Vanessa Wong TZ sweet bun dough

Tangzhong method sweet bun dough

Ingredients:
375g bread flour
100g plain flour
75g caster sugar
3/4tsp salt
7g or 2 1/2tsp instant dry yeast
1 egg
150ml (approx) milk
40g butter or 40g olive oil

Tangzhong:
25g (just under 2tbsp) bread flour
125ml (1/2 cup) water or milk.

Method:
To cook the tangzhong mix the flour and water or milk in a saucepan until there are less lumps. Cook over med-low heat, stirring continuously until it reaches 65°c or alternatively, cook until it thickens and you can see the bottom of the pan when you draw a line through the paste with the spoon, cook for 1 minute more and then remove from heat and leave to cool.

To make the bun dough –
Sift bread flour and plain flour into bowl, add in caster sugar, salt and instant dry yeast, mix well. Form flour mixture into a well, add the egg and lukewarm tangzhong into the middle and mix. If mixing and kneading by hand incorporate the flour bit by bit, if using stand machine, use dough hook and start mixing. Gradually start adding enough milk to form a slightly sticky and soft dough (dont have to use all the milk if you think its enough).
Knead until smooth and elastic and then incorporate the butter or oil, carry on kneading until you achieve the ‘window pane test’…once that has been achieved, form the dough into a ball and let it rise in the bowl covered with cling wrap.
Once it has risen and doubled in size, punch down and knead briefly then roll it into a ball shape.
Divide into equal portions…easiest way to do this is to divide into 4 portions and then divide again into quarters.
Form each portion into a ball and let rest for 10mins.
After 10mins, shape and fill buns with what you like and then place buns on a baking sheet, lightly cover and let rise until double in size.
Brush with beaten egg and bake in oven 190°c for about 12-15mins.

For cocktail bun filling – 100g soft butter, 45g plain flour, 50g milk powder, 45g sugar and 30g dessicated coconut.
Mix altogether and shape for it to be wrapped in bun dough.

For mexican topping (the lines on the cocktail bun) – 30g butter, 10g caster sugar and 20g flour.
Mix altogether and put into piping back to pipe onto buns.

For pineapple bun topping – 110g flour, 80g sugar, 1/4tsp baking soda, 1/4tsp baking powder, 20g soft butter, 40g shortening or margarine/olive spread and half an egg lightly beaten.
Mix altogether, it will be very sticky! Put into fridge to harden slightly then spoon the amount you want in between two pieces of cling wrap, then flatten/roll out into a circle. You can either score squares on using a knife or leave it.
Place it on top of the bun and brush some beaten egg lightly on top.

Photo from Susan Chanmeister