Hong Kong Pineapple Bun Recipe 波羅包

Tips:
Working with yeast is tricky. Some day it works well, other days, it does not want to rise. But yeast is the key to a soft and airy bun. So be patient and let it rise slowly. If the temperature and humidity is not right, dough will not rise properly. Yeast is a bacteria and needs warm air, food and warm liquid to grow. That’s why warm milk and sugar is important. Once you feed them and give them a warm place to grow, they will be happy and your bread will be nice and soft and airy. Oven temperature is important too. Make sure your oven is hot enough before placing the bun in the oven. Too hot of an oven, the bun will be burnt and the inside is not cooked enough. Oven not hot enough the bun will not rise properly. To make sure the oven is in the right temperature, invest in a oven thermometer. Lastly, invest in a scale with grams and ounce. Baking is a chemistry and needs precision. Measuring accurately will ensure consistency every time you bake. I hope these tips will help you bake. Enjoy!

Pineapple Bun Recipe

Bun Ingredients:

Make 12 mini Buns
All purpose flour(Sieved) 360g
Dry Yeast 3tsp
Salt 1tsp
Sugar 3.5tsp
Melted Butter 30g
Egg Yolk 1
Warm milk 150ml (15C or 60F)
Honey 3tsp

Cookie Top Ingredients:
Sugar 80g
Butter(Soften) 50g
Egg Yolk 2
Milk 2tsp
Honey 3tsp
All Purpose Flour(sieved) 140g
Baking Powder 2tsp

Egg Wash:
Egg White 2
Milk 5tsp


Making the Buns: Takes about 3 hrs
Place flour on a clean counter top and create a large well in the middle. In a bowl combine warm milk, yeast, sugar and honey, mix well and let stand for 10mins until bubble is form. Add yeast mixture, butter and egg yolk into flour well and slowly work from the middle, combine flour to form a dough. Keep kneading until dough is smooth and not sticky to the touch. If dough is too dry, spray with a little of water. Place dough in a large bowl, cover with wet towel and let is rest in room temperature for 1.5hr or until dough double its size. It is time to prepare cookie topping. After resting, punch dough and knead again and divide dough into 12 small balls. Place on a greased sheet pan, cover with wet towel and let rest for about 30 minutes or double the size again. Then you are ready to add cookie topping.

Making Cookie Topping:
Combine butter and sugar in a bowl and mix well. Add egg yolk, milk and honey and mix well. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix into a soft dough. Wrap dough with plastic wrap and form a cylinder tube. Place in refrigerator and refrigerate until firm. About 30mins.




Time to Bake:
Preheat oven to 350F or 180C
Cut cookie topping into 12 portions and flatten it with the palm of your hands while it is still cold. If too sticky, flatten it in between two sheets of plastic wrap. Brush buns with egg wash and place cookie on top of buns. Then brush cookie topping with egg wash. Brush again just before bun is placed in the oven. After about 15mins in the oven, rotate sheet pan for even browning. Bake until golden brown and let it cool. Cookie topping will become crispy and enjoy with a big slice of butter in the middle with bun sliced in half.