue to knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.

3. Place the dough in a greased mixing bowl and cover with a damp towel. Allow the dough to proof until it doubles in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

4. Remove the dough from the bowl and shape it into a long roll. Divide into 12 equal pieces (56g each). Knead each piece into a round ball.

5. Arrange the buns on a greased baking sheet and cover with a towel. Allow to proof for an hour.


Topping:
88g all purpose flour
7g milk powder
50g sugar
2 oz chilled butter (see note)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tbsp milk
1/4 egg yolk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 beaten egg


1. Sift the flour and milk powder into a medium sized bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and put in all the ingredients. Gradually draw in the flour to knead into a soft dough.

2. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into rounds and use as topping.

3. Place the topping onto each bun. Brush the tops with the beaten egg. Bake in a 350 degrees preheated oven for 15 minutes.
Note:
  • *Remember to use your own sweet bun dough. This bun dough is just okay...if you don't have one, try this Water Roux bun recipe. It's one of my favorites.
  • *The recipe calls for lard, but since I didn't have any, I used butter instead. For the dough it called for 1/8 cup of melted lard. For the topping, it called for 1 oz of chilled lard and 1 oz of chilled butter.

2 comments:

WendyinKK said...

I love polo buns, but hard to find a nice one here.

kk said...

Wendy-you should try to make this! I'm sure you will like it.

 

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