Potatoes Buns (马铃薯餐包）

INTRODUCTION

How I wish I can scrap off the custard toppings.. It is a total disaster as I have selected the wrong recipe. It is not smooth and hard and I regretted that I should have used back my trusted bread baking book recipe on the custard toppings .. Well, that was over, though potatoes buns that were sold in the bakery always have some custard being piped on top of the buns but I will not share the recipe on custard toppings.. (Updated post on 27-4-2015: Please scroll down for the new custard topping recipes)

But this is definitely a bun recipe that I liked. Potatoes, pumpkin or sweet potatoes are very good moister retainers. Any bread or traditional kuih made with these 3 ingredients will be soft for days. It is indeed a very soft bread.

I first eaten these type of breads in Malaysia. To be very frank, potatoes do not have any flavour. As such, the bread is just like normal buns with enhanced texture. It is very soft if you kneaded and proofed properly.. It will remain soft at least for 2 days if you store it in a covered container minimizing the lost of moisture vapour.

This is a small recipe that yields only 9 buns. As such, it is very suitable for a small family of four. If you have bread machine, you can use it to knead the bread as the dough volume is quite small..It is a recipe that I have modified from various recipes of mine.

WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: Prepare 9 buns of about 60 grams each

250 grams of bread flour
125 grams of mashed potatoes puree
80-100 grams of lukewarm water
50 grams of white castor sugar
30 grams of milk powder (optional)
30 grams of butter
8 grams of instant yeast
1 egg
Pinches of salt

Custard toppings

250 grams of fresh milk
10 grams of butter
50 grams of bread flour
60 grams of castor sugar
1 egg

STEPS OF PREPARATION

Boil the potatoes until soft. Either use a fork to mash it or transfer the boiled potatoes to a blender, add the about 80 grams of water, blend until as fine as possible . (Note that it is optional to use blender to get the potatoes puree. If your potatoes are very easy to mash, fork mashing will do. As my potatoes is very hard to get cooked, I have resorted to the use of blender to get the puree)

Transfer the mashed potatoes or puree to a mixing bowl. Add bread flour, eggs, yeast and sugar. Use a spoon to slightly stir it until it form a sticky dough. Use the dough hook in the machine to beat the dough at medium to low speed (speed 2 in Kenwood Chef or Kitchen Aid) for about 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, put the butter, change from medium to high speed (speed 4 kin Kenwood Chef or Kitchen Aid) for about 7 minutes until the dough is smooth and leaves the side of the mixing bowl.

Take a small piece of dough and lightly stretch the dough. If it can form a thin film of dough without breaking, the kneading is considered as adequate.. This is called windowpane test.

Transfer the dough out to a lightly flour surface. Shape round and let it proof for about double in size. Cover with a clingy wrap or wet towel during proofing.

After first proofing, punch the dough, lightly knead for 1-2 minutes and divide into 9 pieces of about 60 grams each. Take one dough, shape round and transfer it to a lightly greased baking tray. Let it proof until double in size and cover with a clingy wrap or wet towel.

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degree Celsius.

Put all the ingredients in the pot. Stir until well combined. Cook under medium to low heat until the custard had set. In this process, constant stirring is required and the custard can harden rather quickly.

Egg wash the dough when the buns have double in size, pump the custard on top and bake in the preheated oven of 180 degree Celsius for about 15-20 minutes or until the top have turned golden brown. For egg washing, crack one egg yolk, add one tablespoons of water, sift and brush evenly on the buns surface. (There will be no sharing of the custard topping. The post will be updated if I have found a suitable topping recipe).

Note:

While kneading the dough, if your dough is too wet, add bread flour tablespoon to tablespoon until it form a pliable dough. If it is too dry, add milk or water teaspoon by teaspoon until it forms a pliable dough. There are many factors that may affect the dough condition, condition of flour, how wet is your puree can significantly affect the amount of liquid required. As such, you have to exercise judgment. A bit more or less is acceptable in bread making.

CONCLUSION

Not a very difficult recipe but it yields a soft bun. Remember that if your bun is properly kneaded, proofed and baked, it will give you a soft and fluffy buns. Do remember to store your cooled buns in air tight container to avoid moisture lost.. Homemade buns do not have any additives such as bread improvers and hence cannot be compared with what is sold in the bakery.

Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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