Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Pai Pau/Sweet Buns


Pau Pau is well known bread in Hong Kong. It is a super soft, fluffy and milky plain sweet bun. The name literally means "buns in a row” It is the basic Asian bread dough which is shaped in rolls, arranged closely together and baked. To eat them, one is to pull them apart and enjoy the incredible softness. I bookmarked this recipe a couple of years ago from Florence of Do What I Like blog and only get my lazy bones to do it now. The bread turns out great!





Ingredients:
Adapted from Do What I Like with minor changes:

250g bread flour
1/2 tsp salt
5 gram instant yeast – (I used the whole packet of 7 gram)
2 tbsp  milk powder
50g sugar
1 egg yolk + milk = 120ml (put beaten egg yolk in measuring cup and add in the milk to get 120 ml)
75ml whipping cream
50g pre-fermented dough (see the recipe below)
40g butter (room temperature)


1. Mix everything together in a mixer with hook attachment except butter until you get smooth dough. Add in the butter and knead till dough is elastic.
2. Cover the dough and let it prove for an hour (depend on the environment temperature) or till double in size. Punch out the air, and divide the dough into 8 even portions. Rest the dough for another 15 minutes.
 3. Using a rolling pin, roll out each piece of dough into oval shape. Fold 1/3 of the dough on the top towards the center. Then fold the bottom 1/3 over, on the center. Pinch to seal the edge. Roll and gently stretch the dough to 6-7 inches long.
 4. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Place them on greased baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest till the dough double in size. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degree F.
5. Apply egg wash on top of the bread and sprinkle on some sliced almonds. Baked for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from baking pan and let it cool on wire rack.

Ingredients for pre-fermented dough:

125g bread flour
80ml water
2g instant yeast
Pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients together and let it prove for at least 2 hours before using.


Note: Leftover fermented dough can be divided into 50g pieces, wrapped in glad wrap and freeze for use when required. Frozen pre-fermented dough need to be return to room temperature before using.

15 comments:

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

i also saw this in few blogs too, bookmarked but don't know when i will make this since the waiting list still long ^_^

Shereen said...

Gert,
I think you have bookmarked this recipe for at least 2 years already.I still remember we were discussing about this recipe and ahem!ahem!..lol!Beautiful bread.Time for me to get my butt into gear and bake this again:)

Min said...

I always want to bake this kind of bread, but until now still haven't tried it out yet. I love the softness of the bread, can be eaten just like that! Awesome bread you have!

hanushi said...

This looks sooo good! :)

Awayofmind Bakery House said...

the texture of this bread is amazing!! yum!

Jen said...

Hi Gert!

Long time no talk! Happy to see that you're still baking and cooking. The pai bao look good! I can't wait to try your recipe over the weekend..thanks for sharing.

QembarDelites said...

I have seen this recipe too and many has done it...yours looks wonderfully fluffy and soft!

My Little Space said...

Pai bao always reminded me not to forget to have it without butter & kaya! hehe...
Enjoy your day, Gert.
Kristy

FiSh said...

so fluffy indeed! :) can last for how many days?

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lena said...

i heard of this buns from blogs too, knowing that they are popular ones in hkg, would like to try making these too.

Elin said...

Gert, the bun looks really soft and I can imagine how nice to have a spread of kaya and butter on it . You did a good job on it. I want to try this one day;) thanks for sharing ;)

ICook4Fun said...

Sonia, yea my list is very long too and I don't think I will be able to make everything in 2 years :)

Shereen, yeap I bookmarked this 2 years ago. You didn't post bread in a long time. Time to make some :)

Min, yes this bread is very soft. You should try it out.

Hanushi, thanks.

Ah Tze, yes this bread is very soft and light.

Jen, how are you doing? Hope you like this bread.

Jeannie, thank you.

Kristy, ha ha you can always have it with butter and kaya. Nothing wrong with that :)

Fish, depend on how many people are eating it. It yeild only 8 pieces.

Lena, hope you try this out as I am sure you are going to like it too.

Elin, oh yea it taste great with kaya and butter :)

lyly said...

Gert, your bread look really soft and yummy. Wish you have a great week

MamaFaMi said...

Why laaaa your bread looks so inviting eh? Ish, I want to close my eyes la..

PlumLeaf 李葉 said...

I think my son would love to eat this too! I will have to make this one day! ^_^