Red Bean Buns

These flower buns are made over the weekend. Wrapped with tsubu-an (chunky red bean paste).

Coconut Buns

Coconut Buns
Adapted from: Do What I Like

Ingredients (Makes 9)
Bread Dough
240 g bread flour
30 g cake flour
4 g instant yeast
40 g sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 egg + milk / water to measure up to 170 g
30 g unsalted butter

Coconut Filling
130 g freshly grated coconut
70 g gula melaka, chopped into small pieces
2 tbsp hot water
Pinch of salt

Method
Coconut Filling:
1. Put hot water and gula melaka into a saucepan over medium heat and cook till gula melaka dissolves.
2. Add in the freshly grated coconut and salt and cook till the mixture is a little dry. The filling should not be too wet but just moist enough.
3. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Bread Dough:
4. Combine all ingredients except butter in a bowl and knead till a non-sticky dough is formed.
5. Add in butter and continue to knead till the dough is smooth, elastic and non-sticky.
6. Place the dough in a lightly greased mixing bowl, cover with cling wrap and let it proof for about 60 minutes, or until double in volume.
Assembling:
7. Remove the dough from the bowl and give a few light kneading to punch out the gas in the dough.
8. Divide the dough into 9 equal portions, about 55 g each and shape into rounds.
9. Roll out each dough into a circle. Place a portion of coconut filling in the centre of the dough. Seal the bun tightly and shape into rounds. 
10. Place the dough on a lined baking tray, cover with cling wrap and let them proof for about 45 minutes.
11. Bake in a preheated oven at 190°C for 15 – 20 minutes.

Notes
- I divided the dough to 10 portions, about 50 g each.

Sourdough Pretzels

It is very easy to make these pretzels. The recipe calls for sourdough starter straight from the refrigerator, hence there is no need to feed it first. :)

These pretzels are really soft and chewy when fresh from the oven. Sourdough pretzels, anyone? :)

Sourdough Pretzels
Adapted from: King Arthur Flour

Ingredients (Makes 12)
Pretzel Dough
3/4 cup lukewarm water
1 cup sourdough starter, unfed and straight from the refrigerator
3 cups plain flour
1/4 cup milk powder
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp butter or vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp instant yeast

Topping
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp lukewarm water
Some pretzel salt, for sprinkling
2 tbsp melted butter, for brushing (Optional)

Method
1. Mix and knead the dough ingredients — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — to make a cohesive, fairly smooth dough. It should be slightly sticky; if it seems dry, knead in an additional tablespoon or two of water.
2. Cover the dough and let it rest for 45 minutes. It will rise minimally. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased work surface, fold it over a few times to gently deflate it, then divide it into 12 pieces, each weighing about 2 ¼  to 2 ½ ounces.
4. Roll each piece of dough into an 18-inch rope. Shape each rope into a pretzel.
5. Prepare the topping solution: Dissolve the sugar in the water. Brush the pretzels with the solution, and sprinkle lightly with coarse pretzel salt.
6. Bake the pretzels for 25 to 30 minutes, until they're a light golden brown.
7. Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush with melted butter, if desired.

Notes
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap as you work with the individual pieces to keep it from drying out.
- There's no need to let the shaped pretzels rise before baking.
- I made half of the recipe and omitted pretzel salt.

Custard Buns

I had a hard time trying to wrap the custard filling into the bread dough. Only a couple of the buns turned out to be presentable, without the custard filling seeping out while baking. Haha...

This bun was for my breadfast on the following day. With some light toasting, the inside of the bun remains soft. Pardon the stingy amount of custard filling. If not, I might not be able to wrap this bun. Haha...

Melon Pan

My 100th post goes to these Melon Pan, a soft bun topped with a crunchy cookie crust. :)