Tau Sar/Red Bean Paste Bun

Of all my ventures in bread making, i feel most satisfied with this as i have managed to bake something that Renee will eat. She thinks the tau sar is chocolate and will eat at least 2 especially when they are freshly baked. There are several interesting shapes which are pretty and fun to make but she will only eat these round ones, what is in their mind, who knows??????. I have posted just one basic sweet bread recipe here but i found that i do achieve success in any sweet bread recipes too .




Ingredients:

480g High protein flour, non-sifted
70g castor sugar
20g soya flour
6-7g bread improver (optional)
5g salt
10g instant yeast
25g butter/margarine
1 large egg
220ml water

Red Bean Sweet Paste(follow the recipe from here http://lilyng2000.blogspot.com/2007/08/mooncakes.html

Method:

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk whole egg, water, sugar and butter until well mixed.

Add approximately 2 cups of the flour along with the yeast and salt; whisk until moistened and combined.

Remove the whisk attachment and replace with a dough hook.

Add all but 3/4 cup of the remaining flour and knead on low speed for 5 minutes. Check the consistency of the dough, add more flour if necessary; the dough should feel soft and moist but not sticky.

Knead on low speed 5 minutes more or until the dough clears the sides of the bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface(use the remaining flour); knead by hand about 30 seconds. Lightly oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl, lightly oil the top of the dough, cover and let double in volume, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Once the dough has risen, turn out onto a lightly floured surface.

Portion the dough into 50 gm pieces; roll each piece into a ball and rest them for 5 minutes before going on to shaping.

On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out a dough.

Spread some red bean paste on it. Join the edges to form a ball. Roll the ball lightly to smoothen the surface.

Place the dough on a baking tray for second rising by covering the dough first with plastic wrap then with a damp tea towel and and place in an oven that is turned off. Fill a shallow pan 2/3-full of boiling water and set on the rack below the bread. Close the oven and let the bread rise until slightly puffy looking, 20 to 30 minutes. Once the bread has risen, remove it and the shallow pan of water from the oven. (Alternatively, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight or up to 16 hours. Remove the bread from the refrigerator and follow the second rising in the oven.)

Brush the tops of the buns with egg wash (1 egg+1 tsp water) and sprinkle buns with some sesame seeds.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Once the oven is ready, place the bread on the middle rack and bake until slightly golden on top, approximately 12 to 15 minutes.

When done, leave the buns on a wire rack to cool .